Pelvic Thrusting Saves the Day

Having a slow start to the vacation has helped combat jet lag so much. We finally slept decently, if not in long spurts. Our morning started with tai chi, which definitely helped after yesterday’s kayaking adventures. This was followed by a tasty breakfast.

We had the option of pho (beef/chicken) or eggs and toast. I guess I looked hungry as I was offered both.

After breakfast, we departed for Vung Vieng fishing village, where the locals brought as around so we could tour the place. The village has several houses and fish farms. Until fairly recently, it was a rapidly growing village, but the government stepped in to relocate many of the folks as the growth was harming the area, and not providing the children with education. The locals were also very wary of tourists. However, they’ve reached a happy medium, and the area is thriving once again.

After this we proceeded to our next island to jump into a small cave, which was a cool taste of caving. Interesting to note that despite how cool it was outside, it was rather toasty inside (and JD tells us it’s the opposite in the summer). Additionally JD tells us the legend of Ha Long Bay (Mother Dragon) and Bai Tu Long Bay (Baby Dragon) and how the gods sent down these dragons to answer the prayers of the locals to help against invaders.

All of this adventuring works up an appetite and the cruise folks had a barbecue lunch waiting for us on an adjacent beach from the cave that the tour company made (beaches take a year to make apparently). Lots of tasty meats, including shrimp, pork, chicken, mackerel, squid, along with jicama, fried rice, and most importantly, pineapple! (Food was placed right into our plates, hence the mess)

Big meal means more kayaking to work off that meat, and this time we went into a small cave, which was a challenge for many as it was very shallow, so much so, I could reach down and touch the floor. We got stuck, and as the title stated, and we had to thrust our way off the ground. As we paddled along, The sun finally broke through and bathed us briefly during golden hour on our way back to the boat, a fitting end to the day’s activities.

Before dinner, we were treated to a cooking lesson in how to make spring rolls by our chef, Mr. Bing. Dinner was the most filling meal yet on this cruise, consisting of salad, prawns with noodles, butter prawns, mackerel wrapped in banana leaf, seasonal greens, beef in special sauce and more fruit.

After dinner, the crew treated us to entertainment, with many of the crew partaking in a musical performance and JD, the self-proclaimed non-magician performed a card trick for us. Mr. Bing also carved a dragon from a pumpkin.

Video of performance to come later.

Sadly this brings us to the last full day of our cruise, as we head back to Hanoi tomorrow.