Vietnam — Vong Vieng Village (day 1), Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Vong Vieng Village and the local cave
September 2015
At 3:30 pm on day one of my trip to Ha Long Bay, we were rowed around some local caves near Vong Vieng Village, and the scenery was impressive. Wow! It was wonderful to get up close to the islands of Ha Long Bay.
One thing that struck me about Ha Long was the lack of wildlife. I did not see many birds.
With the inaccessible cliffs and the surrounding sea that should or could contain a lot of fish, I was surprised by the lack of seabirds. Ha Long Bay looked like an ideal location. Maybe I was missing it when I was on the large boat? Perhaps I was too far from the islands to see anything? Therefore, it was great to get out into small boats, move around the cliffs, and go into caves to see what wildlife was around.
To my delight, the cave had bats, and we saw two monkeys (Crab-Eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)) on an island, but that was it. No birds at all. Where are the seabirds? I was told I would see Pelicans, but I didn’t see one on the trip to the caves or during my three days in Ha Long Bay. Most odd.
On the cave trip, we had a choice — either travel by rowboat (and be rowed) or take a canoe. I opted for the rowboat, which we boarded at a small floating village (it was more of a floating shop than a village).
Being owed into the caves was great. It gave you a feeling for the size of the islands in Ha Long Bay.
However, it was disappointing to make the trip into the cave with so many other rowboats. I would imagine that being there on your own would be truly magical.
The image below shows our first sight of the cave. The cave was low down on the cliff, hugging the water; you could hardly see it.
The cave roof was very low, and the rock formations were spectacular. I like the sort of crinkly wavy effect that could be seen.
Stunning rock formations in the Vong Vieng Village cave. It made me appreciate the power of water.
It was dark in a cave; the only sound was the squeak of bats and the drip of water — and, of course, all the noise being made by my fellow tourists.
After passing through the cave, we entered a large bay area full of canoeists.
The scenery was stunning.
The trip around the cave near Vong Vieng Village was great. It brought home the beauty of Ha Long Bay. The grandeur of the place. But where was the wildlife? Could it be that all the tourists have scared it off? Somehow I think it is unlikely; there must be a lack of food, as the habitat seems ideal. So, the question is, where are all the fish? Fish were here in the past, as I’ve been told that the area used to contain many floating fishing villages — of which Vong Vieng Village was one.
These days, the local villagers seem to provide the muscle power for rowing the boats to the cave.
Some of our canoeists were late getting back, so the return to the main boat was delayed.
I decided to skip the 6:30 pm spring roll-making class and headed for dinner at 7:30 pm. The meals on board were excellent, and we had lots to eat.
On the first evening, we started with sweet and sour soup, followed by spring rolls (if I had made spring rolls in the earlier class, then they were served to you), and a choice of main dishes.
After dinner, we could go squid fishing from the side of the boat. There were no instructions; we only had rods and a lure. I saw what I thought were a lot of squid in the water, but I didn't catch a thing. We were using a bright light and a green lure. Later I was told we wouldn't have caught anything as there was no moon.
One annoying thing on the cruise was there were no tea and coffee facilities in the rooms, and Glory Cruises charged extra for tea, coffee, and water at shamefully marked-up prices.
