There are some days when I want to be with friends and family and all I have is myself. There are other days when all I want is to be alone and I find myself surrounded by people, or locked into conversations or other such things.
Two days before my trip in SE Asia was to end I met the perfect combination of my want to be alone and secluded and stunning surroundings. I rented a kayak all day and headed out to the southern part of Halong Bay for the best day of my trip.
The bay is dotted with small steep islands that are full of wonderful cliffs, stunted forests and birds. To make the scene better, some of the islands have small strips of beach and/or hidden coves. I was free to explore all of this alone and at my leisure, hardly coming in contact with people save the occasional fishing boat or junk going by at a distance.
I spent some of my time paddling around between the islands, some time relaxing or walking around on the beaches, and some time just sitting in my kayak in the middle of an indescribably beautiful cove just looking at the scene in front of me, and listening to birds.
When I got back to the town the sun was setting and I treated myself to the best cigar I had (a Fuente OpusX) and some Baily’s and a fantastic fish dinner. To end the night I got a massage that was excellent.
The next day I rented a bike and headed to Cat Ba National Park and did a little hiking and site seeing there, and then continued around the island on my bike. I met three other people and we had a nice dinner of sand crab (think of a mix between a military helmet and a prehistoric sea creature) and some good conversation.
The following day I left the island and headed back to Hanoi and caught my flight back to Seoul. It is always crazy how suddenly and unexpectedly a trip can end, especially when you have no idea what day it is most of the time. I love travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment