At dinner we spoke to two Canadians named Cory and Luke, the only Canadians we've seen for quite a while. They were on a ten day trip to Vietnam, and had just returned from trekking to a hill tribe village where they spent the night in a local villager's house. Their accommodations were like a rough bed and breakfast, with about twelve cots set up in a large room above where the family lived. They were the only travellers there on this night, and ate in a separate room from the family unfortunately. After dinner they were given rice wine and felt obliged to drink a shot with each family member, who introduced themselves one at a time. They weren't sure how many shots they did, but after awhile they wished the family had instead introduced themselves for group shots. They were able to interact more with the patriarch of the family, a 70 year old veteran from the Vietnam war. He told them stories of his time in Laos during the war, and could out-walk the Canadians down the muddy hill in Crocs, while the visitors were slipping down the hill in their hiking boots.
I learned later, over perhaps one too many beers, that Cory and Luke were a team. One was a pilot and the other an aircraft mechanic. They have spent the last year and a half working for a company that provides troop transport for a couple of UN missions in Mali and South Sudan. They have both been treated for a round of malaria, but otherwise have not had many problems and have enjoyed their work. I asked them if their work is risky. Luke said not really, since they only provide the equivalent of civilian transport and follow civilian aviation rules, like no weapons on board the aircraft. If conditions were to deteriorate, then the military transports would need to take over. The worst incident they have witnessed was when a secret service official for a U.S. politician on board was disagreeing with the no weapons policy, and accidentally shot a bullet into the aircraft. Luckily no one was hurt and no aircraft components were damaged, but the incident did reinforce the no weapons policy.
In the morning, on our last day on the cruise, we visited a small floating fishing village, one of the last remaining in the bay. As I said in a previous post, the government is closing them all down to better provide health and education services to the fisherman, as well as to maintain a more pristine bay for the tourist industry. We were served tea and peanuts in a small fishing house made of basic wood and a sheet metal roof, with a bed, TV, and not much else in the house. We were told that at a cost to build of around $10,000, the house was big and expensive by floating fishing village standards, where monthly incomes are $200 to $300 dollars a month. The cost of living is high here by Vietnamese standards too, where just about everything except fish needs to be shipped at two to three times the cost of mainland prices. Only the women and children were present during our visit, since the men were out fishing. The floating village also included a fish farm, where a variety of fish and shellfish were raised. On site we saw another method to catch squid at night. A large lightbulb is placed at the end of a long boom; attached to the boom is a large net around 20 feet square, which is lowered into the water and raised to catch the squid that are attracted to the light.
We certainly enjoyed the cruise and time spent in Ha Long Bay. The place is very unique and beautiful, and deserves its UNESCO world heritage site designation. We departed the cruise, returned to Hanoi for the evening, and will be flying to Da Nang tomorrow.
Here is a picture of a rowing boat moored at the floating village, with the cliffs and islands in the background.
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