Tag: Vietnam

We arrived at the tourist docks in Ha Long to find a bustling scene of small boats loading and unloading, and shuttling passengers to large faux-junks waiting for the next set of customers.

This boat had everyone wearing the same hat for easy identification.

Waiting for our boat to sail.

More people wearing the same hat.

Boats everywhere!  It is amazing that anyone can find which boat they are supposed to go to.

Fake sails.  All of these boats are powered by internal combustion engines.

Our tour guide.  He spoke English, Vietnamese, and a few other languages as well.

Along the road to Halong Bay there are people selling all manner of things.

We stopped off at a strange tourist trap full of intricate weaving and tapestry items, pieces of marble art, and other strange things.  The story was that most or all of the people doing the work were disabled in some way.  A few wheelchairs were around and some crutches.  Who knows the real secret to this place.  We sure didn’t!

Supposedly any of this stuff can be shipped to anywhere in the world.  I would highly suspect if you bought an eagle statue and had it shipped, it would never leave the shop.

Lots of farming along the roads.

An old coal-fired power plant.

There were several units at this power plant.  I can’t imagine that it was very clean energy.

We drove for a time along the train tracks.  A mixed passenger and freight train was heading in the same direction we were.  It would be interesting to take a train in Vietnam.  Alas, we did not have the time to do so.

Our first glimpse of Halong Bay.

Boats of various types waiting.