Glass bottom boat and anniversary

Yesterday we went snorkelling on a glass bottom boat. The wooden boat was pretty basic with a couple of glass boxes covered in algae which prohibited much of the view. And I wasn't impressed when we were more or less crammed in with 50 other people, but all was forgiven after we arrived at our first snorkelling site. We were diving in the middle of the ocean between two Gili islands, dragged a bit by the current. We followed our guide, who was expert at spotting turtles on the bottom that I couldn't spot. He would then dive down 20 or 30 feet to nudge the turtle, who would slowly swim away. What a thrill to swim with the turtles. Sometimes they would swim to the surface to catch a breath, and one time John was able to touch and then swim with one of them. 

We went to two locations before lunch and two places in the afternoon. At two locations we searched and found turtles, who rest deep down on the seabed. The other two times we saw some spectacular coral and fish. The coral was more varied in shape than our last snorkelling trip in Thailand. Whereas much of the coral in Thailand reminded me of big brains, here near Gili most of the coral was more like crisis-crossed miniature trees, all different colours from pink to deep purple. It was more like the coral I've seen on documentaries. John was getting good at diving, and liked to swim down into the coral canyons to get a better look at the fish underneath the coral.

This morning, before we checked out of our hotel, we met our neighbour. He was a Canadian from Toronto, who was two months into a year long trip around the world with his two sons, aged 8 and 10. It was sad to hear that his wife had passed away two years ago. He was retracing some of the places his wife had visited when she did some travelling years ago. It was interesting to hear his travel plans. He had already been to Australia and New Zealand to visit family and planned to visit much of south east Asia before moving on to Africa and Europe. 

We certainly enjoyed our time on Gili Air. It was a very small island in the early stages of developing a tourist trade. Some things were rudimentary, but that just added to the charm for the most part. Catheleen and the kids especially will miss the many cats we met on the island. In front of our hotel room in the bushes we meet a tabby mother cat with a kitten. The kids would coax the kitten out of the bushes to pet it, much to the nervous dismay of the mother. The sales approach here was always low key, and I liked the international feel where the tourists were from everywhere. Nothing against Australian Legian and Kuta at all, but I do like to see a mix of tourists from all over. 

We took the fast boat today from Gili Air to Candi Dasa this afternoon, on the east coast of Bali. The boat was more choppy this time than when we took it to Gili Air. On this trip the bow of the boat would occasionally become airborne and then come down in a teeth shattering crash. Catheleen and Elizabeth enjoyed their time on the top of the boat, watching Bali appear in view through the mist. John and I preferred to be below. 

We're now in our new location, more of a resort than just a condo rental. It's very nice though with nice views of the ocean and easy access to the pool from our rooms. We took the room above and the kids are in the room below. It's more of an older crowd here than previous places we've been. We got a kick out of the '80's music they were playing at the pool this afternoon. 

So today is our 19th wedding anniversary, and we've had a great day today, spending time with each other and the kids. Thank you Catheleen for 19 wonderful years and here's to many more to come, full of adventure and wonder I'm sure. I love you very much. 

Here's are the kids at lunchtime on our snorkelling day, happy they found a big sea shell. 

Beach time and motorcycle adventures

John started wearing a face mask in Laos when he wasn't feeling well. He said he wanted to "keep the germs away". He has recently focused on the fact the tourists usually pay more for things than locals, and so he wants to get local prices by going undercover. When he explained this to a fellow tourist from Australia I was speaking with, she hinted to John that his hair may still be a giveaway. 

I see local ladies riding their motorcycles and mopeds completely covered with no skin showing. They'll wear cloth masks, jackets and even coverings for their hands. I'm told lighter skin is a sign of beauty here, and so women are trying to avoid getting a tan. This might explain why I see so few locals on the beach. Maybe they are on to something since too much sun is damaging.

I'm always amazed by what I witness everyday on the back of a motorcycle. Everything I could possibly imagine and more is carted around on the back of them. Just yesterday I saw a live pig in a cage on the back of one. Everyone rides them from young to old. Fathers ride with their whole family on board, grandmothers with this grandchildren, mothers take their young children to school, and of course young men ride with their sweethearts on the back sitting sidesaddle in short dresses and heals.

As I was waiting in line at an ATM, I spoke to a few young men, one each from Australia, Ireland, Italy, and the U.S. They had met a few weeks ago in Vietnam as backpackers and had decided to travel the country together. They each had purchased used motorcycles in the country for a couple hundred dollars and were riding their way down the coast from north to the south. One of them now needs to sell his bike to help pay his way home, but otherwise they each said they have had no problems travelling. One claimed they didn't even need licences to ride motorcycles here, and the police are very tolerant with tourist travellers and will look the other way at all but the most egregious traffic violations. I admired these guys for their adventurous spirit, but I looked it up later and and they should  take the time to get valid motorcycle licenses for Vietnam. For those who have a valid motorcycle license already, it should only take a morning at designated police stations to take the test and costs around $50. If they don't have a motorcycle license already then this really isn't the place to learn. Without a licence they are not protected should they have an accident or a run-in with the police. I have a feeling my views would not have deterred them from their adventure. 

For the last couple of days Catheleen has gone to a local tailor shop to get some clothes made, including shorts for John and some dresses and skirts for her and Elizabeth. I for one had a couple of shirts made, using an existing shirt as a template. The shirts turned out really well and they were very well priced. The best part was I didn't have to actually visit the tailor shop to bargain or endure fitting sessions. 

The last couple of days I've gone back to the beach, one day with Elizabeth and the next with John. The waves have been huge both days and would constantly knock us off our feet and sometimes toss us around. True to form Elizabeth only came out of the water for refreshment, but came back to the hotel with too much sun on her face. John fared better the next day. What fun to enjoy the beach. 

Here's a photo I took of a fishing boat on the river. Nothing to do with this blog but I like the picture nonetheless. 

Last day in Ha Long Bay

Yesterday evening on the boat we had another excellent meal with a wide variety of seafood, including local oysters served in the half shell and warmed briefly with fried and dried onions and garlic on top. The prawns were interesting since they were served with shells, heads and tentacles intact. Catheleen is pretty good at removing the shells and everything else, but I find I'm not in the mood for shrimp once I've witnessed this carnage. When the tour guide asked us if we had any food restrictions, Elizabeth piped in that, while she is not allergic to seafood, she doesn't care for it. John only likes shrimp and tolerates fish, so after a few courses of seafood, while Elizabeth was getting substitute chicken and beef courses, John wished he had also made the same request as Elizabeth.

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, but 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 learnt 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 suffered and have 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 ones remaining in the bay. As I said previously, the government is closing them all down to better provide health and education services to the fisherman, as well as 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, a 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 being raised. On site we saw another method to catch squid at night, where 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 from 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.