8/3/14 11:16 AM Azure like it - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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A view of Halong Bay, Vietnam. The bay with its about 3,000
islands is said to be one of the most beautiful spots on earth. The
stunning rocks were formed over thousands of years by wind and
water. The name Halong means literally The place, where the
dragon emerges from the water.
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Azure like it
Vietnam's Halong Bay is a treasure, and experiencing it aboard a replica paddle-wheeler is
beautiful
By Ed Rampell
Special to the Star-Advertiser
After an hour of downhill and uphill hiking
immersed in semidarkness, we finally emerge out
of the bowels of Sung Sot Grotto, or Surprise
Cave, into the sunlight, greeted by a sensational
surprise: an eye-popping panorama from high over
Halong Bay. We pause to absorb the
otherworldliness of the panorama. Countless
karsts greenery-crowned limestone islets and
a flotilla of cruise ships, trawlers, junks and
sampans sprawl across the 900-plus-square-mile
bay on Vietnam's northeastern coast in the Tonkin
Gulf. The fleet's crown jewel is the Emeraude, a
steamer our tour group sets sail on for an overnight
expedition to this spectacular spot.
Halong Bay surely ranks among Earth's most
beautiful places: It was designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site and voted one of Earth's seven
natural wonders by Zurich-based New7Wonders
Foundation.
The drive from Hanoi through Vietnam's tropical
countryside, passing iconic Indochinese images
rice paddies, peasants wearing Southeast Asian
"non la" (conical hats) and water buffaloes takes
three hours. The minibus stops at the Emeraude
Cafe, where we shove off in a tender to board the
historic paddle-wheeler anchored in Halong Bay.
Due to its fabled past, the Emeraude, a four-deck,
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8/3/14 11:16 AM Azure like it - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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Emeraude: www.emeraude-cruises.com
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism:
www.vietnamtourism.com/e_pages/heritage/halong.asp
Cathay Pacific: 800-233-2742;
www.cathaypacific.com/us. Flies nonstop direct from
San Francisco to Hong Kong, where passengers can
connect with Cathay Pacific's sister airline Dragonair
for daily Hanoi and Da Nang flights:
www.dragonair.com.
flat-bottomed paddle boat steamer, is an ideal
vessel for adventurers embarking on this island
odyssey.
The Emeraude was originated by three
entrepreneurial, swashbuckling brothers who left
Bordeaux, France, in 1858 to go east. The Roque
brothers' Indochina exploits are "Terry and the
Pirates" stuff. As the French empire expanded, so
did its enterprises, from opium to timber. In 1890
Chinese buccaneer Luu Ky kidnapped and tortured
the two Roques.
By the early 20th century the Roques
launched four single-wheel paddle
steamers, each named after gems,
delivering freight, mail and
passengers at Halong and Red River
Delta. The Emeraude provided electric
lights, fans, refrigeration and a
darkroom for photographers lured by
Halong's charms. In 1937, returning
from Hai phong, the Emeraude struck
an underwater rock and sank. In 1999
businessman Eric Merlin stumbled
upon vintage postcards depicting the
steamer at a Parisian flea market.
Inspired, he tracked down Roque
descendants and build an Emeraude
replica in Hai phong (although today's paddle wheel is just for show). By 2003, Merlin launched the
reconstructed Emeraude, reincarnated as a cruise liner.
Our first hours at sea are spent sightseeing, voyaging amiably if not aimlessly amid this exquisite
archipelago. We wend through an amazing maze of whimsically shaped islets. The cerulean seascape
is so stunning and tranquil, it seems like we're sailing across a symphonic poem composed to celebrate
nature's raptures. The weather is picture-perfect as karsts slip by one by one.
The tranquility belies the mythology and history of the region. Halong means "descending dragon";
according to mythology, Vietnam's ancient gods dispatched jewel-spitting dragons to repel Chinese
invaders. The U.S. Navy mined the bay after the disputed Gulf of Tonkin incident 50 years ago this
month spurred combat between the United States and Vietnam.
Our port of call is Bo Hon, an island located roughly in Halong Bay's center, where Sung Sot Grotto is.
To enter one must trek a tree-lined path up the karst, which requires hardy footgear and the vigor to
climb up and down hundreds of smoothed stony stairs. As guides lead the way through Surprise Cave,
our leader notes various rock formations with a laser pointer, identifying a Buddha, monkey, bird and
phallic symbol sculpted into Sung Sot's stalactites and stalagmites.
Our tour group, sometimes slowed by a human traffic jam, walks along the cave's polished floor and up
and down its many steps for 60 minutes. One of Halong's largest karsts, Bo Hon is a range of
connected islets that also includes Dong Tien Lake, Luon Grotto and Virgin Grotto, but we didn't
glimpse them or Bon Ho's monkeys or deer although we saw stalactites resembling them.
Returning to the anchored Emeraude, some passengers swim, but I'm deterred by jellyfish warnings. I
embark on a kayak expedition with Colm Fitzgerald, a younger, intrepid Ventura County, Calif., rock
climber. We're dispatched from the paddle-wheeler's bow with little preparation and without a guide.
Quickly we discover our kayak's seats aren't properly set up, causing me some back pain. Cautiously
we head for a floating fishermen's village near a distant karst. But a chop in the water and discomfort
caused by the supportless seating lead us to change course and circumnavigate our portion of Halong,
careful not to crash into the karst.
Sea hawks soar overhead. Colm and I paddle together or take turns when one wants to shoot pictures.
However, at an especially scenic site both shutterbugs simultaneously reach for our cameras, nearly
capsizing the canoe. Six-foot-three Colm's rapid response saves us from going overboard, sparing our
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8/3/14 11:16 AM Azure like it - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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Nikons.
We paddle toward a pearl farm surrounded by floats fastened to cultivated
oysters, but, hampered by uncomfortable seating, we finally return to the
Emeraude. There, although several crewmen sit nearby, only one bothers
seizing the kayak's prow and, with prodding, helps me safely out of the
slippery craft. Nevertheless, there were moments adrift on the kayak,
swaying on swells immersed in stellar scenery, when I felt a
transcendental sense of serenity and connectedness to the universe.
Back aboard the Emeraude, my spacious, air-conditioned cabin, with a
double bed, is quite cozy. Through large windows I can watch karsts
dreamily drift by, though I prefer sunbathing on deck in a padded wicker lounge chair, cooled by sea
breezes.
Emeraude dining consists of sumptuous buffets, with attentive waitresses serving beverages. Lunch
and supper offer Vietnamese and European cuisines including seafood, poultry, beef and vegetables,
with breakfasts of succulent tropical fruits, yogurts, cereals, croissants, bread and omelets.
Between meals, jam or chocolate crepes are cooked for passengers on the sun deck. A chef teaches
passengers including Americans, Canadians, Spaniards, Brits, locals how to cook Vietnamese
cuisine, such as shrimp spring rolls, dazzling guests by deftly sculpting tomatoes with a blade.
Shipside activities include daydreaming, stargazing, sightseeing and picture-taking, with light altering
one's perceptions. After sunset, anchored off Hang Trong or Drum Cave (so-called because of the
wind's sound blowing through it), the illumined cruise ship resembles a birthday cake ablaze with
candles. Cruise-goers awake the next day to karsts that appear black and white in the early morning
light. Tai chi lessons commence on the sun deck at about dawn. Good morning, Vietnam!
Our expedition ends with a morning idyll peregrinating through Halong's islets, which now appear to be
the gleaming jewels spit out by those descending dragons of lore. If one could assemble these jagged,
jade jigsaw puzzle pieces, the puzzle's picture would portray paradise. Yet, as we steam for shore,
some trash floats by. Recalling crowds at Surprise Cave and sighting looming beachside high-rises, I
ponder how long before Halong goes the way of other paradises lost.
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