84
FIRST PERSON
flipping open an album to reveal a
signed photo of the American senator
and former US presidential hopeful
flanked by other political high-fliers.
“That’s where he stays every time he
comes over.”
Fancy boat and fancier guests aside,
the weekend’s itinerary — the highlight
of which was a tour of the bay’s most
celebrated attractions —was one for
the travel bucket list.
After lunch — a buffet spread of
Western salads and Vietnamese
classics like fresh spring rolls —we
dropped anchor off Bo Hon Island
to check out one of the bay’s many
natural wonders. There’s a reason
why Song Sot Grotto is also known as
Surprise Cave: it’s home to several large
chambers, each bigger than the last. As
we walked along the paved route from
the cave’s mouth to its exit, our perky
guide pointed out the shapes of animals
and buddhas among the impressive
stalactites and stalagmites.
In the late afternoon, we rented a
tandem kayak and muscled our way
across the placid waters all the way
to a small pearl farm. Here in this
tiny settlement of workshops and
showrooms, all kept afloat in deep
waters by repurposed plastic barrels,
a lean crew of workers farm cultured
pearls before fashioning the coveted
shiny beads into pieces of jewelry.
Visitors are herded through all points
of the production cycle, starting with a
workshop where oysters are implanted
with nucleus beads (eventually they’ll
become covered in layers of secretions
from the oysters, which become the
pearls). Then, it’s across a ramp, under
which the implanted oysters are
kept submerged in water for months,
and back to the workshop where the
harvest is segregated according to
quality, color, size and shape.
But it was the quiet moments on the
deck, as the ship languorously sailed
past limestone towers at sunset, that
were truly mind-blowing. There’s a
fascinating myth associated with this
geological wonder, a maze of hundreds
of little emerald islands on an emerald
“sea”, harboring secret lakes and
underwater caverns. The story has it
that the Jade Emperor sent Mother
Dragon and her children to help the
ancient Vietnamese fend off invaders
from the north. The bay was the main
battleground and these islands are
what remain of the fire and giant
emeralds the dragons breathed out,
which blocked off the enemy and sunk
their ships. From this legend came the
name Halong or “descending dragon”.
Sometimes the world’s most beautiful
landscapes are best explained with a
great story, preferably while lounging
on the deck of a cruise ship, finely
crafted cocktail in hand.
Clockwise from
above: Explore
Surprise Cave;
enjoy local
cuisine; snap
pictures of
photogenic
Chinese junks;
learn how to
make fresh,
delicious
Vietnamese
spring rolls
Cebu Pacific Air flies
from Manila to Hanoi.
cebupacificair.com
PHOTO (CHINESE JUNK) BY JENNY PEÑAS
