Kayaks and Karsts

The landscape of the Halong Bay archipelago is naturally conducive to a sea-kayaking wonderland. There are huge spires of limestone that jut skyward placed seemingly randomly all throughout the bay, and during low tide most of these contain soft golden sandy beaches.



So I haggled with a tour operator and negotiated a $6 rental of a kayak for just myself. He was concerned that I was going alone -- I was never able to determine whether this was concern for me, or for his kayak or both. Eventually he just about begged me to wait for the three Scottish guys who were also headed out that day so we'd travel as a pack. I relented, but beat them in to the water so we met up about an hour later across an inlet at Monkey Island. The place was a nature preserve inhabited by 26 monkeys and we got a chance to watch them eat and play and lounge and scrabble over scraps of coconut.





We continued out, roaming around for a couple hours and took a break on a beach to play ball in the water, trying to keep it in the air as long as possible, requiring diving for it, and occasionally pelting it into an unsuspecting mate's head.



Then we continued skirting the carsts, working to stay out of the strong wind in the shadows of the islands. The water was inhabited with myriad enormous jellyfish, each 2-3 feet in diameter. I had my underwater housing for my camera, so took a couple shots of their beautifully intricate tentacle structure, careful to not repeat my encounter with the portugese man-o-war.



At the end-sunburnt and smiling, we paddled our way back to cat ba town past the floating schools and villages, and past net fishermen, waves crashing against the rocks, past garbage and jellyfish. Happy.