It was raining and chilly, and our planned activities were appropriately cancelled.  We couldn’t go anywhere.  We had spotty internet, if at all.  Dinner wasn’t on the schedule for a few more hours.  And it was possibly my favourite afternoon of the whole time in Vietnam!

It started the day before, when a luxury van (yes, with individual leather recliners) whisked me away from Hanoi for a three hour drive to the coast, and the mysteries of Ha Long Bay.  When I was considering signing up for an excursion to the bay, the first ones I saw were two days/one night.  They just felt rushed to me, with much of each day simply on a highway.  So when I was directed to three day/two night options, I got excited – the middle day would be entirely out on a boat, immersed within one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of the world.  Sign me up!

I was offered a discounted price, which I later guessed was an effort by the company to fill out a pretty small group – on a ship that can accommodate twenty, we were a fierce group of five!  We could all sit around one large table for meals, and around one prep table to try our hands at making spring rolls.  We had way too much food offered to us – which we all felt a duty to the chef, to attempt to eat. We told stories of first concerts and favourite movies, while sitting on an isolated, private beach having a BBQ lunch. We took pictures of each other in kayaks as we paddled to see a sunset. We visited a floating village that had an oyster/pearl farm. We had a fun and rowdy night playing Uno.

I had booked one room with twin beds for me and my roommate, similar to what I had done for our travels to Victoria Falls.  Once onboard though, I noticed an opportunity to practice how to ask for what I wanted.  The ship had ten passenger cabins, and the five of us were only using three of them.  Could I, with curiosity and respect, ask for and actually get my own cabin??  Apparently, yes.

So on the middle day, when the rain clouds settled in, and we were well out in Bai Tu Long Bay with no internet, no cell service, nowhere to dock and get off the boat, I had an entire forward cabin with a queen bed next to broad windows, all to myself.  I made a few tea pot runs up to the dining room, but mostly I curled up on the bed, and let my mind get creative about my business ideas as I soaked in so much beauty.  So. Much. Beauty.

• Beauty of the ship.  Wood everywhere – the floors, walls, ceilings, railings – with small Asian details of dragons, geometries, and flowers.
• Beauty of the fresh air.  After a week in Hanoi’s poor air quality, my eyes, throat, and lungs definitely appreciated long deep breaths away from any buildings and motorbikes.
• Beauty of the clear water.  Our guide described how the area had become very polluted, but with some pushes by UNESCO, efforts over the last couple of years have dramatically improved garbage collection and overall sustainability efforts to get back to its natural simplicity.
• Beauty of the karst formations.  What is it about deserted, looming islands – in a bay named for descending dragons??  They seem to bring a mystical quality, and a stillness, and an awe in how they can even exist and how there can be soooo many, in every direction.
• Beauty of the peacefulness.  No one was rushing anywhere, but rather nothing was moving, other than the boat surrendering to rotations on its anchor.

Perhaps after four months of travel, and most recently being in buzzing Hanoi, I further appreciated a simple afternoon to “take a breath”.  I wasn’t in the postcard version of the Bay, with bright sun, sparkling jade waters, and top deck happy hour.  I was in my version of the Bay, with mist and lurking dragons and slowed clocks.  It was perfect.