Junk boat Day 1

I am heading on Junk boat cruise. A junk boat is a Chinese style of sailing boat typical to Vietnam. They are very popular these days for leisure cruises on Ha Long Bay. The cruise company I chose (Indochina Junk) sails on the Bai Tu Long Bay. The Bai Tu is adjacent to Ha Long. It looks similar but is only open to a couple tour companies whereas the Ha Long tends to get packed on a daily basis with many tour boats.

The day before my cruise I take it easy; I walk around Hanoi and make sure I am all ready for my cruise.

I order some chicken soup while I am out. (Sorry I did not note where I got this lovely soup but I believe it is west of the lake).

Start of Cruise

A van picks me up early from my Hanoi hotel. There is wifi in the van but I have a hard time getting it to work. We will be without internet for a couple days so I would have liked to do some last minute catching up but I end up “checking out” early I guess.

On the way to the boat terminal we stop at a tourist trap plus snacks and booze place. I buy some snacks and a bottle of wine for the boat (fortunately I am still holding onto that wine bottle opener I bought many months ago!).

I check into terminal and we get assigned in small groups and wait more. There are multiple cruises leaving therefore many small groups are waiting around. The terminal has a couple places to eat and small convenience store. I stock up on some things like wet wipes.

Finally our group is called and we walk out to our tinder boats.

We enter from the back bottom of the boat. We are instructed to meet in the indoor dining room to get our room assignments. My room happens to be on the bottom floor toward the back of the boat. I can feel the movement once the boat starts the engine but it is not enough to get me sea sick (sometimes I get a tiny bit nauseous when I look out the window when the boat is moving).

Time to eat lunch. We eat lunch and dinner on the outside deck and breakfast inside in the mornings.

I haven’t been in Vietnam very long but on this cruise is where I begin my dislike of squid and prawns. I normally like both squid and prawns but on the ship we eat it for almost every meal. I get tired of both quickly.

After the meal I walk around the top to soak in the nice view before I return to my room to prepare for our kayak excursion.

This afternoon is one of two kayaking adventures the boat offers. I like to kayak but don’t tend to go out too much. The kayaking trip they offer seems like a great opportunity to get out on the bay. At the loading area it is almost all tandem kayaks with only a couple singles. Because I am one of the few people alone on the cruise (and the only single person participating in kayaking) they give me a single person kayak. It is a sit-in which already puts me at a disadvantage (slow for me) but also since I am in the shorter kayak, I struggle to keep up the speed I need to keep pace with the group. The times I am able to just paddle at my pace and view the scenery I enjoy but unfortunately I feel pressured to constantly play catch up with the group instead of enjoying the moment. Plus my shoulders already hate me from the stress of my backpack and day pack and traveling. Now my shoulders are about to totally go on strike. Me not being able to enjoy the moment is a shame because it really is beautiful out there. I really wish the experience was set up so they have a kayaking zone where everyone can explore at their own pace and then they can round us all up when it is time to go back.

Also I did not even notice until a friend later commented that I am missing the hatch cover. (LOL) I could have sunk! At least I had a life vest.

After a tiring kayak adventure I go back to my room to clean up for dinner. Wandering before dinner, I eye the pool but never get around to using it. It is just a small little pool anyway.

Dinner time.

Of course more prawns and squid. I enjoy the mackerel and the dessert tonight.

One of the staff members has a flute performance for us. The two main boat activity guys seem to be jacks of all trades.

I believe there is an evening squid fishing adventure but I pass for the night in favor of early retirement. This isn’t exactly a party boat either, evidenced from the plethora of children that are aboard (many of the them unhappy but more about that tomorrow).

Felucca

We start on our felucca ride mid morning.

Our bags are loaded into our boat while we finish breakfast.

I am fighting Egypt belly. I am hoping that this ride wont be too uncomfortable for me.

The felucca is where we are to spend about the next 24 hours.

Shoes off for this journey. We all climb up and bend over and find our lounge spot on the cushions. Since the boat is stationary it is kind of warm. Fortunately it cools down as we start to sail.

We do a loop in the water, during that time we gather with the other boat, the other tour of the younger travelers. We always have them in our sight.

After a couple hours we dock to eat lunch. Lunch is served in the middle of the boat. It is a nice mix of mashed potatoes and vegetables, shashuka, pita, and babbaganoush.

I am still fighting nausea and cramps. Because I skippped dinner the night before and ate a very light breakfast I give it a go, all except the babbaganoush.

My stomach isn’t happy with the food because the nausea continues.

People get off the boat for a swim. My stomach pains make me decide to just chill on the boat, best to be close to a bathroom.

Then we are off again. Beautiful views of the Nile. The boat sails in a zig zag fashion to grab the wind.

Someone plays music from their phone onto a Bluetooth speaker. It is relaxing. Definitely a better option for someone with stomach issues vs sightseeing at a very hot site for the day.

Some on the boat torture our tour guide. He is a good sport about our teasing.

Finally we dock for dinner and the night. We go onto shore to see the donkey and dogs that are hanging around. A man has been riding the donkey and he offers rides to some in our group. The group of dogs are cute. They are dirty and you can tell they survive on the daily scraps from tourists on the felucca boats.

It is back to the boat for dinner which is served on the roof off the boat. I skip dinner because my stomach is still angry at me from lunch. I ask for the guides to set aside some pita for me for later in case I get hungry and am willing to eat. I do try to eat a little bit a couple hours later. Best to not go to bed starving.

We are winding down for the night and the young group in the boat next to us is just getting the party started. Karim our tour guide convinces us to go out to the fire and sing some songs with a drum circle. He insists it is too early to go to bed. I think it is only 9 pm. I am also not drinking alcohol (except 1 beer I tried) because of my stomach pains. We have fun singing random songs by the fire. Some are Nubian chants, some are pop hits. After a little while we are done and head back to the boat to get ready for bed.

I find a nice spot at the end of the boat where I have access to fresh breeze. At first I am warm but as the night progresses I get chilly. I grab one of the provided blankets and snuggle up for a good nights sleep. Ear plugs are necessary because the party is never ending from the other boat.

Most of us wake around 6 am and get ready for breakfast. Breakfast is thin crepes, Boiled eggs, and bananas. I eat. It is about time I join the living again.

We will see how my stomach responds.

Now off to our 3 hour drive to Luxor. I am hoping we first have a stop at our hotel for a shower and some teeth brushing before we do our daily sightseeing.

The boat ride

After the long hike adventure of the day before, we decided for a lighter activity the next day. The plan was to take a boat cruise to a town or two. After some research we decided to visit the town of St. Goar. There are two main cruising companies. Not really knowing the difference between the two we decided on the cheapest one initially. When we arrived at the dock people were gathered outside the ramp for the one we hadn’t chosen and no one was waiting at the one we had chose. We decided to go with the crowd since they seemed to be mostly German tourists who were probably in the know anyway. We purchased our tickets for the boat and waited for it to arrive. When you purchase your ticket they ask your destination but I am not sure how they tell when you get off the boat so I don’t think it really makes a difference in the trip. We could have just stayed on since no one checks your ticket after you get on the boat.

When the boat arrived the crowd piled in and found their seats up above in the open air space or down below where they serve meals while you cruise. We were only on for cruising so we sat up above to get the best views. Upstairs there is a small concession where to could buy drinks and snacks for your ride but we saw many Germans bringing on their own “picnic” of sorts – cheese and fruit, and bottles of wine and beer. Carlos and I purchased a beverage for our cruise.

On the way to our destination we watched the towns and cliffs pass us by.

The boat had some commentary but most we couldn’t really understand. One I picked up on was the story of Loreley It is a large protruding structure rumored to be home to a beautiful blonde that would distract sailors and make them crash to their death (Siren).

Burg Rheinfels

Finally we arrived at St Goar and the location of Burg Rheinfels. With no map handy we decided to follow the crowds through the town assuming they were heading there.

Eventually we arrive at an incline going toward the castle, cross some train tracks and up and more stairs to the castle.

We finally make it to the top and into the ruins. There is a long complicated history in the region and the museum helps you understand it better. it was the largest fortress in the Middle Rhein Valley between Koblenz and Mainz.

We took the boat back to our town and enjoyed the relaxing cruise back. We walked by this historic house turned restaurant the night before. Kurpfälzische Münze seemed lively the night before, of course no one was there when we arrived (early bird problems) but we were tired again and not going to stay out much later. We treated ourselves to a bottle of wine and a meat plate for dinner.

It was a nice last night to our stay in Bacharach. I look forward to coming back to the region someday in the future.