Pitter patter.....

The weather was a little cloudy and cold when I headed off for halong bay but I was still excited to see it. After a four hour drive we arrived in a small port city and hopped onto the boat and headed out into the bay. Thousands of rock spires and small islands jutting straight up out of the water with vegetation all over them. It is really a sight to see even in cloudy and rainy weather. I was aboard a Chinese junk for the trip and it was kind of fun. Possibly a little closer in actuality to the name than I would have liked but it was fun. It was all wood and there was a large dining room as the middle deck with a sun deck on top and the cabins on the lower deck. It was a smaller group only amounting to 7 of us for the entire trip. It was a very mellow trip and most of the other people and myself just relaxed and took in the sights like good little tourists, and after dinner we put two decks of cards together and played the most confusing game of gin rummy possible over a few drinks. After dinner and a little socializing I went down to my somewhat dank rooand decided to read. I settled into my bed and was relaxing when I noticed two things.... On the night stand there were two objects. One, a flashlight was there for obvious reasons but net to it was a hammer ..... Huh. I guess a number of these boats sink on a regular basis. So when the door is locked it can be hard to get out. In case of emergency you have the hammer to bust your way through the window and swim out. I guess not that long ago, maybe a couple of months ago a boat went down killing two Swiss tourists. Well I guess I'll just forget about that and settle in to read...... It was dead quiet and very peaceful in this little bay that we were anchored in and as I was reading I could hear every pin drop. The creaks and groans of wood and the gentle lapping of wind swept waves on the hull. Then a little potter patter and shuffling. Because the dining area was above my cabin I just dismissed it as the shuffling of the staff and furniture whle they were cleaning up. Then after a time i realized that it was the tiny little feet of rats scurring about inside the floors and walls of my cabin. The hammer might actually have more than one use here after all. I am not worried in general about a rat or two but in the dead calm and silence of this place the scurrying around kept me up for ever! Finally I drifted off to sleep and woke the next day to happily find out that my face had not been chewed off while i was asleep and it was a beautiful hazy morning and we spent three hours kayaking around the bays, lagoons and little fishing shacks. It was very relaxing and the first time since I have been in asia to completely slow down and have an experience that was mellow and at a relaxed pace. On the four hour return trip to Hanoi one of the other travelers was really getting on my nerves. He was a nice enough guy be he just wouldn't stop talking to me. I finally had to do the old trick of jamming the headphones into my ears and stare out the window at the sights to drown out his chatter. It was a really strange and cool thing though. I was completely relaxed, a little tired and just taking it all in. It is strange sometimes how much music can alter your mood and change how your senses take something in. Cruising through open road and rice paddies listening to the shuffle going throu random selections. Tom waits and old David Bowie tunes have a whole different feel when you have he over powering smell of smoke and fish sauce filling your senses.