Day 6 (Monday, Jan 12, 09): Ha Long Bay/Hien Hao Village (Brunch, D, G)
We will spend the morning cruising the Ha Long Bay, followed by a brunch just before docking at Gia Luan Jetty (on Cat Ba Island) around noon where a local driver will be waiting to take up to Hein Hao village to 'check-in' at a local family's house.
In the afternoon our guide will show us around the village to meet a local family that makes handicrafts. We'll meet the chairman of the 'Bee Club'. After a chat over a cup of green tea, the remainder of the day will be your own. The dinner will be prepared by the head of the local family where we'll overnight.
Hien Hao is a small community with a total population of 400 people located about 20km away from Cat Ba Town, 4km away from Cat Ba National Park's Head Quarter. The village has been funded by British based Fauna and Flora International (FFI) to establish community based tourism. Local families were selected to join the protect. The heads of chosen families were sent to Sapa, a popular destination of community based tourism, to be trained to receive and serve customers. Furthermore, the villagers were trained by a chef from a restaurant in Hanoi to prepare appropriate food.
Journal:
12 Jan 2009 9:14pm Ha Long Bay
So we've been cruising about Ha Long Bay for the past two days. This portion of our programming has taken a dive into straight-up tourism. For the first time since we've been here, we've seen a huge amount of white people and forks. Honestly, I cannot say I'm a fan. The boat is nice and I like being able to relax a bit but the tourism makes me want to be sick and give up on shooting. Yesterday we went into a cave and a shrine that were packed with tourist. It made shooting frustrating, pointless and nearly impossible. I'm also just so burnt out. I feel like I just need a day to go through my shots, get some rest and figure out some sort of direction. I am just looking at things and creating compositions without any idea or motivation behind that hows, whens and whys. I just feel starved for creative energy. I would love to be shooting footage for a stop motion film but I just feel so stuck and bored with my shooting possibilites that this idea is starting to feel useless. I need some action. I need some motivation. I need some direction and I need some fucking sleep. And, from talking to everyone else, it seems I am not alone in these setiments.
We all might as well burn our itineraries considering that it changes without warning or reason every few hours. For example, today we were supposed to have brunch around 11am on the boat, move to Cat Ba island, etc. Then our guide informed us at last night's dinner that breakfast would be at 7:30am, we'd be taking a small boat through a cave (which turned out to barely be cave), moved to a second boat of the same type and size as the previous one. (I still don't understand that) and then move onto the island. Or something, I still don't know. I also still don't know where lunch is coming from and whether or not its included.
I'm very glad James is here, otherwise I'm not sure how I'd deal with the frustration. Plus missing Ben on top of it. I need some sort of communication with him when we get to Hanoi. It's just been getting a little hard, especially considering we spend almost zero time apart at home. And with us being so not busy, bored and whatever, I just have more time to catch u pon missing him.
I'm ready to get back to Hanoi, have som clothes that don't stink, my computer, hopefully some Babeo time and get P to organize a real crit so we all have some form of direction.
Blarg, glarg, arg....zorch.
4:08pm Cat Ba Island
We are on the beach of Cat Ba Island, and although I am still low on ideas, it is nice to have a change of scenery. I feel a bit more refreshed and I'm still getting some decent shots.
We are staying in a home stay in small groups: me, James, Amiee and Sara Beth. I am probably going to put my head through a wall, but that's what I get for being a nice guy. I just wish it wasn't constant word vomit.
My feet are soaked now that I let them melt into the sand. Great. I need sleep and babeo.
Looking back...
"Oh, by the way, I flail in my sleep"
Yea, hella day. The evening got much better once food and rice wine happened. Most of the group got mad drunk and went homestay hopping. We stayed in.
Oh, that whole getting P to have a really crit thing....yes, that was a real cute delusion.
random photo:
good photo:
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