Halong Bay, Vietnam

'Halong' means 'descending dragon' in Vietnamese and once you set your eyes on Halong Bay, you'll understand how the place got its name. Not only do the limestone islands resemble the back of a dragon (or what people imagine a dragon would look like), legend has it that the gods sent down a family of dragons to protect Vietnam from invaders. As the dragons descended from the heavens, they spat out jewels and chunks of jade, which turned into the islands we now see.

There are a total of 3,000 limestone islands in Halong Bay. The size of the islands vary - some are mere rocks jutting out of the sea while some are large with thick vegetation, bird colonies and caves.The larger ones like Cat Ba island are inhabited, with a population of about 13,000.  

We set out from Hanoi early in the morning. Our van took us to a port called Haiphong, which was the start of our Halong cruise. The weather was perfect.

The communities around Halong Bay are mostly fishermen. This lady and her baby turned up from nowhere and entered my viewfinder just as I was about to click. 

 The view from Cat Ba island.

 The water in Halong Bay has a greenish tinge from the limestone. That shade looks absolutely lovely matched with the light green of this boathouse.

 A fishing village in one of the lagoons

 Another fisherman's boat. 

Sunsets over Halong Bay are magnificent. This was taken from the top of our boat

If you like water, kayaking and lovely fresh seafood, then Halong Bay is the place for you. A lot of Hanoi-based companies offer cruises but the best are the overnight ones. You board a boat, sleep on board for one or two nights and go to sleep lulled by the gentle rocking of the water. Don't worry about meals because they'll be taken care of. Did I mention delicious fresh seafood?

If all this sounds good to you, click here, here and here for more information. Shop around for tours when you get to Hanoi, though- prices seem to be cheaper when you book in person as opposed to online. 

My Happy Un-honeymoon

The young couple had been smiling at us for more than half an hour. It's like they know something we don't, I thought. I couldn't tell what it was. Finally, the guy spoke up. "So, how's your honeymoon been so far?" he asked as his girlfriend beamed at the two of us.

Neil and I laughed. So hard until we shook. "Oh no, we're not together. We're just friends. Honeymoon?? Gosh, no," I shook my head. We were on holiday and it was perfect honeymoon weather, but no, they were mistaken.

That wasn't the first time. Earlier that morning as I walked past the shops on the main road, I met a man whose store we'd visited the day before. "Hello, hello again! You are alone today? Where is your husband?" he said, greeting me like an old friend.

I sighed. My darling 'husband'- poor, unsuspecting Neil- was probably checking out guys on the beach at that moment and secretly snapping photos of the hot ones to show me later.

I am as straight as a pencil, a ruler, as Darth Vader's lightsaber, but I have gay friends and Neil is one of them.

We must have come across as a pretty strange couple. We laughed and whispered together a lot, but never held hands. We were obviously very close, but yet didn't exchange long meaningful looks. And if anyone had gone up to our hotel room, they would've been mystified to see two single beds instead of a double bed which was messy and with sheets all over the place, hinting at whatever it is they thought we were up to.

I found it liberating knowing that Neil would never think I was trying to seduce him if I wore a particular dress or top, that he would never think I was trying to attract his attention if I did my yoga stretches in front of him. It was great to be close friends with a man and know that there was no way it would get any further than that. Sometimes a girl just doesn't want her life to get complicated.

We took a day trip before we left. There was some travelling involved and we had to ride on a van together with five other couples. Neil climbed on board before me and after getting in, immediately turned his back and sat down, leaving me outside.

"Hey," I called out.
Neil got up from his seat, his eyes asking me, What?
I motioned for him to come closer. "This is when you pretend we're on our honeymoon and help me up," I whispered.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, babe," he whispered back and gave me his hand, which was nice and tanned from the sun.
"Do I have to tell you everything?" I said softly as we sat down next to each other.
And my husband laughed, and so did I.

Exploring Ayutthaya

Bangkok - choked, dusty and fast-paced- wasn't always the capital of Thailand. If you had been travelling in what was then Siam in 1350, you would have heard about its new capital called Ayutthaya, a city which was built on canals and known for its beautiful surroundings.

In the 417 years of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, the Siamese capital become known as one of the largest cities in the East. Boundaries expanded, trade flourished and the people prospered. All that, however, ended in 1767 when Ayutthaya was invaded and sacked by the Burmese army. After the fall of Ayutthaya, the capital was moved to Thonburi and in 1782 it was moved again to Bangkok, which has remained the capital since.

The ancient site of Ayutthaya, located some 75 kms north of Bangkok, is certainly worth a day trip. The area is full of impressive ruins, mostly of old Buddhist temples or wats, giving one an idea of how big the old city must have been. If you like rubble and rocks and old structures like I do, I would definitely recommend a trip here. Other than learning more about Thai history, a visit to Ayutthaya will allow you to take a break from Bangkok.

Here are some of the ruins in the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site:

 Wat Mahathat

   There's a reason why the heads are missing from these statues of Buddha : the Burmese decapitated the statues when they attacked Ayutthaya

          Buddha heads, decapitated 

 The grounds of some of the ruins are actually quite peaceful

Wat Phra Sisanphet

It's easy to get to Ayutthaya- you can either hire a driver for a day or take a train from Bangkok's Hualamphong Station. The train journey to Ayutthaya takes about 90 minutes. Once you arrive, you can choose to either cycle or walk around the ruins, or even take a boat down the canals.

Getting down and dirty in Taman Negara

I was very, very uncomfortable. The cave was dark, I could slip on the rocks anytime and fall to my death and worst of all, I had just touched something soft and sticky. I wasn't sure what it was, but I had a feeling it came out of the wrong end of the bats which were flying above me.

"Don't stop, you must move on," our guide, who was a few feet ahead of me, called out. I tried not to think too much and went on.

My friends and I were in Gua Telinga, which in Malay translates as 'Ear Cave'. There was something about this cave which reminded me of the inside of an ear; the way one had to climb down into it because it wasn't at ground level, the way it narrowed uncomfortably in certain places, the way it twisted and turned before it narrowed.

I'm not exactly the caving type. In fact, I'm not any type at all. I had come to Taman Negara, Malaysia's National Park where Gua Telinga was located, to - I don't know, enjoy a bit of trekking, a bit of walking, nothing too difficult, you know, stuff like that. Unfortunately my friends were keen on caving, so I tagged along.

I had heard all sorts of stories about Gua Telinga. I'd heard that in some sections the ceiling was so low that you had to slither on your stomach to get through and that most parts of the cave were practically coated with bat droppings. But then, I enjoy a good challenge, so Gua Telinga it was.

Our guide entered the cave first. The opening wasn't very large and was only four feet high so we entered it sideways, crouching. Water was dripping down the walls, making it a little dangerous, so we held on to the rock with our fingers and toes.

The stench didn't hit me at first but as we went deeper into the cave it got stronger- an unpleasant, cloying smell which filled the air around us. I held my breath and tried to breathe through my mouth, then immediately realised that that was even more disgusting.

After walking with bent backs for about 15 minutes, the ceiling dropped even lower to barely three feet above the ground. So this is where we start crawling, I thought. With the help of our headlamps, we made our way into the narrow passage. My palms touched the cave floor, which was cold and wet. "Try not to talk, guys. It's pretty gross," someone's muffled voice came from far behind me.

We crawled for some time until finally the ceiling rose. This allowed us to relax our knees and limbs a little, although it still wasn't high enough for us to stand. The walls had also opened wider, giving us more room and air to breathe, as stale and musty as it was.

Finally the passageway opened up to a large chamber. Here, the ceiling was high, maybe about 15 feet; I couldn't really tell. We could all stand now. "Is everyone here?" asked the guide. I wiped my filth-covered hands on my clothes but they were just as dirty.

And as we re-assembled and stood there, we heard the sound of hard, leathery wings flapping all around us. Bats flew above us, back and forth from wall to wall, from ceiling to wall and back again. Those that weren't flying were hanging from the ceiling, their wings folded around them protectively like perfect black capes. There were also bats huddled together in crevices, there were bats hanging from ledges, there were bats looking at us with beady eyes; there were bats everywhere.

After going up another smaller chamber and making use of holes and cracks in the wall to pull ourselves up, we emerged from Gua Telinga a few minutes later, exhausted and in need of a wash.

I'm still not the caving type, but I really would do that again. Just remind me to bring a pair of gloves next time.

Kayaking in Krabi

I don't swim but if there's one thing I really enjoy doing in water, it's kayaking or rowing of any sort. I love the movements associated with rowing and what they bring- the slap of my paddle on the water, how it slices though the blue depths and then finally as I lift my arms, the sensation of cold water dripping from the paddle onto my shoulders.

I'm not exactly a super-athletic person but if an opportunity to kayak arises, I grab it immediately. So far I've kayaked in the waters around the islands of Pangkor, Langkawi, Gemia and Redang in Malaysia and off the coast of Kaikoura in New Zealand. 

Krabi in southern Thailand has some good kayaking options. Ask around at the travel agents - a company we found near our hotel in Ao Nang suggested a sunset kayaking tour in the mangrove forests in Ao Thalan. "There are 14 in your group," he said.

After a 40-minute drive from town, we arrived in Ao Thalan.

Kayaks, ready and waiting

A dark-skinned man who was already waiting there introduced himself as our guide. After handing out dry bags and bottles of water, he pointed to some kayaks and told us to "Go down there and take one, but be careful of the chocolate". None of us had any clue what he was going on about but we headed for the kayaks anyway. It was only when we walked down that we realised that "chocolate" was his word for the sticky, gooey, black mud at the shore, which was so thick that both my feet disappeared completely into it. 

As we struggled to lift our feet out of the squelching mud, I shot a look at our guide. He was watching us with his hands on his hips. I knew what he was thinking: 'What a pathetic bunch of city slickers'. He caught me looking at him and grinned.

As soon as all of us had chosen our kayaks, we set out.

It was about 4.30pm when we started. The weather was just nice

One of the couples in the group

As we went further out to sea, we saw two men fishing. There are lots of crabs and small fish in the area 

            Ao Thalan is also known for its lagoons and limestone caves, just don't go too close 

                                 After kayaking for about two and a half hours, the sun finally set 

On the way back, one of the kayaks veered off in the opposite direction-the person rowing in front wanted to take a photo of one of the lagoons. Our guide, who was turning out to be quite a character, shouted at them to turn around, only he used reverse psychology: "Yes, yes. You go that way, I see you tomorrow," he hollered. "Bye bye! Bye bye!"

By the time we got back to where we started, the sun had set completely. We were now 14 shadows rowing in the dark, our paddles hitting the water much more gently now. Mosquitoes buzzed around my head. 

As we got out of our kayaks and handed him our paddles, our guide reminded us once again: "Be careful of the chocolate!"