General consensus was to stay three days in Halong Bay, if you could. With half-day journey times either end, it seemed sensible. So glad I did. Five “three dayers” left the others to go out on the day boat.
It was raining hard:
… but we went kayaking anyway and saw a different side of Bai Tu Long Bay. With nobody else around, we explored caves and islets.
After lunch the sun came out:
… so we did it all again (different route, of course). Seeing the place in both weather conditions, I felt like I got a really good sense of the place. Kayaking through Bai Tu Long bay was definitely a highlight of my trip:
Then swimming off the boat:
And I’ll let some more photos of the place speak for themselves:
Only thirty percent of farmed oysters actually produce a pearl. And only ten percent produce “perfect” pearls – “perfect” is defined by the colour (which depends on the mother pearl) and evenness of shape. We saw the whole process, from the nucleus (created from ground oyster shell, if you remember from the one on Phu Quoc island?) being inserted into the oyster:
To the “incubation” for one month in calm waters:
And then transfer to the moving water for growing (between three and six years, depending on the type and size):
Then the suspense as they’re opened:
The best pearls are then graded, with each label detailing the grade (A to AAAA), colour (signified by the letter preceding the grade), the type (written in words) and the size (in mm):
The farm is actually Japanese owned, and these oysters are shipped all over the world.
Later that evening, I was introduced to Shaheena, who is also travelling alone. She travels the world finding precious “stones”. Once she’s found some, she’ll stay in the area for a few days and sketch designs which she takes to the jewellers who make up her creation and ship it to her.
She’d bought three pearls that morning. Back in the US, she’s built up a business (often through “I love your necklace, can you get me one?”) and resells the pieces for a 500% mark up. With a background in sourcing aeroplane parts, she’s redirected her energies to something she’s more passionate about. She was keen to tell me about the quality of the places she stays, and she clearly hobnobs with her target audience, but the sheer tenacity involved in doing something like this fascinated me. It makes you stop and think. If she can do it, why can’t I? Well, you know, not that particular domain, obviously, but she was interesting and inspiring and I enjoyed her company very much.
Here’s the by-now-obligatory sunset shot to end another wonderful day:
