Ha Long Bay

I’m glad we were the only ones there, because I don’t think I could have faked my way through proper manners and fit into the lifestyle of a typical boat socialite. I run through the dining room, trying not to create puddles as water drips down from my soaked dress and ponytail.  Bare feet dance over wooden floors and up the grand staircase, and I try to avoid running into the staff and causing more chaos. I only fell down the stairs once the whole time I was there, so that could be considered a small victory. Again, it was because I was running in the dining room. I just don’t understand how a person could walk gracefully down a staircase when they have the option to set off a whole series of events by screaming at the top of their lungs and then sprinting and tripping on the way down. 

So was my experience on the Ha Long Bay Cruise. It was the fanciest experience of my life, and came during a time where I was living out of a backpack. I’m still wondering how we pulled it off, but our leaders must have found some sort of deal to get us this exceptional experience. It was a much needed break in a country that felt like a break from all the wrong things. More on the cruise shortly…

The Cities

Vietnam was a weird country, in that we had very little service work and no hosts. Something felt off to me about the entire country, and even with less hard work like we had experienced in Mongolia, I found myself more exhausted than I should have been. Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi were beautiful and unique cities, and it was wonderful to interact with Vietnamese students in the park, but it was a different and harder way to interact with the culture. I dislike shopping (I know–kinda strange) and searching for places to eat, and that felt like a majority of what I did.

Ho Chi Minh might be my favorite city I’ve been to or at least my favorite in Asia, with its coffee shops, restaurants, and architectural mixes. It’s charm is captivating and District 1 welcomes its visitors with smiles and simple comforts. The city welcomed us with fireworks on their Independence day, and mopeds clogged the streets. The Dorm (our hostel) provided one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in, and a convenience store just at the bottom of the stairs and next door provided the comfort taste of Oreos. 

Hanoi was older, more crowded, and humid, but its charm could not be mistaken or taken for granted. Stepping out of our hotel in Hanoi brought us right into the thick of festival season, as we’d have to weave around the crowds of shoppers and toy vendors just to get outside. Lanterns hung from tree tops and vendors sold drinks and food on every corner. I could find banh mi within a block of where I was at all times. There was always something happening around the lake whether it was just talking to college kids, a concert, or festival events and games. I even found decent Mexican food. It was all exhausting in a different way than the previous two countries, so the boat excursion came at the perfect time. 

The Boat

The boat ride on Ha Long Bay was one of the most and least ATW-esk experiences of this trip. The spirit of ATW lies in adventure and crazy experiences. It also lies in service to the people around us and in learning about the culture. Well, if we overlook service and dilute learning, then Ha Long Bay fits into the pure ATW experience of ultimate adventure. 

We lived on a boat for 3 days and 2 nights. As a land-locked-state kid, boats weren’t a part of my life, and even on the coast they don’t fit with the life of a college student, so this was my first true boat experience. It set the bar high. Very high.

The small cruise ship was beautiful with a grand piano in the middle of the dining room and red-carpeted stairs leading up to the next level behind it. Two long tables lined either side of a buffet counter, and picture window walls provide a view of the sea. Rooms were small but comfortable, and I was thankful to have a bathroom attached, and a small private deck where I could sit and journal.

The top deck was our favorite spot with a foot pool lined by sun deck chairs and fake grass and clusters of chairs on the bow. The view from the deck was incredible, and I spent a lot of time staring into the distance at the mountainous land masses rising up out of the South China Sea.

Kayaking and Swimming

I’m scared of fish, anything in the ocean, and the ocean itself. I was happy to be in a bay rather than the open ocean, but it was still terrifying, and I might have freaked out when I was told there were jellyfish. It didn’t keep me from the adventure though. We kayaked two of the days while on the ship. I love kayaking and feel mostly okay from within my boat, so I had a lot of fun exploring and rowing through a floating village and under rocks into hidden coves. The kayaking was great, and the trial came afterward with swimming.

We had time to swim around the boat the first day and jump off the back into the water. I spent a few minutes freaking out, but Natalie grabbed my hand and dragged me off the side of the boat. The water was warm and clear enough for me to see my feet below me so I slowly relaxed. I’m not the strongest of swimmers so I didn’t stray too far from graspable objects. The whole team spent an hour jumping off the back of the boat, and I laughed thinking that I was actually able to stay in the ocean.

The next day, I took a stroke further, jumped out the window of our boat, swam to the small beach shore, followed the group out to a cove with no place to stop, and swam back to the ship. I don’t think I’ve ever swam that far all at once in my life, let alone in an ocean. The little cove was surrounded by sharp rocks that we couldn’t touch, so I had to keep treading water until I ducked under a small opening in the rocks to a more open part of the sea where a bunch of us spent time floating on our backs for rest. One of the girls got stung by a jellyfish and instead of freaking out, I swam all the way back to the ship with a group of girls to get her help. Looking back to the beach from the ship, I realized how far I’d been able to go and felt proud of myself for overcoming a fear and having an adventure. 

Biking 

If you know my family, you know that we love biking (mostly my mom). We try to bike from Dillon to Breckenridge, CO every summer, and it almost always rains on us. I got the chance to bike on one of the small Islands in Ha Long Bay, and guess what? It was raining. I’ve grown to like biking in the rain over the years, and this experience was made even better by the beautiful new place I was in. The cruiser bikes struggled up hills until we arrived in a small 300 person town and stopped for drinks and a short lesson about the place from Peter, one of our crew members. It was just a wonderful morning spent adventuring. 

Guys’ Night

Remember reading about the girls’ night in my Mongolia Post? Well, Vietnam was repayment time, and the boat seemed like the perfect place. The boys thought they saw it coming, since we told them we were going to have a fancy dinner on our last night. We set up place settings for each person alternating genders. The plan was to host a Murder Mystery game night, so while they guessed the fancy dinner was going to be guys’ night, they didn’t know exactly what was happening. Erica (Dr. Norton’s wife) started everything off with a toast to our whole team, and one of the girls followed with a toast to the boys. I left the dining room at the beginning of the toast and snuck up a back staircase to the balcony above. While Savanna gave the toast, I counted down from 10 and “AHHHHH.” 

I volunteered to kick the night off with my most bloodcurdling scream before running (and tripping) down the grand staircase to hand off the introduction paper and announce “Somebody has been murdered!” The boys were told to look under their placemats where we had hidden their assigned characters, and shock quickly turned to excitement as the game was kicked off. The guys really took on their characters, and since there weren’t enough characters for the girls to play, I circled the room asking if the guys needed anything and ease-dropped on conversations. 

When the game was completed and the murderer was discovered, we moved to the foot pool where a dance party ensued. Many of us got soaked, and that’s how I found myself in the situation I described at the top, running through the dining room in a dripping blue dress. We may not have been fancy enough for the cruise, but I think the crew was entertained and what an experience it was for us.

Reese’s Passages: 3rd Installment

Goooooooodbyeeeee VIETNAM! Hello friends, I have some more food for thought as we say our farewells to Vietnam, an amazing country with fantastic people.

While in Vietnam, we learned a lot about the tragedy that was the Vietnam War. Seeing the victims of agent orange and their children brings a sense of guilt, despite the fact that I had nothing to do with the horrors of that war. That guilt I can let go of, but I began to contemplate how I handle guilt when I rightfully deserve to feel such shame. When I’ve really created an offense and am ashamed of my acts, I find myself pushing God away as if He no longer is impressed with me. I realize everyone sins and that He still died on the cross for us anyways, but I still feel as though I don’t deserve to ask for help or forgiveness in the situation. I feel as though I am an inadequate servant.

Have you ever felt similar? Sometimes we know that everyone sins and that Jesus forgives us, but that feeling of not deserving His love sticks inside us. The devil speaks lies and is constantly feeding us those guilty thoughts. I was reading “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young, a devotional book I’ve grown up reading. One of the things Sarah talks about is that when Jesus died on the cross, God wrapped us in brilliant handmade robes of His glory. When we feel unworthy of these perfect robes, God sees us squirming uncomfortably in a gift He made with His own flesh and blood. When I am struggling to shed my guilt, it helps me to think about the fact that I am insulting the very gift that is Jesus Christ. What an offense that is! We are forgiven and that means we can take that guilt and instead of it holding us back, bring it to God and He will remove that burden. Once you have done it, God will stop the bleeding of the situation.

Stop digging yourself a deeper hole and start working with God to fill it in. God is all powerful and can turn any situation into one that proclaims His name. Despite how you feel, God is not done with you no matter your offense. Remember, Paul was actually persecuting and killing Christians , yet God changed him and used him as an integral part to spread Christianity!

…And making fun of our friend Alec isn’t so bad in comparison. “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).