special feature on halong bay luxury cruise, the emeraude, in star advertiser magazine august 2014

8/12/2019 Special feature on Halong Bay luxury cruise, The Emeraude, in Star Advertiser Magazine August 2014

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A view of Halong Bay, Vietnam. The bay with its about 3,000

islands is said to be one of the most beautiful spots on earth. The

stunning rocks were formed over thousands of years by wind and

water. The name Halong means literally The place, where the

dragon emerges from the water.

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Azure like itVietnam's Halong Bay is a treasure, and experiencing it aboard a replica paddle-wheeler isbeautiful

By Ed Rampell

Special to the Star-Advertiser

After an hour of downhill and uphill hiking

immersed in semidarkness,we finally emerge out

of the bowels of Sung Sot Grotto, or Surprise

Cave, into the sunlight, greeted by a sensational

surprise: an eye-popping panorama from high over

Halong Bay. We pause to absorb the

otherworldliness of the panorama. Countless

karsts greenery-crowned limestone islets and

a flotilla of cruise ships, trawlers, junks and

sampans sprawl across the 900-plus-square-mile

bay on Vietnam's northeastern coast in the Tonkin

Gulf. The fleet's crown jewel is the Emeraude, a

steamer our tour group sets sail on for an overnight

expedition to this spectacular spot.

Halong Bay surely ranks among Earth's most

beautiful places: It was designated a UNESCO

World Heritage Site and voted one of Earth's seven

natural wonders by Zurich-based New7WondersFoundation.

The drive from Hanoi through Vietnam's tropical

countryside, passing iconic Indochinese images

rice paddies, peasants wearing Southeast Asian

"non la" (conical hats) and water buffaloes takes

three hours. The minibus stops at the Emeraude

Cafe, where we shove off in a tender to board the

historic paddle-wheeler anchored in Halong Bay.

Due to its fabled past, the Emeraude, a four-deck,

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Best Halong Bay CruisesAll Cruise Promotions

- Agent Rate Save your time & money. Contact

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Halong Top Luxury CruisesHalong Violet -

Summer Promotion Great Saving offers. Direct

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IF YOU GO ...

HALONG BAY

Emeraude: www.emeraude-cruises.com

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism:

www.vietnamtourism.com/e_pages/heritage/halong.asp

Cathay Pacific: 800-233-2742;

www.cathaypacific.com/us. Flies nonstop direct from

San Francisco to Hong Kong, where passengers can

connect with Cathay Pacific's sister airline Dragonair

for daily Hanoi and Da Nang flights:www.dragonair.com.

flat-bottomed paddle boat steamer, is an ideal

vessel for adventurers embarking on this island

odyssey.

The Emeraude was originated by three

entrepreneurial, swashbuckling brothers who left

Bordeaux, France, in 1858 to go east. The Roque

brothers' Indochina exploits are "Terry and the

Pirates" stuff. As the French empire expanded, so

did its enterprises, from opium to timber. In 1890

Chinese buccaneer Luu Ky kidnapped and torturedthe two Roques.

By the early 20th century the Roques

launched four single-wheel paddle

steamers, each named after gems,

delivering freight, mail and

passengers at Halong and Red River

Delta. The Emeraude provided electric

lights, fans, refrigeration and a

darkroom for photographers lured by

Halong's charms. In 1937, returning

from Hai

phong, the Emeraude struck

an underwater rock and sank. In 1999

businessman Eric Merlin stumbledupon vintage postcards depicting the

steamer at a Parisian flea market.

Inspired, he tracked down Roque

descendants and build an Emeraude

replica in Hai

phong (although today's paddle wheel is just for show). By 2003, Merlin launched the

reconstructed Emeraude, reincarnated as a cruise liner.

Our first hours at sea are spent sightseeing, voyaging amiably if not aimlessly amid this exquisite

archipelago. We wend through an amazing maze of whimsically shaped islets. The cerulean seascape

is so stunning and tranquil, it seems like we're sailing across a symphonic poem composed to celebrate

nature's raptures. The weather is picture-perfect as karsts slip by one by one.

The tranquility belies the mythology and history of the region. Halong means "descending dragon";

according to mythology, Vietnam's ancient gods dispatched jewel-spitting dragons to repel Chinese

invaders. The U.S. Navy mined the bay after the disputed Gulf of Tonkin incident 50 years ago thismonth spurred combat between the United States and Vietnam.

Our port of call is Bo Hon, an island located roughly in Halong Bay's center, where Sung Sot Grotto is.

To enter one must trek a tree-lined path up the karst, which requires hardy footgear and the vigor to

climb up and down hundreds of smoothed stony stairs. As guides lead the way through Surprise Cave,

our leader notes various rock formations with a laser pointer, identifying a Buddha, monkey, bird and

phallic symbol sculpted into Sung Sot's stalactites and stalagmites.

Our tour group, sometimes slowed by a human traffic jam, walks along the cave's polished floor and up

and down its many steps for 60 minutes. One of Halong's largest karsts, Bo Hon is a range of

connected islets that also includes Dong Tien Lake, Luon Grotto and Virgin Grotto, but we didn't

glimpse them or Bon Ho's monkeys or deer although we saw stalactites resembling them.

Returning to the anchored Emeraude, some passengers swim, but I'm deterred by jellyfish warnings. I

embark on a kayak expedition with Colm Fitzgerald, a younger, intrepid Ventura County, Calif., rockclimber. We're dispatched from the paddle-wheeler's bow with little preparation and without a guide.

Quickly we discover our kayak's seats aren't properly set up, causing me some back pain. Cautiously

we head for a floating fishermen's village near a distant karst. But a chop in the water and discomfort

caused by the supportless seating lead us to change course and circumnavigate our portion of Halong,

careful not to crash into the karst.

Sea hawks soar overhead. Colm and I paddle together or take turns when one wants to shoot pictures.

However, at an especially scenic site both shutterbugs simultaneously reach for our cameras, nearly

capsizing the canoe. Six-foot-three Colm's rapid response saves us from going overboard, sparing our

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3/3



Nikons.

We paddle toward a pearl farm surrounded by floats fastened to cultivated

oysters, but, hampered by uncomfortable seating, we finally return to the

Emeraude. There, although several crewmen sit nearby, only one bothers

seizing the kayak's prow and, with prodding, helps me safely out of the

slippery craft. Nevertheless, there were moments adrift on the kayak,

swaying on swells immersed in stellar scenery, when I felt a

transcendental sense of serenity and connectedness to the universe.

Back aboard the Emeraude, my spacious, air-conditioned cabin, with adouble bed, is quite cozy. Through large windows I can watch karsts

dreamily drift by, though I prefer sunbathing on deck in a padded wicker lounge chair, cooled by sea

breezes.

Emeraude dining consists of sumptuous buffets, with attentive waitresses serving beverages. Lunch

and supper offer Vietnamese and European cuisines including seafood, poultry, beef and vegetables,

with breakfasts of succulent tropical fruits, yogurts, cereals, croissants, bread and omelets.

Between meals, jam or chocolate crepes are cooked for passengers on the sun deck. A chef teaches

passengers including Americans, Canadians, Spaniards, Brits, locals how to cook Vietnamese

cuisine, such as shrimp spring rolls, dazzling guests by deftly sculpting tomatoes with a blade.

Shipside activities include daydreaming, stargazing, sightseeing and picture-taking, with light altering

one's perceptions. After sunset, anchored off Hang Trong or Drum Cave (so-called because of the

wind's sound blowing through it), the illumined cruise ship resembles a birthday cake ablaze withcandles. Cruise-goers awake the next day to karsts that appear black and white in the early morning

light. Tai chi lessons commence on the sun deck at about dawn. Good morning, Vietnam!

Our expedition ends with a morning idyll peregrinating through Halong's islets, which now appear to be

the gleaming jewels spit out by those descending dragons of lore. If one could assemble these jagged,

jade jigsaw puzzle pieces, the puzzle's picture would portray paradise. Yet, as we steam for shore,

some trash floats by. Recalling crowds at Surprise Cave and sighting looming beachside high-rises, I

ponder how long before Halong goes the way of other paradises lost.

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special feature on halong bay luxury cruise, the emeraude, in star advertiser magazine august 2014

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