Far East Update 19 - Halong Bay Part 2 - Nov 2012

So lunch was now ready....

Here is what we had: we began with pumpkin soup, followed by a small cut up salad of carrots, cukes, onions, red and green peppers all julienned with a dressing of fresh lime juice, soy sauce and sugar. We then had fish patties (finely chopped carp which he chopped using two knives) stuffed with carrots, shiitake mushrooms and shallots, which was pan fried. Following that came pieces of fish fried in olive oil, with ginger, chilli peppers, soy sauce and sugar, with a side dish of steamed rice. And to end it off, he brought out a large plate of egg omelette. For dessert, we had fresh tangerines. We ate on the outside deck (there is a protected inner dining room on the lower deck) and it was delicious. You could not have had fresher or tastier fish. So far so good...Halevai vaiter. 

A word about our rooms....they are all teak wood with a double bed and with fine cotton sheets. Each room has a private bathroom and shower and the rooms are very nice. The rooms have kimonos and slippers. There are bathroom amenities as well as air conditioning.

While we were having lunch, we were heading deeper into the bay. The size of the bay is over 1500 square kms. The view is amazing and the karsts are everywhere. Some are 300 feet high. And as the day wore on, the weather became sunnier and clearer...it could not have been more ideal. This is clearly a photographer's dream!!!! At every turn in the sea you come across another amazing vista and with every change in the hour, the sun and the shadows and eventually dusk present new colours of rock and sky and sea. Thankfully I have a camera and extra digital photo cards. 

As lunch ended we came to an area which had a large sandy beach (the sand was Imported for people like us and every time there is a typhoon, it gets washed away) where we docked. We  went kayaking in the absolutely calm waters, with each couple in a two person kayak, and Zhee leading in his kayak. 

We circled one of the large limestone karsts as eagles soared overhead. When we finished kayaking, we climbed the steps carved into the side of the karst and were led to a large stalagmite cave in the mountain. 

By the time we emerged from the cave and still halfway up the mountain, it was almost sunset and we seized the opportunity to daven Mincha and to say "oseh Maaseh bereishis" because of the awesome sight. 

While we were davening, Sandy explained to Zhee that this was a most appropriate place to pray because of the awesome beauty of the place. When we returned down to the beach, he gave us some time to spend on the beach and then we boarded the tender to return to the junk. 

We would sail for another hour where we were to drop anchor for the night and have dinner. We reminded Zhee that preparations for dinner could not proceed without us there.

At 6:30 Fran and I went down to the kitchen to assist and supervise the staff in the preparation of dinner. They had decided to prepare fish in two different ways...one was to steam a whole carp triple wrapped in aluminum foil and the second was to pan fry pieces of carp. 

They seasoned the whole carp that was to be steamed with lemongrass, ginger, shallot and a bit of soy sauce, olive oil and butter. We then watched the chef clean and gut the whole fish that was to be cut into cubes and pan fried. The pan fried pieces were seasoned with chilli, ginger, onion, tomatoes and pineapple with Smirnoff vodka, salt and pepper. We also had julienned kohlrabi with lime, soy sauce and sugar; a kohlrabi soup, and steamed rice. 

It was interesting to watch them prepare an entire meal with few utensils; with nothing more than knives and pots/pans. There was no food processor or blender, no mixers...in fact no electric items were used at all. They used chopsticks to transfer the fish to the pan. 

What was most interesting with the preparation of the food, was that the chef would cut everything on the new cutting board that we provided. At one time when he was cutting the kohlrabi, a few pieces fell off the cutting board on to his stainless steel counter. He immediately threw these pieces away, because we had told him that none of our food must touch his counters.

We again ate on the upper outside deck. Everything was delicious and presented very nicely.

With two of the courses, the waiters brought out amazing vegetable sculptures that the chef had made. The first was two storks made from carrots, and radish and the second was a model of a junk made from watermelon, squash and carrots. These cannot be described in words....you will have to see the pictures.  We ended with a dessert of sliced fresh dragon fruit. 






At the end of the meal, the entire crew of 8 people, came out to meet us, and to thank us for giving them the chance to serve us. They made speeches in vietnamese which our guide translated. They then sang a song in Vietnamese; the guide then thanked us for allowing them to 
learn a new way of preparing food for Jewish people. 

Our tour operator Ruby Le had told us that morning that he had had Jewish religious travellers before but they had simply brought their food with...there had never been people who tried to find a way to cook with the staff....so for this crew this is definitely a first and they have been great. 

If we thought we would lose weight on this trip we were mistaken. Lots of fresh tasty and healthy food. 

The entire day was a pleasure. The weather was perfect, the views were amazing and the service and attention to detail by the crew all combined to make this a very memorable experience. 

Very tired, we went to our room and fell asleep quite quickly and quite early. On Thursday morning we lift anchor and head toward a local fishing village where we will visit a floating market (seems to be lots of those around) and a local primary school.

Part 3 of Halong Bay will follow....

All the best from the middle of the sea

Fran and David