Travel quickies w/ Hansi pt.4

I got up early this morning because we were approaching  Halong Bay. The sunrise was scheduled at 5:30 and so was my alarm on my mobile. Standing on the balcony of our cabin an overcast stratocumulus welcomed me and ruined my romantic plan of some cheesy instagram photos. Visibility was okay but micro water droplets obscured the view to the hundreds and thousands of small and rocky islands pointing out of the water surface. Definitely no weather for photography, but is this cruise ship really meant to be here in the middle of this miracle of nature? I spotted thousands of plastic canisters floating in the water, passing by the ship as we used another ten gallons of heavy fuel oil, the most toxic of all fossil fuels, within the blink of an eye.

To be honest I didn’t care much about sustainability in my life. I am definitely not wasting things but I am also not questioning a lot. Maybe I had to see this myself for some reason.

Once the ship had been securely attached to the pier the sky darkened considerably and the wind picked up. Within minutes it was almost pitch black outside and the rain poured down.

Later that day we did the standard tourist stuff with thousands of other tourists from all over the world. Halong Bay is beautiful and unique by any means but somehow I didn’t enjoy it at all. I don’t want to say it is overrated, I mean it is overcrowded. I guess a lot of locals make their money through tourism and we are all just part of this whole circle of shit. Like the two chicks that shared the same boat and who were constantly posting selfies and stories, liking, sharing and not caring about anything but themselves.

Anyway I can’t be fun or sarcastic all the time.

Cheers from abroad.

Hansi