Published: May 23, 2007
HA LONG BAY, Vietnam
Hello to all my family and friends.
We are finishing up our 13th day in Vietnam (our 15th day away
from home). I am writing to you from my cabin on a cruise ship in
Ha Long Bay. That’s right! Today we went on a cruise for some much
deserved fun in the sun and relaxation.
The trip to Ha Long was about a little less than four hours,
which I spent a better part of sleeping on my Quick Nap Pillow. The
best purchase of the season, right coach??
We arrived at the ship around Noon and were greeted by the staff
and given fresh squeezed juices. We all quickly picked out our
lounge chairs and prepared for our departure. Once on our way,
Coach JoJo decided to play DJ with her iPod dock for all the people
in our area. It was a random selection that included Donna Summer
and the Pussy Cat Dolls. The two people on the ship that were not
in our group seemed to enjoy the music and serenades from
Coach.
The views from the ship were absolutely breathtaking. Ha Long
Bay is made up of 3000 islands with little to no habitation. There
are rock formations, caves and beautiful dark emerald green water.
There were many caves on the islands and some had been turned into
grottos. I even saw a Buddhist temple high on top of a mountain. I
can’t imagine how difficult of a hike it would be to go for
worship. Most of the girls said the only way they would go is if
they were air lifted. The people that do live in the bay do so in
floating shacks.
After cruising for about an hour, most of the group visited the
Surprise Cave. It was a great experience for us to explore the cave
and it gave us a break from the heat. Later we enjoyed the
beautiful scenery on kayaks. Sabrina and I shared a kayak and
explored a hidden cave that seemed to go about 100 feet in. The
rocks inside the cave were very slippery and we weren’t wearing
shoes, so we decided to go only a few feet inside. I guess the bats
also had something to do with it.
Before dinner, the whole group enjoyed a swim. Patti and Liz
turned the second level of the boat into a diving board by jumping
from it into the water. They definitely started a trend. Everyone
wanted to try. Mario estimated that the height was about seven
meters. JoJo promised me that if I jumped, she would too.
Little did she know, I used to jump off cliffs into limestone
quarries during the summertime and this jump was nothing compared
to those. She was a little hesitant, so we all showed her how easy
it was. She couldn’t be a liar, so eventually she did jump.
However, the best jump of the day was from Mario. He performed a
dive that we all gave a perfect 10! Good job Mario. We are all
still impressed!
After dinner, we watched the sunset from the ship. It was
beautiful to see the sky change from baby blue to oranges, yellows
and reds. The reflections on the water were amazing, I’m sure
sunrise would be just as remarkable.
The cruise line arranged for a boat to take us out for squid
fishing. So Casie [Brooks], Patti [Hardimon], Alanna [Rutan], Liz
[Austin], Sabrina and I went, but we were told it was too windy for
the squid. We were very upset they cancelled the trip. Now what
were we supposed to do? After pleading to go for a boat ride
and being denied several times, we decided to just sit in the boat
that was to take us out. It was a nice night and we just looked at
the stars. The North Star was shining so bright. I guess we looked
pretty pathetic just sitting on a docked boat though, so the crew
put together some fishing lines and hooks for us to fish off the
back of the ship. We didn’t catch anything with our fake fishing
poles, but Alanna did catch a crab and small fish with a net. The
fish ended up dying when she put it back in the water. Poor little
fish. Then it was time for bed. Our rooms were nice and
fairly spacious. The only bad thing was the shower/toilet
combo. And, the water smelled like moth balls. Other
than that, the rooms were very nice.
I must say that this cruise of Ha Long Bay is the perfect ending
for our trip to Vietnam and this whole trip is the perfect ending
to an incredible volleyball season. I am so proud to be a part of
such a special team. What an amazing season: BIG EAST regular
season champions, NCAA second round appearance and now Silver
medalists in an international tournament!
I am about to call it a night, but I want to take this time to
thank all the volleyball players and coaches for a great year. You
definitely made my job enjoyable and I am happy that I was able to
work with you for our very, very long season. I love you guys and
am so proud of all you! Have a wonderful summer and don’t forget to
drop me an E-mail or two.
Finally, I want to say hi to my family. I haven’t seen you in a
while and am excited to come home in a few weeks. So, Mom, Dad and
Addie, get ready, I will be home soon! I have so many pictures to
show you.
Good night!
Love,
Jennifer Hamilton, A.T.C.