With all the members of the Rotary Club group finally assembled in Hanoi, we had our first official group activity today: an excursion to Halong Bay. This bay in the South China Sea is about 3 hours northeast of Hanoi. Visitors are attracted by the opportunity to cruise among 3,000 karst peak islands. After a long bus ride, we boarded a comfortably appointed wooden touring boat (one of dozens in the harbor) and set sail. We enjoyed lunch on board, and then gawked at the spectacular scenery. It was a foggy day, so the peaks were obscured until we got close to them, adding to the mysterious feeling of the place. We also toured a huge limestone cave discovered by a farmer about 15 years ago; it was nearly 1,000 feet from floor to ceiling and quite spectacular.
We had an intriguing stop en route to Halong Bay. We arrived at the Truth Beneficience Beauty Company, and were told by our guide that it was a government-run handicraft workshop whose employees were all disabled by Agent Orange. The proceeds of our purchases would provide funds for their care. Several hundred workers were carving giant marble statues of questionable taste, doing embroidery, polishing gemstones and making jewelery, sewing garments, and so on. The showroom was light, airy and huge, with sales people hovering about. We were struck by the number of workers who appeared to be very young -- perhaps 10 or 12 years old. Prices were all in US dollars, and were quite high compared to those we've seen for the same merchandise elsewhere.
We ended the evening with a fantastic dinner hosted by the local and US travel agencies that arranged the details of the Rotary visit. Tomorrow, we get started on the "work" part, with visits to businesses and a university on the agenda.
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