After 45 minutes sailing we arrived at Cua Van Floating Fishing Village and what a delight our evening tour of this village proved to be in a bamboo boat, sculled by a very pretty young Vietnamese wife and mother.
A community of around 1,600 people live on Hạ Long Bay in four fishing villages in floating houses plying the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of molluscs. Most of the boats in this village are equipped for squid fishing with their enormous lights that attract these creatures to the surface.
Our tour was accompanied by the laughter and greetings of the fisher folk as they prepared to leave for a night of squid fishing. It is a shame that the Vietnamese Government wants to close these villages because of a concern that the children only learn to fish and therefore have limited education. They are an amazing tourist attraction that provides an additional source of income so one hopes the Government will think again about destroying this ancient and gentle way of life.
Back on board it was soon time for dinner and a series of Happy Hours that seemed to be eternal! For the more adventurous, and those who were not totally knackered from the afternoon’s climbing exertions, there was a chance to fish for squid from the junk. I chose bed!!
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