We had ventured to Halong Bay, a fairyland of limestone peaks. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to and I felt like I was dreaming. As we headed into a smaller boat from our cruise liner for a day of kayaking in the caves, a Vietnamese worker on the boat looked at us – a group of five American women with no men in tow – and called us “Independent Women.” A big smile swept over my face and it remained with me throughout my travels.
Every which way you look in Halong Bay, you see pure, raw beauty. Water, caves, blue skies, lagoons – it’s magical. We spent two nights on a boat and during the day we kayaked, went swimming in the bay, hiked up hills and did tai chi at sunrise. We had luxurious Vietnamese meals full of pho, spring rolls, fried tofu and other delicacies. We met three American doctors and spent hours upon hours talking about education, work, traveling, politics and living life to the fullest.
My fellow travelers were fiercely independent women and as we spoke, I learned about one’s life in Rwanda, another living in Peru and the other saving children in Algeria. My new friends were well traveled, to say the least, and their ability to get up and go wherever they pleased struck me as unusual and terribly exciting at this stage of my life.
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