The Halong Bay Tourist Experience: Room for Improvement

The first time I went to Halong Bay (HLB) in 2005, I was traveling in an entourage of 9 people that included my 'rents, 2 sisters, father's parents, an aunt and her 5-year-old son. We were nearing the end of our trip and The Bay was the last stop on our itinerary. We stayed in one of the new hotels in the city, and our tour operator had arranged for us to take a junk out for a half-day cruise. What happened on the water that day has remained as the worst experience that we've ever had traveling as a family. Ghosts in Burgundian chateaus. Stomach bugs in Guadaloupe. Rained out Jamaica. None compare to being swindled on the water by your tour operator. 

We chose to eat lunch on the water and buy our food from one of the floating villages. Sounds quaint, right? These villages are scattered through HLB and are no more than a series of rafts strung together, some of them sheltered and others open to the elements. The fishermen keep their stock alive in nets sunken into the water. As our purveyor pulled out our selections and bagged them up, you could hear them heading to their death. The sound of the octopus gasping for air is one that will never leave me. 

When we were hit with the bill, we realized that we had made a grave mistake. We failed to ask the cost of our selections and, therefore, waived our right to negotiate. The fish were dead by this point. The cost of our lunch, around US$150, was almost equivalent to the price of the boat rental. And after a heated argument, chiefly undertaken by my little 'ole grandmother against the beefy fisherman, we knew that we had been duped by our tour guide, who never made a peep in our defense. He was getting a kick-back from the fisherman for our purchase we surmised. 

After returning to Halong Bay this past week, I can confirm that nothing has changed; the system of highway robbery has only gotten more sophisticated. 

I booked a trip through an operator that positions itself as a leader in the field of responsible tourism with progressive environmental standards and a commitment to cleaning up HLB. Their program, "For a Green Halong Bay," pays villagers to collect trash on the water. The firm was started by two young Vietnamese guys, who know how to position themselves in the marketplace. Their web presence is exactly what a westerner wants to see, and their customer service in the pre-transaction process is superb. Their pricing is also quite competitive -- the overnight trip for one-person cost US$105. I've heard trip prices for less but believe in supporting organizations with staunch social and environmental stances. 

However, when it came down to go time, the actual execution of the trip is exactly the same as all the other operators in Halong Bay, save for the boys on the Emeraude, who we will cover in depth at a later point. There is no differentiation in terms of the product except for the cost. All the boats are relatively similar, follow the exact same route, and offer the same amenities. For now, operators offering trips to HLB should be weighed on their pricing structure. 

Halong Bay is one of Vietnam's greatest attractions. It's a nominee for one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, and receives over a million visitors each year. Unfortunately, these visitors get shuffled through like cattle. The model for tourism to The Bay is definitively mass tourism, which it should be; everyone should see the limestone rock formations bursting through the surface of emerald green water. The myth alone of how they were formed is fascinating: the legend has it that a family of dragons from the heavens spat out jewels and jade into the bay which created the mountains and provided the Vietnamese protection from Chinese invaders.   

Here's how it works: 

Travelers have to get to HLB first. The most common route is from Hanoi by minivan. The trip is a little over 3 hours and goes by quite quickly. You arrive at HLB's central tourist dock, where dozens of junks mill about returning and departing with passengers. You can arrange a boat when you arrive, particularly if you're only looking to do a day trip, or you can use a tour operator to arrange one for you in advance. The nice thing about using an operator is that they are usually accompanied by a guide, who does all the work for you and just tells you when and where things are to happen (i.e. what time the minivan picks you up from the hotel; finding the boat and its captain at the dock; telling you when lunch and dinner are; and making sure you get back on the right van to return to Hanoi.)

From the main dock, the boats head on out to the open water and make a stop at a gigantic cave featuring the Thien Cung Grotto, and then transport their passengers to a swimming beach before throwing anchor in a bay for dinner and an overnight slumber. The cave thing is cool. Really. It's like a lunar experience. Not much to improve upon here. Even on the second time around, I was amazed and would do it again. But here are 3 areas for innovation. 

Environment -- This is a major problem throughout the bay and not just in the jurisdiction of the tourist boats. The environmental issue here concerns solid and liquid waste. The problem with wastewater is that it was suggested to me that the only boat that actually processes its wastewater (i.e. doesn't pump it into the bay) is the Emeraude. After hearing this, I was glad to have not jumped into the water for a morning swim. But even worse, people are using the water as a trash can, and the finger often gets pointed at the floating villagers and purveyors drifting around. Exhibit A: See the photo below of the boat lady with the bag floating nearby. Suggestions: 1. Make it mandatory for all boats to have a wastewater treatment plan. (I actually need to fact check this one.) 2. Support trash clean up programs with monetary incentives. 3. Create a reverse cowplough net that would collect debris as a boat travels through the water. (I stole this idea from the owner of the Emeraude who casually mentioned it in passing.) 

Food & Beverage -- Once you get on the boat, you are at the mercy of its captain, crew and chef. I expect the quality of the fare ranges from boat-to-boat. But my issue is mainly with the wine and spirits prices. I didn't see a bottle of wine for less than $50, by-the-glass is not an option and the only bottle priced below $50 was from Dalat, a city in Vietnam that is historically known for its subpar wine. Think of a really bad Beaujolais Nouveau and then add some unwanted acidity and a bouquet of salinity. This is Dalat wine at its finest. Suggestion: 1. Lower the prices for the wine and beer and you will have many more takers. Everyone in the restaurant industry knows that if the alcohol sales are taken out of the mix, the operation will be in the red. Right now, I doubt any of these boats are doing any real business in the sale of alcohol. My entourage sidestepped the high liquor levy by buying beer from one of the peddlers at the cave, the cost of which was 3 times less. 2. Provide at least one complimentary bottle of water for each guest. I was never told that I should bring my own water or face extortion for one of life's basic necessities. 

Overnight Anchoring -- When the junks park for their overnight stay, they all choose the same bay. I counted no less than a dozen boats within in earshot of us. Even worse, the chosen area was in clear view of 2 cargo ships parked idly in open water. So here you are, in the middle of what Vietnam hopes to be considered as one of the "New Natural Wonders of the World," and surrounded by pollution: noise, light and environmental. Suggestion: 1. Assuming that the area for overnight anchoring is designated by the authorities, the suggestion is to rezone the area allowing boats to stray from this centrally located bay. The reason they park here in the first-place is unknown to me. I guess if you want that feeling of peace and tranquility, you have to get out in a kayak and travel off the beaten path. 2. In the morning, when you are offered a chance to get out in a dicky with a guide, they take you through a water tunnel into a secluded bay. This is awesome. You get a sense for the magnitude of these water-born mountains. You hear the sound of cicadas, birds and wind blowing through the trees. And then all of this comes to a puttering crash when one of the guides decides that rowing is too hard and that it's much easier to zip his passengers through with a motorized boat. Find a way to offer guests at least one moment of peace and quiet. Create at least one memorable experience where guests get to experience the purity of nature. Even if it is only for 10 minutes, idle away from the other boats and just sit there. Magic happens when you transport people into the unknown, beyond manmade pollution.  

In conclusion, let me say that I hope to turn my griping into action-based solutions. Ha Long Bay will remain as one of Vietnam's most impressive attractions and will always be on my list of recommendation for things to do in the country. But as the volume of visitors rises, the levy is threatening to break. The environment is at risk, and tourist satisfaction, for this traveler at least, is on the rocks. The tourist experience can be improved dramatically in HLB and only requires a little pressure from the operators, who are the ones ultimately responsible for customer satisfaction. 

Speaking of which I emailed my tour operator from the boat on my blackberry saying that I was disappointed in the wine list pricing and suggesting that I should have been informed of the situation. I still haven't heard back from them. Guess I won't be getting a guest satisfaction survey....

The Cult of Authenticity

The lap of luxury is always an inviting place. During a recent trip to the central coast region, I had a chance to visit one of Vietnam's most celebrated luxury resorts: The Nam Hai, designed by Reda Amalou of AW2. Operated by a world renowned management company, the resort occupies a stretch of China Beach that was previously untouched by development. Boasting a 2008 design award from Travel + Leisure, the property's architectural details are outstanding. Amalou rejects "copy and pastiche" and has  created something truly authentic, innovative and, at times, jaw dropping. The property features a blend of traditional Vietnamese garden design and contemporary standards, and the villas themselves are an exemplary study on how to create a superior guest experience. There longer one stays in a hotel room, the more faults they will find with the accommodations; but this was an experience where we discovered unique innovations throughout the duration of our stay -- which we extended because it was too hard to leave. While the hi-tech amenities of the room (e.g. ipod with surround sound) are exceptional, the simpler design elements like lighting and sightlines are what make the villas so inviting.  

A stone's throw from the ancient town of Hoi An, an UNESCO World Heritage site,  The Nam Hai will soon share the beach with a slew of new luxury resorts. Along the coastline between The Nam Hai and Danang, the commercial capital of the central coast, there are a handful of developments emerging from the sand: J.W. Marriott, Hyatt, and The Viceroy only to name a few. 

Once the R&R location for U.S. soldiers during the war, China Beach for the time being is occupied by fisherman enjoying life and trying to feed their families. Just outside the walls of the resort, there is a stretch of beach shacks that I assume double as a place to sleep and hangout. At dawn, I found several men catching crabs in the sand and, when the tides permitted, some of them launched their bamboo buckets to catch fish on the open sea. The young children were kicking around a lightbulb in the sand and preparing to go to school. While the quality of life for these beach dwellers is nothing to marvel and certainly in need of an improvement, their way of life is being threatened by the developments on the horizon. 

When I returned to the village the following afternoon, I found the men, ranging from their late teens to mid-50s, drinking rice wine and eating crabs and lizards -- or that's what the figure they drew in the sand depicted. They invited me to join them, and not one to insult, I partook in the festivities. Even though our communication was limited to body language and my 2-lines of Vietnamese ("My father is Vietnamese, and my mother is American"), the experience was one of the more rewarding moments of my trip. 

A recent article in The New York Times' T Style Magazine provides a great perspective on why I enjoyed this so. It's the fact that people yearn for human contact. And when we travel, we want authentic experiences and interactions with local people. Just like the environment, native customs and cultures are also being affected by development; they risk becoming extinct. In a year's time, there will be more resort accommodations in central Vietnam to tickle my fancy, but my boys at the lizard shack will most likely be gone. 

Don't be a Fool, Stay in School

We've been getting a little nerdy over here and thought we'd share with you what's on our mind. As we prepare research for our next whitepaper on Vietnam's tourism industry, we decided to hit the ivory tower and learn a thing or two from seasoned academics. 

Up next? We go into the field (i.e. resort hopping) to get the goods (read: a tan). 

Branding 101

The graphic and web design field is in its infancy here in 'Nam. Only recently have companies warmed to the idea of effective brand management due to fiercer competition caused by the opening of the markets. Vietnam's consumers now have choices, and figuring out what moves them is an interesting business to tackle cross-culturally.  

If all human beings and their perceptions functioned like the elements on the periodic table, we'd be a boring lot of blokes. Luckily, balancing the equation of consumer behavior is as fun as N+N+O. 

I asked my guru of visual culture to refer me to some thought leaders in the branding world; she passed me over to a handful of sites that have interesting editorial and heady links. But Kolbrener's periodic table for branding terms impressed me most. 

VIETNAM GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL

In the United States alone, buildings account for: 

- 65% of electricity consumption

- 36% of energy use

  - 39% of greenhouse gas emissions

- 30% of raw materials use

- 30% of waste output and

- 12% of potable water consumption

The United States Green Building Council and its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program have been in the back of my head recently. 

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a going away party at the US Consulate in Saigon for an officer who was jumping ship and heading to Iraq. Although his station is in a northern territory and his job scope is primarily logistical work, moving to a war zone is ballsy. You either have huge cojones or work for The Company to make that decision.

I got into a conversation with the guest of honor, and we were chatting about how the US Government reclaimed most all of its pre-1975 land holdings when it reestablished relations with Vietnam in the '90s. The consulate compound in Saigon was one of the properties, however, that it did get back. But of particular interest, he mentioned that he was clearing his desk and passing off unfinished projects, one of which concerns a plot of land in HCMC to be developed for residential purposes.  

The building will be a residential property with about 10% of the apts reserved for the consulate. The State Department intends to work with a private developer to build and finance the project and offer the remaining 90% of the units to the developer to sell as Grade-A condos. Ultimately, the handful of developer bids will go to congress for final selection. 

I asked the officer about whether or not the new building would be required to meet a LEED Silver Rating per its energy consumption as required for all new federal buildings after the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. His comment was that security is usually the primary concern of federal buildings outside the motherland and that, to his knowledge, there were no LEED buildings maintained by the State Department outside the United States. 

However, for this project, the primary use is not for the State Department, and therefore, security is not the ultimate concern. Considering that green buildings hit the trendy high road years ago, wouldn't a developer's proposal that touted a LEED certification appeal to the statesmen on Capitol Hill?

I saw news headlines in the making and passed this intel along to a prominent residential developer here in Vietnam, but the prospect fell on deaf ears. Ultimately, people are all about the Benjamins, and from a developers perspective, why would they want to spend more on construction and upfront consultancy fees, in the form of a LEED certified architect, when their exit strategy is to sell, therefore forgoing with any recouped costs achieved through reduced energy consumption. The tenants get the reduced bills, not the developers. 

Ok. So what it boils down to in this scenario is the classic tale of economics: supply and demand. If consumers want it, the market will deliver it. And if more people watched Gore's Oscar winning powerpoint presentation, the demand for green buildings would surely outstrip supply.

But to present the facts and figures specific to Vietnam's nascent green building demand, please allow me to point you to CBRE's "Vietnam is Ripe for Green" presentation delivered by Marc Townsend, known for his rapturous speeches, and a "2008 Green Buildings Market Report", delivered by Thor Kerr of BCI Asia at the Futurac Conference in March.

Oh, and there already is a LEED Certified building outside the US, and it belongs to the State Department. Congratulations Bulgaria. 

Gulliver's Travels

We seem to be all about The Economist as of late and suggest you get savvy to the pub's travel blog for highbrow coverage of the dirty business that is travel.  

So far the punters are heavy on the airline industry, but with links to interactive data charts like the Chicago Tribune's "Survival of the Fittest" graph, we've hit pay dirt. 

THE POP UP

This just in: A guerilla retail store in NYC debuts "Made in HK," a collection of independent designers from the former British outpost.  

Innovations in retail are necessary to keep the attention of us finicky consumers. Unsatisfied with the simple window treatment change, the industry invented the pop-up shop. The sole strategy of said stores is to create demand through impermanence. What is here today will be gone tomorrow. Delta Airline's Song and Target  both made wakes in '04 with successful pop-up campaigns in New York. Other luxury brands like Comme des Garcons have taken the concept mobile with a roaming store that hits major capital cities around the globe. Even Wired magazine gets in on the game with an annual holiday shop of its own in SoHo.   

Having had the pleasure to work with the illustrious and foul mouthed Tony "F*@!King" Arcabascio, I have seen the grueling process of putting together a store just to tear it down. In collaboration with Cushman & Wakefield and The New York Observer, Arcabascio and the guru of concepts, Pam Bristow, curated a series of fashion & art exhibitions with a capsule collection of trendy retail items. All said and done, we used over 25,000 issues of The Observer for the installation (see: the gigantic wall) and then recycled the entire lot just 7-days after throwing it up -- with no help, I might add, from Mr. Bones stretching his indy quad below.

 

I See Dead People{'s Books}

Library Thing, a massive network of bibliophiles, has a subgroup dedicated to cataloging the libraries of celebrity corpses. From Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin to Marie Antoinette and Tupac Shakur, the group's raison d'etre is to make public the reading lists of the departed. 

Having put together a library in the former home of Eugene O'Neill and trying to incorporate some of his reads,  I understand the difficulty of the task at hand.