%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |    My random thoughts and reactions to my everyday life. The voices like a forum. |
| I do not know quite what happened or when , but my hubby and I now qualify for seniors' discounts at some venues. This creates a quandary; in order to save money, but not face, we have to admit to our age. HMMMM..... We definitely do not consider ourselves to be old. In this day and age ,when people as a whole are living longer and healthier lives why are 'young seniors', those in their fifties, like moi, considered 'old'?? It's so true that age is just a perception! "Maturity" is very objective/subjective, and I object! Whew, a few years have skittered by since I composed this biography block. Those "fifties" are in the rear view mirror and they are distant, fond memories. Oh, I do not plan to stop writing any time soon. |
Day 12 Halong, Vietnam Continued... The staff of the cruise ship greeted me with wide grins and thumbs extended in the "all right" position this morning. Last evening's raucous karaoke has met with their enthusiastic approval. My fellow squawkers and I wave and return the smiles. Rumour has it that our vocal ploys lured a record number of curious squid. That's fine with me, I don't like to handle bait if I can avoid it. Wait a minute, didn't mermaids lure sailors with their singing? We entrance seafood? We're in high spirits as we cruise to Sung Sot Cave, or Surprise Grotto on Bo Hon Island. I'm impressed by all the preparation the Vietnamese have taken to make this cave accessible. Our boat moored at a large dock with other water ferries. This pointed us to an installed staircase. I glance up and sigh, only about one-hundred steep steps to climb, no problem. As I sweet-talked my reluctant knees, we were jostled and pushed along by an eager flow of tourists. Once I mounted one step there was no turning back. The entrance to the cave is not impressive at all. It is but a wee slash in the rock. Our guide referred to the first chamber as the waiting room and it squeezed us together. He assured us the second chamber would be more accommodating and he did not exaggerate. This cave is humongous, massive, surprisingly ginormous! In here, there are marked pathways and lighting. Many of the formations are highlighted as if they were giant sculptures awaiting our perusal. We were encouraged to 'see' recognizable shapes in the stalactites and stalagmites. Did we not notice the sentries guarding this cavern, or the general commanding his troops? Did some of the ragged protrusions in the ceiling not resemble the spine of a dragon? Could we be staring at stone dinosaurs? This reminded me of spotting familiar shapes in cloud formations. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. I liked the coolness in the cave. It's a welcome relief. Strangely, the atmosphere felt hushed, yet the many voices echoed. I expected to roust at least a bat or two, but that never transpired. Of course, we snapped pics and copious selfies. What goes up must come down and those many steps awaited my descent. I dreaded tripping and bowling over unsuspecting stragglers like bewildered dominos. Even a mountain goat has its limitations. We returned to Titop Island named in honour of a Russian cosmonaut, Titov. I declined to re-ascend the four-hundred and fifty steps to the summit. If you've seen one gazebo...Instead, I lounged on the white-sand beach and splashed in the azure water. Since this is a virtual tour, I did not fear a sunburn. I threw caution to the warm breeze and chose to swim in a bikini. I dared to dabble in a bit of snorkeling, too. Lyn's a sly fox  💙 Carly  Apondia  WakeUpAndLive️~🚬🚭2024  Prosperous Snow celebrating  BlueMoon  and I explored the various vendors near the beach. We purchased different finger foods and combined our finds to create a makeshift picnic. Ah, sun, sand, and snacks! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
