Of Food Poisoning and Ha Long Bay

I've always been proud of myself for never getting sick on local food when I travel. Ha Long City marks the place where my luck runs out.

I've always eaten street food on all of my trips and this one is no exception. I've eaten pho at the dodgiest-looking street stalls, had iced drinks at the side of the road, and eaten meals at truckstops. Never had a problem. So I suspect nothing when I sit down for a simple meal of fried rice at a brightly-lit and clean restaurant in the touristy part of Ha Long City. Everything goes well.

Until 2 am when I wake up with a jolt. Something isn't right. A storm is crash landing in my stomach. I bolt up, then scramble to the bathroom. After praying to the porceline god, I sit on him for a good while. Dragging myself back to bed, I curse the restaurant. An hour later, another session. This repeats several times through the night.

By morning, I am exhausted, but feel that the worst is over. I manage to eat a couple of baguettes and keep them down. Feeling a bit better, I debate whether to go on the three-day-and-two-night boat trip around Ha Long Bay I booked the night before. The boat is supposed to be big and the bay calm. I don't want to be holed up in the hotel room for a whole day, might as well have some company while I recover. So I decide to go.

Ah, glorious Ha Long Bay! The most glowing superlatives have been used to describe the bay with karst islands jutting out of perfectly calm green waters. And this time it doesn't disappoint, either. It almost makes me forget that I am still sick. I lay in the dining cabin/lounge, sip water, and watch the islands drift by. The little bit of rice I had for lunch is staying down. For the rest of the afternoon, I make a few more trips to the toilet, but at least now everything is only going one way. I start to breath a sigh of relief.

At dinner, I feel well enough to eat a bigger meal. Afterwards, I lay down again while the crew watch movies and other passengers chat. After a while, I decide that I should socialize with other people. As I sit up, I feel my dinner surge upward. Running downstairs to the outside, I double over the side of the boat, just in time for everything in my stomach to erupt through my mouth and nose. When that is over, I feel immensely better and limp back upstairs. A couple of sympathetic passengers hand me activated charcoal pills. And for the rest of the night, I actually feel quite well.

The next day, the storm in my stomach has all but dissipated. After breakfast, a local guide takes us on a two-hour hike through dense jungle up one of the peaks on Cat Ba Island. In the afternoon, our group goes out for some kayaking around the outlying karst islands for a couple of hours. My appetite is back! So it was the right decision to get on the boat after all.

By the time we get back to Ha Long City at noon on the third day, I am ready to jump on that bike and get going again!