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She patted her hand on her chest. ‘Because you guys are with me. Plus they know Khiem and Hoa. Our doctors regularly have a night or two down here.’
She wound her way through some back streets and pulled up outside a hotel that was set on stilts like the hospital. Except this building looked very modern—it was white with large glass windows. They parked at the back and checked in at Reception.
‘Don’t look out of your bedroom window, you two, just get changed into your trunks, keep a T-shirt on, and I’ll meet you back down here in five.’
Joe resisted the temptation to pull back the large white curtain from the glass doors in the room, and changed quickly, taking a few minutes to cover both him and Regan in sunscreen with mosquito repellent. He didn’t want to take any chances, so he also threw some light long-sleeved tops and trousers into their beach bag.
Lien was waiting for them near the top of a flight of stairs. ‘Are you ready?’
She was smiling as she waved them up. ‘Take a look at what I think is one of the wonders of the world.’ She smiled.
Joe stepped out. In front of them were hundreds of little islets in a bay of bright green water. Some of them were topped with thick jungle growth and a whole host of them were dotted all along the expanse of the bay. Further down, there were numerous boats, motor cruisers, Vietnamese junks and smaller fishing boats. A few rowing boats were bobbing underneath them along a wooden pier. ‘Wow,’ he whispered.
Lien’s arms brushed against his as she leaned on the wooden railing alongside him. ‘Yep—wow.’ She pointed to the islets in front of them. ‘There are more than sixteen hundred islets. They’re made of limestone and they’re all different sizes. Some big enough to have their own lakes, and a large number of them are hollow inside with gorgeous caves.’ She sighed as she looked out across the bay. ‘This beauty is the result of five hundred million years of tropical downpours.’
They stood for a moment just admiring the expansive view.
Lien nudged him. ‘There are lots of tours and special cruises that go around the caves—particularly at night. Some of the caves are lit up in spectacular colours, oranges, purples, pinks. There are also lots of tours where you can go diving in the middle of the bay.’
She looked up out of dark eyes.
‘Anywhere you can do that in Scotland?’ There was the glimmer of a faint smile on her lips, even though it looked a little sad.
Joe shuddered. ‘Only thing like this in Scotland is what we call the “stacks”. Stacks of rock in the sea up and down the coastline of Scotland. Most are around the Highlands, and you definitely wouldn’t want to swim in the sea there.’
Lien shuddered. This time her face brightened a little more. ‘Let’s stick to Vietnam, then.’
They stood watching as one of the sleek white cruisers, packed with people, prepared to head into one of the sets of caves in the distance.
‘What are we going to do, Lien?’ asked Regan, practically bouncing on his toes.
She bent down to speak to him. ‘We are going to go down and take one of the rowing boats. See those islets out there? We can row over to any of them and explore. You pick.’
‘Really?’ Regan’s head whipped one way and then the next. ‘I can choose?’
‘You can choose.’ She beamed at him.
Joe’s heart swelled at how sweet she was with Regan. And it came naturally to her, it wasn’t forced at all. He could see that, and it made it more special.
He looked down at the array of boats. ‘Have you done this before?’
‘Of course. Lots of times. It’s the best way to explore the bay.’
She held out her hands, one to Joe and one to Regan, and led them down the narrow path from the hotel to the bay. They climbed into the boat they chose, Regan laughing nervously as it rocked, and donned the life jackets inside. Lien leaned back for a second, closed her eyes and just breathed.
Regan shot Joe a questioning look.
Joe couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Lien. It was almost like he was witnessing her little ritual. A wide smile spread across her face before she opened her eyes again.
Now it was all business. The business of fun.
She clapped her hands together. ‘Okay, so we’re at the quieter end of the bay. Like I told you, hardly anyone knows about this hotel in the fishing village. There are around seven hundred and seventy-five formations in a space of just three hundred kilometres in the main hub of the bay.’ She turned to Regan. ‘It’s almost like a baker stood above it and sprinkled it with chocolate chips.’
He let out a laugh. ‘Want to sit next to me and help me row?’ she asked.
‘Can I?’ Joe could see the excitement gleaming in his eyes.
‘Sure,’ he said as he took his position at the other oar. Together they pulled away from where the rowing boats were moored and made their way across the perfect green sea.
‘It doesn’t seem real,’ Joe murmured as their boat cut across the water.
It only took a few minutes for Regan to frown and say, ‘This is hard work.’
Joe laughed. ‘You think?’
Regan pointed to the nearest stack of limestone covered with thick green foliage. ‘I pick this one.’
Both Joe and Lien laughed. She shook her head. ‘Lazybones. There’s another one, just a bit further out. It’s got a cave we can take the boat inside. It’s like a private lagoon. I think you’ll like it more.’ She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. ‘Maybe we’ll spot some pirates!’
Regan gasped, a gleam appearing in his eyes. ‘Row faster!’ he exclaimed.
Around them other boats appeared. A party of around twenty kayaks glided past them, gathering at the bottom of one of the more impressive tall islets. ‘It’s a rock-climbing tour,’ said Lien as they kept rowing.
‘People are going to climb that?’ asked Regan, his eyes wide as he tilted his head back and stared at the towering stack.
‘Every day people climb that.’ She nodded. ‘This place is really popular with rock-climbers.’ She paused and s
hipped her oar. ‘Want to watch for a bit?’
Regan nodded and they shipped the other oar and leaned back in the boat, watching the intricacies of people attempting to climb a stack in the middle of the bay.
It took the climbers a while, and Joe reapplied their sunscreen and mosquito protection as they watched. Lien let him finish, then smiled. ‘How about we take a dip in the water while we wait?’
Joe leaned over. The emerald-green water was clear, but he had no idea how deep the bay was. Lien must have read his thoughts. She tapped the life jacket she was wearing. ‘Let’s just keep these on,’ she said. ‘There are no currents around here, so we have nothing to worry about.’ She turned to Regan. ‘Will I go first, then you can jump in and join me?’
Regan nodded enthusiastically, so Lien positioned herself at the side of the boat, let out a yell, pulled up her legs and jumped.
It was a perfect dive bomb. Not at all what he was expecting. In his head he’d pictured her diving into the bay in one smooth move, but of course she was wearing a life jacket, and diving properly into the bay wouldn’t work.
He already knew that Lien didn’t need the life jacket—neither did he—but she’d wanted to make sure that Regan would be happy to keep his on, which was why she’d mentioned it out loud.
‘Can I do that, Daddy?’ asked Regan straight away as Lien pushed her wet hair back from her face and bobbed, laughing, just in front of them.
She held out her hands towards him. ‘Come on, kid,’ she said, her eyes sparkling.
Regan didn’t hesitate. He let out a yell and copied Lien’s dive bomb, flying through the air and splashing into the green water.
Joe automatically held his breath, waiting for the second when Regan would bob back up.
He sighed as Regan burst back up, coughing and spluttering. There was always just that moment when his irrational brain kicked in—fearing that something had happened to his son.
