Ha Long Bay

Everywhere we went in Vietnam, we were conspicuously tourists. If you look European, you can't hide the difference between you and the Vietnamese.  In a way, that was liberating.  If you're a tourist, go for it!
One of the super-touristic things we did was spend a night on a Chinese style junk in Ha Long Bay, one of the most beautiful places in the world.  There were about twenty other passengers, from France, England, and Australia, and we were pampered, fed exquisitely, and given plenty of time to relax.

We had a guide, who called himself "Popeye" because his Vietnamese name was too hard for Westerners to pronounce, even though it was only one syllable.
We stopped on one of the many islands that jut out of the sea, which has been leased to the company that ran our boats.
I was hoping to go swimming, but the water was too cold.
We did take a little trip in kayaks, something I'd never done before.

We stopped in the floating fishing village, where we could have bought some pearls in the store.  We settled for some tee-shirts for the grandchildren.
Popeye explained to us that the fishermen used to live in a cave on the island that we visited, but they were persuaded they would be better off in the floating village that was built for them, where they could have television and schools for their children.
As usual, it was hard to evaluate the information we were receiving.  Obviously Popeye wasn't going to tell us that the evil company he worked for had forced the poor fishermen to accept an offer they couldn't refuse.
Did the fishermen really benefit from being placed in their floating quarters?  Did they have any choice?  Do they have any chance for upward mobility?

Their life, like the lives of so many of the peope we saw, is barely above subsistence level.  None of them is going to get rich by catching fish in Ha Long Bay.  So will their children also end up living in one room floating houses and eking out a hard living from the water?