Cruising in Halong Bay

Although a beautiful city, Hanoi is mostly a layaway in order to visit other sites which have gained notoriety for their scenic beauty such as Halong Bay and Sapa.  Unfortunately, I did not allocate enough time during my trip for a few days trekking in Sapa. I spent my time drifting in the emerald water of Halong Bay among the limestone mountains isles. Those days drifted by like a dream …

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam.  The bay features thousands of limestone  isles in various sizes and shapes.

Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone.  The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments.

The name Hạ Long is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese  meaning “descending dragon”. According to local legend, when Vietnamese had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight against invaders. To assist Vietnamese in defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. Under magics, numerous rock mountains abruptly appeared on the sea, ahead of invaders’ ships; the forward ships struck the rocks and each other. After winning the battle, the dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth, and then decided to live in this bay. The place where the mother dragon descended was named Hạ Long, the place where the dragon’s children attended upon their mother was called Bái Tử Long island , and the place where the dragon’s children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch Long Vỹ island.

During our 3 day cruise, we enjoyed all the delicacies from the Emerald water. We kayaked into caves and between large limestone mountains. Although the weather was never on our side, the foggy atmosphere gave a mystic effect to the Bay. Our visit in the bay was not only relaxing, it was educational as we visited an entire community on the water. From fishing villages to its very own Pearl museum, Halong Bay displays not only a touristic attraction but also a sustainable way of living …