A well visited UNESCO site on the coast near Hanoi is Halong Bay. Set in the Gulf of Tonkin, there are towering limestone pillars and tiny islets topped by forest which rise from the emerald waters. Halong translates to “where the dragon descends into the sea” and legend tells that this mystical seascape was created when a great mountain dragon charges towards the coast, its flailing tail gouging out valleys and crevasses. As the creature plunged into the sea, the area filled with water leaving only the pinnacles visible. Of course the geological explanation is karst erosion, but either way, it is a poetic place.
A van from Paradise Cruises picked us up early from our hotel in Hanoi, for an almost 4 hour journey to Halong Bay. The distance was not that far — the roads were simply not that good, and were crowded with vehicles, many of which were traveling for the upcoming Tet holiday. (Today, January 27 is New Year’s Eve). There were seemingly hundreds of ships, many set out for day trips (this area is northern Vietnam’s number one tourism hub — obvious by all the boats ), and a number of them were for 1 or 2 day overnight cruises. We were on board for one night and after boarding and beginning the cruise around lunchtime, the ship headed for Hang Sung Sot cave. Many steps up and then down took us to three vast chambers, lit by colored lights and with well-worn paths. Also known as Surprise Cave, one red-lit rock, shaped like a phallus was a highlight.
Back on the ship, we cruised to Tiptop Island with an impressive 400 steps to the top for a wide view of the entire Bay. I opted to skip that shore excursion (so many tourists making it loud and crowded, and I was enjoying the peace on the ship. Later on, a cooking demonstration to make spring rolls during happy hour was quite delightful. We met a couple from Calgary who had been traveling for several months, and thoroughly enjoyed their company.
For the dinner, we were expected to don some royal garments which had been left in our rooms, so we gamely put on the long blue robes and headgear but when we got to the dining room, Donna and I were the only ones attired as such. (There was a large group from Taiwan who were on a slightly different schedule and menu and we were told that they hadn’t understood the directions). Shortly the other westerners on board joined, also in the provided gear, so we had a grand time laughing at ourselves. Dinner was delightful, and we stayed late in the evening talking politics with the above-mentioned Canadians, and a couple from Jersey in England. Quite fascinating to get a different view of both Brexit, the new U.S. President and what’s going on across the EU.
This morning we sailed back to port and are awaiting our van transport to the airport. We fly this evening to Hue, so won’t have any news or sights to share until tomorrow — New Years Day!
Those outfits are a stitch!
Love the shot of the boats coming into the bay. Gorgeous. And yay dick rock.