We were in Hạ Long Bay, Vietnam for two days. The name Hạ Long means “descending dragon” and comes from a legend in which Vietnam had to fight against invaders so the gods sent a family of dragons to protect them. The family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade which formed the thousands of limestone islets dotting the bay. These islets together formed a great wall that defended against the invaders, causing ships to stroke the rocks and each other. After the victory, the dragons decided to peacefully settle in the bay. Sadly, we didn’t see any dragons in the bay during our trip – though the limestone islets were everywhere and helped paint the picture of the legend.
On our first day in Hạ Long Bay we just wandered around. We walked along the streets of the area and found a local backpacker’s pub on the rooftop of a building and people watched while we played one of our dice games and enjoyed a local beer and some spring rolls.
It was fun to count the number of motorbikes with riders both with and without helmets (slightly more people wore helmets than didn’t), watch street cleaners spray the sidewalks, and see carts being pushed by people wearing the traditional pointy hats. You really can’t beat people watching.
The next morning, John and I went on an excursion that took us out into the bay to visit a spectacular cave and kayak through the bay a bit. We boarded a classic Chinese junk boat, a style of wooden ship that in late medieval times was the world’s most advanced vessel. Our boat was called Sea Harmony.
As the tour described, we cruised through “Ha Long Bay, one of the world’s outstanding natural wonders, resembling a geographic work of art with thousands of limestone islets soaring dramatically from the clear emerald waters. This densely concentrated zone of kharst islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site… tiny islands dotted with rock arches, sheer cliffs, innumerable white sand beaches and peaceful coves. Like sculpted cartoon characters, these limestone islands have fanciful names: Heavenly Gate, Tortoise Rock, Man Head Rock, The Isle of Wonders, Tea Pot Rock and Devil’s Face.”
Here’s a picture of one of the rock formations that was said to look like a dog. You can kinda see it (or at least we could). It was funny because the tour guide seemingly couldn’t help but go “woof woof” every time he mentioned the dog formation.
Our first stop was to Thiên Cung cave (literally: Paradise cave), a cave that is associated with the ancient dragon king. Legend goes that Thiên Cung cave was the place where the dragon king’s seven-day marriage took place. To congratulate the couple, many dragons and elephants visited to dance and fly. The cave itself was amazing and the photo quite simply don’t do it justice.
After our visit to the cave, we took off for our kayaking adventure. We kayaked around the bay, through some caves and through incredibly still waters. It was, in a word, serene.
To be able to explore such an amazing place was truly unforgettable and a great way to spend a day in Vietnam.
