The Good the Ugly and the Beautiful

---

Today we set off as our final destination for the day to HaLong Bay. This is the Beautiful Bay that is so picturesque you ask your self how can this exist so close to the Ugly!

Let me back up a bit. On our way to Halong bay we were introduced to the Ugly. The Ugly being small cities that produce coal for usage. Black is everywhere! It looked like a scene from the darkside or a black and white movie. Colorless, and dirty. It was so bad water trucks were hosing down the roads every hour to keep the coal dust down. Again add the traffic Chaos, and the hazy air which I think is perpetual and you get the picture. 70% of the people in these towns we were told , come down with lung ailments in their lifetime. Most where masks.We thought the day was overcast but it was sunny!

We finally arrived 3 hours after leaving Hanoi at the bay. We were greeted by 600 boats in the bay waiting to take us out to the 1,949 islands dotting the bay area. Once we found our boat, we were offered wine and beer. We found out that the boat (50 feet Long) good for 40-50 people was ours for the afternoon with no one else on board. I was skippering this boat! Oh WHAT A FEELING :>)..... Since they only had white wine I declined. But no problem! We approached another boat and they picked some red wine up and we enjoyed.

Our first stop was at the caves. I can only tell you that the cavern was enormous. Bigger that I have ever seen and was about 50 metres above sea level. The cave was not active so nothing anymore was forming in terms of stalictites and mites. The lime stone patterns were absolutely staggering in size and beauty. The added lighting enhanced the contours everywhere.

This cave was discovered only in the 1990's.

We then went back to the boat and sailed around the 100,s of Islands while sipping wine and eating fresh seafood, such as crab, squid, shrimp.

I recommend this as a must see place and hope that the beauty is preserved for generations.

---

Photos

Bike Ride Anyone?
This is how we visited Hanoi

Caves in Halong Bay
Best, most beautiful I have ever seen