HALONG BAY

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Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site with more than 3000 islands reaching out of the depths of the Gulf of Tonkin. Ha Long means "where the dragon descends into the sea" according to my well used Lonely Planet. Basically, the legend has it that a huge dragon lived in the mountains and as it ran towards the coast it's tail scooped out crevasses and valleys as it plunged into the sea. The areas dug up by it's tail filled with water leaving the bits of land visible.

The region is stunning, for whatever reason. I booked a three day trip from Hanoi which involved two nights, one of which was on a junk and the other at a local hotel. The large, rusty brown junks provided an appropriate backdrop to this region of north Vietnam not far from the China border.

I would definetly recommend visiting Halong Bay but use a tour guide service since the hassle factor is huge. Just getting out of Hanoi is a puzzle and after the three hour bus trip to the docks of Halong where the traffic, crowds, packed junks and various other stress are at a high can leave you hummm...is annoyed to strong a word. I used a guide and from what I saw was happy I did.

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Photos

From the Deck
As we began our voyage other boats were close by; however, as we sailed deeper into the bay we were on our own.

Early Morning in Halong
Spent a comfortable night on board and was greeted in the early morning with this scene.

Fish Farm in Halong Bay
The Bay is beautiful and useful as well. These fish farms appeared along the way as we sailed along

Hello!
Kinda serious for some reason in this pic, although enjoyed the boat and staff. I ate in the room behind me and socialized there as well as on the top of the boat (what is that called)?

Help
Interestingly, it's tied down