Halong Bay

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This blog by Lucas:

Part 3 of the Vietnam 60th/30th birthday bash was HaLong Bay - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When you're unemployed and wandering the world, you tend to find time to look up little bits of information that you feel like you should know, but ignorantly or otherwise don't, like what the acronym UNESCO really stands for beyond United Nations. The answer is "United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization." We've also learned how the moon effects the tides (its closer, so the gravitational pull is stronger than the sun's), many 2-letter words that are actually in the Scrabble dictionary (oh, er, eh, ah, ex, yo, oy, etc...), why Burma is now called Myanmar (see previous TravelBlog), the difference between an alligator and a crocodile (different jaw shape / teeth / salt glands / sense organs, different families), and where babies come from (storks).

As for HaLong, it is a misty, mysterious place with stunning limestone cliffs, wild monkeys and huge caves. The marine park consists of 1,969 islands, and legend has it that long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons descended upon what is now Ha Long Bay (hence the name "Bay of Descending Dragons") and began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form barriers against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam.

We boarded a fancy Chinese junk, the Ginger, for our 2-day overnight tour of HaLong Bay. It was amazing, and it felt quite exotic to swim in the South China Sea, check out the black monkeys playing above grottos, and see the mist swirl around the islands. If we had more time, we would have spent 2 or 3 more nights on the boat and done a bit more exploring. But we must be off to Hoi An so we can pop the Champagne on the beach for Mom's 60th!

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Photos

Miss Ginger of the South China Sea
although the Vietnamese call it the North Vietnamese Sea...

Mom on the beach
Notice all the trash that floats up in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Comments

[Hayley Burridge]

Hello Happy Honey Mooners!!
Hello Jacqui and Lucas!! Loving reading about your adventures...esp when they pop up when I am at work - a great break! So glad you are having such an amazing time...it really is a once in a lifetime trip hey?! Mum and Dad are here in Tokyo at the moment and Nic left on Sunday after being here for a week. It is sooo good to have them and share new experiences with them! Must be the same for you and Lucas' parents!! All my love to you! I'll write more soon!! Love Haylesxxoxx

[Don Tran]

Hello Jacque & Lucas
We all love the photos that you have sent us. Halong Bay is incredible and my family will be there this summer time (06/24 - 06/29/07) for the first time. Our relatives in Hanoi already booked the hotels for us in Hanoi and Halong. Your photos taken in North Vietnam just irritates me since I have to wait until June 07 to have the photos like yours. You are lucky to see Hoi An. Do you have any plan to visit Mui Ne and the Tran's resort ??? Enjoy the Interpid Honeymoon (**Note: Intrepid is the name of a Balloon Catheter that once upon a time I was the project leader at Baxter).

[Don Tran]

Happy B-days
To both the 60s and the 30s. I drink the champaque over here too. Don