Halong Bay
I got up early this morning to catch a tour to Halong Bay. On the bus I met two older women who worked at the American Embassy, a young man who was the son of one of the women, and a couple from the Netherlands. The small group size was great. We saw a lot of groups doing the same trip and some had over 20 people. I couldn’t imagine traveling in a cattle car like that. The countryside was filled with rice paddies and dilapidated stone buildings. Every so often we would pass through a small village packed with Saturday activity. It was a long ride to Halong Bay (3.5 hours) and by the time we got there, we were weary. The boat was very nice and the ride out to the bay was very relaxing and reawakened us from our travel.
Rice paddies along in Haiphong...on the way to Halong City.
Halong Bay has been a World Heritage site since 1994. It’s quite beautiful with gorgeous limestone islands dotting the water. It reminded me of southern Thailand and I was half expecting a James Bond nemesis to be squirreled away somewhere in an archipelago protected by “sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads” ad plotting to destroy the world. We had a really nice lunch of spring rolls, vegetables, fresh fish and other delights. The meal was followed by a trek out to the Amazing Cave. From the outside, it looked like a small gap in the rocks, but as we walked further in, the cave opened up to us and we were marveled by the incredible limestone features from the wave-like ceiling texture to the awesome stalactites.
View from the "Amazing Caves". Halong Bay, Vietnam.
As we started back to the harbor, the boat made a stop and we were asked if we’d like to have a swim in the bay. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re in the middle of a boat lane and we saw the floating villages dumping their garbage into the water, we’d be excited by the prospect. But under these circumstances, none of us were thrilled by the idea of diving into the bay. Due to our disinterest in further exercise, we headed back to the harbor. Our journey back to Hanoi was quite long. The bus driver was more cautious on the return and our trip dragged on. We were relieved to see the Hanoi city limits. It was a long 12-hour day and if I never saw another mini-bus it would be too soon.
Rice paddies along in Haiphong...on the way to Halong City.
Halong Bay has been a World Heritage site since 1994. It’s quite beautiful with gorgeous limestone islands dotting the water. It reminded me of southern Thailand and I was half expecting a James Bond nemesis to be squirreled away somewhere in an archipelago protected by “sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads” ad plotting to destroy the world. We had a really nice lunch of spring rolls, vegetables, fresh fish and other delights. The meal was followed by a trek out to the Amazing Cave. From the outside, it looked like a small gap in the rocks, but as we walked further in, the cave opened up to us and we were marveled by the incredible limestone features from the wave-like ceiling texture to the awesome stalactites.
View from the "Amazing Caves". Halong Bay, Vietnam.
As we started back to the harbor, the boat made a stop and we were asked if we’d like to have a swim in the bay. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re in the middle of a boat lane and we saw the floating villages dumping their garbage into the water, we’d be excited by the prospect. But under these circumstances, none of us were thrilled by the idea of diving into the bay. Due to our disinterest in further exercise, we headed back to the harbor. Our journey back to Hanoi was quite long. The bus driver was more cautious on the return and our trip dragged on. We were relieved to see the Hanoi city limits. It was a long 12-hour day and if I never saw another mini-bus it would be too soon.
posted by SnowPixie at 7:30 PM
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