6/13/2013

Halong Bay


On our trip to SouthEast Asia, we spent a two days on Halong Bay.  This is a destination which name translates as "Where the Dragon Descends into the Sea."  There are a lot of myths surrounding how Halong Bay was created.  Halong Bay is a very magical place and like no other. 

We took a four hour bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay.  It was fun to see the Vietnam country side along the way.  We witnessed near car/pedestrian accidents.  The chaos reached new levels when cows walked on the road and then decided to stay. 

We took little motor boats out to our "Junk Boats."


 




Thousands of islands with different forms look like jewels coming out of the water.  This area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes.

Steve and I on the balcony of the boat, we are getting ready to go exploring the nearby caverns. 

We hiked to the top of the mountain.  The views were magnificent. 

It is hard to believe that we got to experience such beauty. 



Amazing that nature made this heart in the stone. 


 
Soon after our arrival onto our boats, the  people from the floating fishing villages come with boats filled with their wares. 
Entire villages of people live on the water.  The boats are both their livelihood and homes.  
Children even attend school on a boat. 

 
 
 








 
 
 

 

 




 Steve taking a dip at Sunset in the Emerald Bay.





The inside of our cabin. 




Steve and I kayaked through the limestone islands. 
 
Well, actually Steve kayaked, I took in the beauty

Halong Bay is truly a magical, beautiful place in the world.  It is a "World Heritage Site," so it is protected.  You can see some environmental problems ahead because of the rapid development of tourism, illegal hunting, overfishing and water pollution. 


 
After a peaceful night of sleep on the calm waters,  we enjoyed a cup of coffee on the balcony taking in a few more moments of the beauty. 


We also participated in Sunrise Tai Chi.
 
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment