Ha Long Bay

Kia Ora!

Ha Long best friends

She had no English skills; I speak no Mandarin. Such was the camaraderie on our Ha Long Bay cruise with Indochina Sails, we became good friends using eye contact, smiles and touch to communicate, with a bit of help from her three children who had some rudimentary English. She gave me her card and invited me to visit her in Taiwan. But it is in characters and I cannot read it.

Our Indochina Sails Boat

Two days and one night was plenty of time to enjoy other passengers relaxing on the top deck. We requested this tour on the recommendation of our son, J and his friend Lynne, who visited here several years ago.

Souvenir Opportunity Shipside

A sandy beach, mountain climbing and cave exploration were activities offered on shore. I got half way up the mountain for the great view and decided that was enough on a hot afternoon. Tuan, the host for this journey, personally made sure I made it through the well maintained cave walk, a reminder that KC and I were the oldest passengers and look our ages. Sighhh. KC, suffering foot problems, passed on both excursions.

On our boat tour of one of four floating fishing villages, I imagined what it would be like to live in this confined space on the water. Children here swim before they walk and by age five can row themselves around the village using hands or feet.

Floating Village

Young Rower

The Local Grocer Afloat

The name Ha Long translates to descending dragon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These giant limestone monoliths that lift out of the ocean were formed 500 million years ago. The ancient Vietnamese living here fought naval battles in 1288 AD defending against Mongol and Chinese invaders.

Tour Boats Tuck In for the Night

Threats now come from damage by tourists and sport fishermen. Our boat was certainly not alone in the bay; there seemed to be hundreds of tourist boats each carrying a multitude of passengers.

For more information, Wikipedia has what appears to be a thorough and knowledgeable entry on Ha Long Bay .

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler in Vietnam