Halong bay, Vietnam

One of the most beautiful places I ever saw, Halong bay has the reputation as one of natural world wonders, and is partially protected from development as UNESCO World Heritage Site . For the reason.

The journey began in Hanoi, where small shop sells tickets for organized tours, and that is something I'd recommend:they wait for you at the hotel entrance, they drive you to the shore, they put you on the boat and sail away, they feed you inboard, show you the bay with few spots of interest, and get you back. The price is about US$25. You can do it by yourself, but plan it well before you go, you might encounter numerous problems.

Time to go is also of great importance: March to June is the best, July and September have storms, October and November sunny and nice again, Dec/Jan/Feb cold, foggy and rainy. I was in May and the weather was very hot and humid.

So, the bus ride takes about 4 hours, and it isn't uncomfortable as you might think. Load up your music player with the relax sounds and enjoy ~4 hrs of green scenery. You may see crazy architecture, you may see the third-world poverty, you may see the scenery of a Hollywood production and animals everywhere. And rice fields. And retro Pepsi billboards. And zillions of other wild stuff...and then you're boarding the ship: this is where it becomes really great. Next 4-5 hours you'll be in a weird looking archipelago.

The bay consists of 1600 limestone islands, monolithic and dramatically rising up to 100 meters from the sea. Topped with vegetation, they look spectacular. Some of them are hollow with small or large caves inside, filled with stalactites. You get in and walk on the signed path, with a guide, of course, unless you wish to spend a romantic evening with in-cave wildlife: bats and lizards. No? Then keep your eye on the guide.

 

 

 

Island are inhabited with various animal forms. Monkeys, antelopes, snakes, lizards, insects...they all have a stable place in this system. On the other hand, about a thousand people live in the bay area.

Bay was enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage site. It hosts two ecosystems: a marine and coastal ecosystem and tropical evergreen rainforest ecosystem. Unfortunately, rapid tourist traffic makes both of them endangered.





One of the official New Seven Natural Wonders of the world, and a member of the Club of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World also starred in 007 James Bond's "Tomorrow never dies".
So, after lunch on board (fish and scampi with rice and salad) you'll go to see the fish farm. This is the weak spot of the trip, but hey, you'll learn not to eat fish imported from Vietnam back home. You may take the canoe and row around for half an hour, interesting for those adventurous among us.

Four more hours to return to Hanoi are longer than the same morning. But, you'll probably be too tired to think about it. Put your earphones and watch the evening landscape on your way back.