Halong Bay

The Legend of Halong Bay

The legend of Hạ Long has it that, “Once upon a time, soon after the Việt people established their country, invaders came. The Jade Emperor sent Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons down to earth to help the Việt people fight against their enemy. Right at the time invaders’ boats were rushing to the shore, the dragons landed down on earth. The dragons immediately sent out from their mouths a lot of pearls, which then turned into thousands of stone islands emerging in the sea like great walls challenging the invaders’ boats. The fast boats couldn’t manage to stop and crashed into the islands and into each other and broke into pieces.

 

After the victory, Mother Dragon and Child Dragons didn’t return Heaven but stayed on earth at the place where the battle had occurred. The location Mother Dragon landed is nowadays Hạ Long Bay and where Child Dragons descended is now Bái Tử Long. The dragons’ tails waving the water created Long Vĩ (present Trà Cổ peninsula) and formed a fine sand beach over ten kilometers long”.

Four hours outside of the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, the coast of Vietnam meets the South China Sea and Halong Bay appears on the horizon.  The view is simply breathtaking!  

 

Living overseas, long weekends are an invitation to travel.  Unbeknownst to me, Vietnamese National Day is celebrated on September 2 giving us a much needed 3 day weekend.  It didn't take long for the wheels to start turning...hmmm...where should I escape to?

After a little research, we decided on a Halong Bay cruise for a little R&R before the school year officially starts.  We chose Indochina Junk based on their online reviews and booked tickets on their "Halong Bay - Off the Beaten Path" tour.  

The day began with an 8AM pickup at our hotel for the 4 hour trip to the coast.  As we crossed the bridge and left the city limits, I could feel the relaxation set in as we traveled through the winding roads of Vietnam.  After a month of city living I was more than ready for some green grass, wandering cows and a break from all of the incessant honking! 

Once we arrived at the bay, we boarded a small boat that ferried us to our floating hotel; The Dragon Pearl III.  There were only 14 guests on board from all over the globe; UK, Italy, Spain, Morocco, France, Belguim, Germany and the US

Dragon Pearl III

As we set sail into the bay and left Hanoi behind, we enjoyed a seafood lunch and drinks with the other passengers before exploring the boat.  

Our cozy room

Enjoying our water view

A view of the sundeck.  It wasn't particularly sunny and I was just fine with that. 

The view as we left the harbor.

Heading out onto the open sea.  The rocks are made of limestone and jut out of the ocean everywhere. 

The water was a million shades of emerald green.

We soon arrived at our own private beach for an afternoon on hiking, kayaking, and swimming.  Our guide took us to an island cave that was once inhabited by a family of fisherman.  According to her, the caves are cooler (I beg to differ!) than the elements outside in the summer and provide warmth and protection from tropical cyclones during the winter months. 

There were 100 steps to the entrance of the cave. 

Perrine overlooking the bay on our way into the cave. 

Inside the cave...very cool!

Water and minerals formed this column in the middle of the cave. 

A view of the bay from the cave entrance.

The sails were up on the boat in the bay below.  

Kayaks all lined up and ready to go.  We paddled 5K around a huge island.

The sun was starting to set on the beach as we got back to land, but there was plenty of time left for a great swim in the warm water. 

The best part of the entire cruise was relaxing on the sundeck as the sun set.  Everything was quiet and still as the stars speckled the night sky.  Luckily, the rain from earlier stopped and we got to eat dinner on the boat deck with the other guests. 

 After a great nights sleep, we awoke to a rainy Sunday morning.  After a quick breakfast, it was off to the Vung Vieng Fishing Village for a tour.  The village consists of approximately 100 villagers who live on the water and fish for a living.  The entire village is self contained including a woman who floats around the village selling items from her mobile grocery store. There is even a school for the children to attend.  The teacher sleeps in a room off of the main school room and is hired by the villagers to instruct the students.  Children as young as 4 row themselves to school in bamboo boats.

The Fishing Village

A family enjoying their Sunday morning.

Floating store

Fisherman returning with the days catch

Floating house ~ Families with small children line the perimeter of the house with netting so that they children don't fall into the water. 

Rainy Sunday morning in the hammock

Elementary school classroom

Computer classroom where students play games.  No wifi here!

Beautiful cave that we rowed through on our way back to the boat.

The trip to Halong Bay was absolutely amazing and right on time.  I really needed a quiet weekend away from the nonstop movement of Hanoi.  Its a definite must do when you visit Hanoi!