Ha Long Bay consists of more than 2,000 islands rising from emerald green waters, and it is very beautiful, even on a rainy day.
Ha Long means 'where the dragon descends into the sea', and the legend claims that the bay was created by a great dragon. When it charged towards to coast, it's flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses, and when it finally died and plunged into to sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible. It was designated as a World Heritage site in 1994, and is dotted with wind- and wave-eroded grottoes. We visited the Hang Sung Sot cave (Surprise Cave), which has three huge chambers, and is very impressive.
Somebody is hiding in the karst, and only the feet are visible!
Then it was time for a visit to TipTop island for a hike up to the viewpoint,
a kayaking trip among the karsts,
and a swim! for some! The air was 20C and the water 22C (according to a German tourist with a thermometer).
Back on board the ship we had a nice dinner, and then it was time for some squid fishing - we didn't catch any!
The following morning we visited a pearl farm, and it was interesting to see how they insert the 'seed' into the oyster,
put it back in the ocean, and 'harvest the oyster 18 months later. They only have a 30% success rate - no wonder pearls are expensive.
We checked out of our cruise ship, transferred to a smaller boat and sailed to Cat Ba Island. Here we went for a bike ride in Cat Ba National Park, which was fun and very beautiful.
We biked through villages, and this lady is grinding something.
We spent the second night at Nam Cat Resort on Nam Cat Island, which is
located in a secluded and isolated cove, and wonderfully peaceful.
Andy went for a swim, and we relaxed the rest of the day in these spectacular surroundings.
We got picked up by the boat the following morning, sailed back to Ha Long Bay, boarded the minibus, and was back in Hanoi in the afternoon. It was an action-packed trip, and still time to relax and enjoy. Should you ever come here, we definitely recommend doing a 3 day/2 night tour and spending the second night at Nam Cat Island for a taste of paradise.
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