HALONG BAY

HOW LONG? TAKE YOUR TIME  

Halong Bay view from Sung Sot Cave

We went on a 20-day tour of Vietnam and saw much of the country, from Hanoi to Hue to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It was a comfortable pace and not a frenetic sprint through the beautiful country. The distance between the capital to Saigon is over 1,000 miles and to try and cram it in over a shorter time span would be difficult. There’s much to see in Vietnam and the tour group that we traveled with, Overseas Adventure Travel, basically broke up our travels into three sections: the north, the middle and the south, taking nearly a week in all three locales.

That’s the way to do it….except HALONG BAY

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

In my humble opinion, we could have spent more time at Halong Bay. Many of the members of our tour group readily agreed.

Visiting the bay is a popular tourist destination and there are several outfits offering day, overnight and multiple night trips along the 600 square miles of Halong Bay.

After a 100-mile bus ride from Hanoi we boarded a traditional Vietnamese Junk and plied the waters of Halong Bay for an overnight trip. There are nearly 2,000 islands and islets in the bay that rise dramatically from the emerald-green waters. These soaring karsts are the result of dissolving limestone bedrock over millennia leaving behind these dramatic monoliths, all topped with vegetation. The tallest karst island towers 1,300 feet above the water. Halong Bay’s karst islands are the most famous example of this process, and it has earned the bay a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Found on the islands are sinkholes, streams, springs and caves. On some of the islands, lakes have formed as a result of the sinkholes.

Halong Bay is on the Gulf of Tonkin (where the “American War” began), and near the Chinese border. its name translates to "Descending Dragon" and in Vietnamese lore a mother dragon and her children helped defeat an attack of the country in the Eastern Sea (South China Sea). Enemies were incinerated with fire and emeralds shot out from the mouths of these protective critters further bludgeoned the enemy. The emeralds became the islands of Halong Bay.

There were once several floating villages on the bay with the locals fishing and farming for mollusks. There is a large pearl farm on the mainland, which we visited. The government moved the villagers inland, in part because of UNESCO regulations and to offer better health care and education. The villages are still there, but only for the locals to maintain their fish and shrimp farms that are eventually sold to market, and as a sightseeing destination for tourists. The inhabitants need to return to the mainland overnight.

SURPRISE

Near the end of our first afternoon at Halong Bay we took a tender to Sung Sot (Surprise) cave. It is the largest limestone cave in the bay and has stunning stalactites and stalagmites, grottos and fascinating rock formations. There are two chambers. The first is smaller, but then opens to a massive cavern. There is a footpath throughout and water pools in areas. Many of the rock formations are lit by colored lights and animals like turtles and horses were pointed out. Janet was particularly intrigued by the phallic rock formation that was bathed in pink lights.

from the deck of our Junk

It can get crowded, but Mai, our OAT tour guide timed our visit near the end of the day to avoid the crowds. The hike up the steep steps was worth it and the views of the bay were spectacular.

HALE AND HEARTY

We remained on our Junk the rest of our visit to Halong Bay. The rooms were air-conditioned and comfortable and the crew served us very good meals. We anchored at night and watched the shimmering lights of other boats dance on the gentle waters of the bay.

a night scene on Halong Bay

In the morning with the Junk nestled in amongst stoic karst mountains the captain conducted a Tai Chi class. It was an incredible, beautiful experience and had us yearning to remain.

Thanks for reading!

Love Janet and greg

Surprise! at Sung Sot Cave

© 2024 by Gregory Dunaj