Halong Bay (Vietnam)

One of the highlights to my recent trip to Vietnam was a junk cruise to Ha Long Bay. Junks are traditional style sailing ships, many are very modern now with en suite facilities and air conditioning in your private cabins, but they are still styled in the traditional way. You will find hundreds of these junks offering tours out to the bay, the one we went on was Huong Hai Junks, and this review covers my experience. We only stayed for one night, but there was almost a mutiny as we all wished to stay on and not go back to Hanoi. Unfortunately the crew ignored us and took us back anyway. GETTING ... more

The legend: Ha Long Bay - means "Bay of the Descending Dragon" in the Vietnamese language. The local folk tale says that dragons descended from heaven to help locals who were under attack by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders; these precious stones are now the lush green outcrops. After this the mother dragon settled in Ha long Bay and still protects Vietnam from the weather (the bay is usually fairly calm and protected) and also from outside invasion. Location and History: Halong Bay is in North Vietnam, 170 kilometres north-east of Hanoi (about 3 ... more

Halong Bay The must see place Halong Bay is one of the world's natural wonders, and is the most beautiful tourist destination of Vietnam. Halong Bay features more than one thousand awesome limestone karsts and islands of various sizes and shapes along the 120-km coastline of Bai Chay Beach. Its waters are host to a great diversity of ecosystems including offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches. The folk tale has it that the dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural ... more

In the northern side of Vietnam, apart from Hanoi-the capital, Sapa, Halong bay is another worth visiting address. How to get there Located near Vietnam's north coast.The nearest city called Halong ( just the same name). If you were in Hanoi, it just take two hours on the bus to go to Halong- the city and then one more hour on the cruise to the bay. All cost about 10$( if you want a nice cruise, you'd better pay more). Landscape Known as Natural World Heritage site, Halong bay consists of over 2000 islands and islets as well as some limestone rock with hundreds of different shape. As you are ... more

The bay of Along will be my last article concerning Vietnam.. Geography and history: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Situated in the north Vietnam to the mouth of the red stream, along bay is the sought after place to Vietnam. Group of more than 3200 islands, the name would mean in former Vietnamese "the dragon who descends." An old legend Vietnamese saying that a dragon would have descended of the sky to protect the country of the invasion of foreign, notably Chinese armadas., Chinese having occupied during 1000 years this place. 2 times the Vietnamese were able to stop in ... more

While in Hanoi we decided to take a Tour with Singh Tours over two days to Halong Bay. Famous for its appearance in James Bond movies this was the most beautiful scenery in Vietnam. The trip was organized between our hotel and the Singh Tour operators and cost $15 a person for the two-day trip. A three-day trip was available to see the Cat Ba National Park, which came recommended from people we met, but we did not have time. On the night spent on the boat we slept under the stars and awoke just before dawn to go swimming in the south china sea. You can take a kayak out to an island if you wish ... more