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After our tour of the rural North West we
returned to Hanoi and then went east to the
World Heritage site of Halong Bay. We had
booked a private boat and had expected a
small motor boat but this is what we got!..
And this is the interior. We had the boat
to ourselves with 5 crew!
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Halong Bay consists of a dense cluster of
about 2000 limestone monolithic islands each
topped with thick jungle vegetation, which
rise spectacularly from the ocean. It is
really a natural sculpture on a gigantic
scale.
Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous
caves.
Some of the islands support floating villages
of fishermen, who fish the shallow waters
for 200 species of fish and 450 different
kinds of mollusks.
Halong Bay is known as the "Bay of Descending
Dragons". Local legend says that long ago when
the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders,
the gods sent a family of dragons to help
defend the land. This family of dragons descended
upon it and began spitting out jewels and
jade. These jewels turned into the islands
and islets dotting the bay, linking together
to form barriers against the invaders. The
people kept their land safe and hence Vietnam
was formed.
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