Ha Long Bay

Entering HaLong Bay

In the morning, the ship traversed the limestone formations of HaLong Bay. The name of the bay  means "where the dragon descends into the sea", an appropriate name. We reached our mooring outside the city of HaLong about 1 PM. All the local touring boats engaged in a battle for space alongside the ship for our tour. The bay has 1600 unnamed and 968 named islands within 1500 square kilometers. Out tour took us to Thien Cung Cave, a large cave which can hold 400 people at a time. The cave reminded me of Carlsbad Caverns because of the colored lights used to highlight the limestone formations inside. While there were lots of steps, everything was well paved to make it easy for tourists to visit.

Thien Cung Cave

After our cave visit, we sailed through more of the islands including a floating fishing village. Of course, the fisherman came alongside our boat to sell us fruit. The children were adept at climbing aboard and asking for money. The rock formations were beautiful as we cruised between the islands.

Floating Fishing Village