We left Hanoi in the morning and drove 3 hours to board a cruise to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is majestic...2000 or more islands that rise up from the emerald water of the Gulf of Tonkin. I was really disappointed in the weather. It was foggy and drizzly, but it actually made the Bay look surreal and ethereal.
Visitors flock to Halong Bay, so as much as I would like to have been the only boat on the water, that just wasn't the case.
Here are a few pictures of our boat, the Halong Jasmine.
The scenery was breathtaking.
There are caves all throughout Halong Bay. We stopped at Hang Dau Go (Cave of the Wooden Stakes), which is a huge cave consisting of three chambers. The name comes from the third chamber, which is said to have been used during the 13th century to store the sharp bamboo stakes that Vietnamese folk hero and war general Tran Hung Dao planted in the bed of the river to impale the Mongolian general's invasion fleet (thank you, Lonely Planet).
There are several floating fishing villages in the bay. Among the majestic mountains are small, wooden shacks connected by wooden walkways. The villagers farm fish for a living. I was pretty awe-struck as we climbed onto a small boat and paddled around the village. In today's world, it's amazing that places like this village still exist.
Here is the village's school.
After the village, it was back on board for the night. We were both pretty thankful for all of our blessings after touring the village. I was thankful for this yummy drink too :)
The next morning, after our Tai Chi lesson, we hiked to Titop Island, which is a small island in the middle of the bay. The views were incredible.
After our hike, it was back on board and time to depart. We drove 3 hours back to Hanoi...and snapped some photos from the window on the way.
Most buildings are French-Coloinal style, and you can still see much of the French influence in Vietnam today.
We boarded our night train at 9pm for Sapa. Sleeping quarters were small...
We ate dinner in the dining carriage car.
And pulled into the Sapa train station at 5:00 am the next morning. It was my first experience sleeping on a train. It was an experience...another good one to check off the list, but not sure I'd go out of my way to do it again.
We are finally in Sapa...it was my favorite and I can't wait to tell you all about it.
xx,
Lauren
2 comments:
Is that a penguin in the cave with you??? You know my penchant for the little guys! Except that one looks, um, wooden and strange? :-)
What an ethereal place, indeed! Somewhere I've never heard of, but very interesting. I like the idea of sleeping on the boat! And your night train looks like it beat ours from Prague to Vienna -- half the size and probably twice as expensive! What a cool trip so far.... Anne
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