Halong Bay

Places of Interest - Vietnam

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introduction

The Ha Long Bay is a bay near the town of Hạ Long in the north of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, near the border with China. The bay has a coastline of 120 kilometers and the area covers about 1500 square kilometers. In the bay are 1969 limestone islands, each with dense vegetation at the top. The limestone monoliths rise spectacularly from the ocean and are a big tourist site.

Several of the islands are hollow, with huge caves. Hang Đầu Gổ (Wooden Sticks Cave) is the largest of these caves. French tourists who visited this cave at the end of the 19th century called him Grotte des Merveilles (Cave of the Miracles). The three large rooms contain many large stalactites and stalagmites (and French 19th-century graffiti). In addition to the caves, there are beautiful white sandy beaches.

In 1994 the Ha Long Bay was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam and thousands of tourists visit Halong Bay every year during a tour. Some of the islands have floating villages of fishermen catching 200 species of fish and 450 species of molluscs in the shallow waters. Animals live on some islands, such as chickens, monkeys and iguanas, such as in the "Cat Ba" national park.

highlights

Halong Bay:

There are plenty of ways to see and discover Halong Bay but if you don’t have your own boat, you will have to join a tour on a boat in one way or another to sail through the beautiful Karst Mountains. There are basically three possibilities:

Take a tour from Hanoi;
Arrange a tour in Halong City;
Arrange a tour on Cat Ba island.

There are advantages and disadvantages with all options; from Hanoi, for example, you spent already 7 hours (3.5 hours one way and back in the bus) you lose in Halong Bay; the competition is big here and the price is low. In Halong City it is a rat trap with hundreds of providers where you have to go to Halong Bay (there’s nothing else to do).

To get to Cat Ba island you will have to make your first costs to get there. Keep in mind that golden trips to Halong Bay do not exist - the lower the price, the greater the chance that the service, the food and/or the boat are not good in quality. A second something to remember; if you book a 2 days, 1 night you are less than 24 hours on the boat.

Finally, all tours will stay close to Halong City and often make the same trip. Or you have to organize a long, very exclusive boat trip that costs hundreds of dollars.

Halong-Bay-Boats-Islands-Vietnam-Supermarket-Floating

history

The bay of Halong has a long and sustainable history. In the bay Vietnam has had several sea battles with its neighbors. Up to three times the Vietnamese army has stopped the Chinese in the labyrinth of waterways. In 1228 General Trần Hưng Đạo prevented Mongolian ships from ramping up the nearby river Bạch Đằng by placing wooden sticks at high tide, causing the Mongolian fleet to sink.

One of the biggest victories Vietnam and its inhabitants are still very proud of. During the Vietnam War, the US Navy placed sea mines in various waterways between the islands. Some remaining mines still pose a risk.

Halong Bay

Places of Interest - Vietnam

introduction

highlights

history

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