Hey lovely Hivers, I hope you're doing well.
I have been sharing a lot about my travel journey since I started my blog on Hive last year. Most of them are about places in Viet Nam. Honestly, I did not travel around my country much until 2019 when I went back here after I left New Zealand. For the very first time, I planned a travel adventure with my friend in summer 2019. We did visit many popular parts of the country and Ha Long Bay was one of the highlights of our trip.
Ha, Long Bay is a scenic Bay in northeastern Vietnam and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vietnam. It was renowned as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world by National Geographic and twice recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Bay is 145 km in length with a width of 14 km and contains over 1,600 limestone islands, islets, and rocks.
Spectacular panoramic view from submit of the Ti Top Peak.
Have you heard about the legend of the bay’s origins?
The word "Ha Long" simply means "descending dragon", and is indicative of not just the scenery, but also the legends of the place. It is said that once upon a time, God sent dragons to help us to shield the country from invaders. These dragons showered precious gems onto the area - including jade and emeralds - which were transformed into the islands and islets of Ha Long Bay. Sr
This pic was taken on my second trip back to Ha Long Bay. The 400- hundred- step walking up to the top of Ti Top Island is totally worth for this spectacular view
A good lookout for photography with me in the photo while I'm climbing up to the Tip Top Peak for the Bay overview
There are incredible sceneries and dramatic cliffs in the Bay. Nestled in the heart of this bay is a series of limestone karsts and islands; plus it's also known as the home of many caves. Visting the Bay, you can experience these limestone formations and caves that date back millions of years.
Thien Cung Cave is among the beautiful caves on the Bay and famous for countless rocks and stones with many fascinating shapes. It was a bit dark when we entered inside so I did not take many photos of the caves
The best way to explore Ha Long Bay is by boat. There are several different types of boats or yachts available for you to choose from. We book a day tour that provides food, kayaking activity and tour around the island (The package price is 1.5 Mil VND~ USD 70 in 2019). As I know, they do have a helicopter tour that you can explore Ha Long Bay from above. Wow, sounds great and I will definitely do it next time if I have a chance to go back. 🤩
Local foods for lunch
Kayak activity and get close to the islands in Ha Long Bay
As mentioned above, this is a pretty well-known destination so don't be surprised that the place is packed with tourists, especially during the peak season. It's visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. There were over 4,4 million travellers that visited Ha Long in 2019.
I have visited the Bay twice and my advice is to avoid the weekend and holiday as you will find yourself surrounded by thousands of other tourists. On my second visit, I remember I could not be able to move when I entered the Thien Cung cave as it was super crowded. It was probably the peak season in the summertime. Be prepared with a decent supply of snacks and drinks. This is especially important in the summer when it is blisteringly hot.
Now we're on the boat back to the mainland and surprisingly; just in time to catch this incredible sunset over the bay. What stunning !!
Ha Long Bay is an enchanting natural wonder and a unique and beautiful location in Vietnam that highly recommend not to miss. It's an absolutely pleasant trip in a day and I hope to return a third time to discover more. See you Ha Long Bay, you are amazing !!!
Hope you enjoy the Bay and Have a wonderful weekend ahead 💝
