Ha Long Bay is a unique region located on the northeast coast of Vietnam. The bay has 3,000 small limestone islands.
We did a three day cruise through the bay. The weather was poor during our entire visit - it was cloudy and misty all the time and raining most of the time. The weather wasn't great for touring but it did give the bay a spooky feel.
Many of the islands are hollow and they have interesting rock formations inside.
It was great to see the natural beauty of the bay but we really enjoyed seeing how the locals live. There are four floating villages in the bay. The villagers are fishermen who also cultivate clams for their pearls and their meat. The villagers rarely stand on solid ground.
Most of the islands in the bay are too small for people to live on but there are two islands that are large enough. One of these is Cat Ba Island and we visited Viet Hai, a farming village on the island. Getting there was part of the fun - we rode to the village on bicycles in the rain.
We didn't see many of the villagers - they stayed inside out of the rain and watched soap operas (really!). We did get to see the outside of their homes and there was lots of variety. There were a few families who lived in small thatch-roofed houses but most had upgraded to larger concrete buildings. The Vietnamese government recently provided support to help folks upgrade their homes.
The weather definitely put a damper on our visit to Ha Long Bay but it was quiet and the people were very friendly so it was a very comfortable way to begin our Asia adventure. After Ha Long Bay, things got a whole bunch more hectic at our next stop which was the big city of Hanoi.
Vanessa and Blake
We did a three day cruise through the bay. The weather was poor during our entire visit - it was cloudy and misty all the time and raining most of the time. The weather wasn't great for touring but it did give the bay a spooky feel.
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| The islands and the mist of Ha Long Bay |
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| Our cruise was on the bigger of these two ships |
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| The captain's view - he got us safely through the mist |
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| The water in the bay is a beautiful rich green colour |
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| Don't know how this rock stays upright |
Many of the islands are hollow and they have interesting rock formations inside.
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| This is only a small part of the cave we visited |
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| The caves are high as well as wide |
It was great to see the natural beauty of the bay but we really enjoyed seeing how the locals live. There are four floating villages in the bay. The villagers are fishermen who also cultivate clams for their pearls and their meat. The villagers rarely stand on solid ground.
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| The floating village is sheltered by a number of islands |
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| A closer look at one of the houses |
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| Everything moves around by boat |
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| They keep fishing even in the pouring rain |
Most of the islands in the bay are too small for people to live on but there are two islands that are large enough. One of these is Cat Ba Island and we visited Viet Hai, a farming village on the island. Getting there was part of the fun - we rode to the village on bicycles in the rain.
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| On our way to the village |
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| The island is very lush (that's Blake and our guide) |
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| The village |
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| Main street (also the village's only street) |
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| Feeding the chickens in the rain |
We didn't see many of the villagers - they stayed inside out of the rain and watched soap operas (really!). We did get to see the outside of their homes and there was lots of variety. There were a few families who lived in small thatch-roofed houses but most had upgraded to larger concrete buildings. The Vietnamese government recently provided support to help folks upgrade their homes.
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| New style home on the left and old style one on the right |
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| This is one of the fancier homes in the village |
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| Whether big or small, every house has a dog to guard it |
The weather definitely put a damper on our visit to Ha Long Bay but it was quiet and the people were very friendly so it was a very comfortable way to begin our Asia adventure. After Ha Long Bay, things got a whole bunch more hectic at our next stop which was the big city of Hanoi.
Vanessa and Blake
