(Source: Travelfish and Reid on Travel)Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site. UNESCO has picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Halong Bay offers a little of all three.
It's not the cliffs themselves that make Halong Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliffs.
Created over millions of years, tectonic forces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line. During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number of vast, striking caverns, as well as other geologically interesting formations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely shaped massifs.
There are a few legends on Halong Bay which the name itselfs means "where the dragon descends into the sea." The version I was told was long long time ago when Vietnam was under attack, a heavenly dragon and her children spit pearls into the sea to form forbidding mountains to block an enemy advance.
Someone said there is no specific season to go to Halong Bay. Be it sunny or misty, morning or evening, Halong Bay is always beautiful. I couldn't agree more. The view is breathtaking, even with the mist, it gives the feeling that as you sail on, there are more to uncover.
Put the blame on my a few years old point and shoot camera, or my amateur photography skills. But Halong Bay is worth a visit, at least an overnight stay.
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| I like the overlapping feel to it |
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| A view from Hang Sung Sot (Surprising Cave) |
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| And one from Soi Sim Grotto |
Side note: Someone says always go travel with someone you love, but I think it is equally important that someone who you go travel with also love you.
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