Hanoi Hangout (Part 3): The Bay of Descending Dragon, Halong Bay!!

- Oct. 29, 2017, Sunday.

- Hanoi had been fascinating me by our second day (click here for Part 2), especially for a city-lover like me. However, by the third day, we tried something new - a trip outside the city. At the northeastern part of Hanoi lies a province named Quang Ninh Province. It's main tourist magnet? The legendary "bay of descending dragons," known in Vietnamese as "Halong" Bay. "Ha-Long" literally means "descending dragon." This is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.

- Halong Bay is peculiar because of its little islands that look like giant gumdrops floating on the sea. Legend has it that when the Vietnamese were being invaded (via sea,) the gods sent a family of dragons to help the Vietnamese. These dragons spat jewels and precious stones that turned into islands upon reaching the water. The islands served as (natural) fortifications against the invaders. After the invaders left, the dragons decided to descend from the skies and live around the islands that they created. This is why the bay was named as such.

- Going to Halong Bay from Hanoi can be quite hassling especially since it's 4 hours from the city by car. The most convenient way is to book a trip from one of the local travel agencies around Hoan Kiem Lake, or in our case, we booked it through our hostel in Hanoi. (We stayed in a nice 5-star-rating hostel called Luxury Backpackers.) Usual trips to Halong Bay can be a day trip, 2 days 1 night, or 3 days 2 nights; the latter would let people sleep in a ship with sleeping cabins. My friend Genevieve and I just went with the day trip since we only had a limited time in Vietnam. Tour prices may vary depending on the travel agency or the hostel. Of course it will usually be cheaper if booking directly from the agency, though there is the convenience of booking everything through the hostel for a slightly higher but still reasonable price.

Long Bien Bridge from our tour van. Check Part 1 (click here) for my visit to this historic bridge.

- As our van was coursing through Quang Ninh, the streets and establishments seemed empty. Restaurants did not even have people, and seeing a person in the streets was like seeing a unicorn. It reminded me a lot of my trip to Poughkeepsie in upstate New York a few years ago (click here to see.) However, I can assure you that there are people living in Quang Ninh Province.

- At around noon, I saw plenty of people again at the harbor where we would be riding our small ship around the islands. Lunch was included in the fee, and we had home-cooked Vietnamese meals in the ship. While sailing through the seas like Disney's Moana, we were able to behold the jewel-turned-islands of the sea. I also like the fact that some of the faraway islands are a bit hazy, adding depth and a dramatic/nostalgic effect to the whole view. Some of the islands resembled certain things and animals, and our tour guide would point to them and tell us about those islands.

I am never a beach/sea person, but as long as I don't have to go in the water I'm fine. I can swim, but I just don't like getting wet in general unless I'm taking a proper bath in the bathroom.

Relaxing at the top deck.

"I've been staring at the edge of the water, long as I can remember, never really knowing why...." - Moana.

These two rocks, according to our guide, appear to be kissing chickens. (Photobomber ship in front of us. :( :( :( :( )

Gumdrops on the sea.

Halong Bay was as amazing as I had imagined!!

Inside our ship.

- After lunch, we had a chance to do kayaking or bamboo-boat riding. Though kayaking would be much more fun, we did not want to have our arms sore the following day, and we did not want to get wet. We took the bamboo boat instead, where a nice lady rowed us around some islands. Afterwards, we had to sail again from the kayaking/boat-riding area to our next agenda for the afternoon.

At the small docking place where people get off to either kayak or go boat riding.

Calm waters.

Seems like we're entering another world.

Our boat rower taking a photo of us; we were with three Hong Kong tourists.

Caves at the side of the mountain.

Small temples/altars can also be found at the foot of some mountains; these altars are for gods protecting fishermen and those journeying through the sea.

With the rock formations.

Tiny Genevieve.

Rowers taking a rest.

Vietnamese pride.

This particular one, the Vietnamese say, looks like an incense burner.

It's a prominent rock formation that it's even found in the 200,000 Dong bill. (Also, presenting our tour guide's hands.)

This is said to be the dog-like rock, also known as "Scooby Doo" rock. (It does sort of resemble a great dane.)

- Our group spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Heavenly Palace Cave (Dong Thien Cung). This other-worldly cave is also a place surrounded by folklore. It is said that there used to be a dragon king who lived inside, and his whole family of dragons lived there. Today, this cave is admired for the unique natural structures formed inside cave walls and by stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is colorfully-lit too, which adds to the alien-hideout feel of the cave. Stalactites and stalagmites grow a few millimeters per year, which shows how long the cave has been sculpting itself. 

From the harbor.

Heavenly Palace Cave.

The colorful lights help create the mood.

Looks like an elephant.

Some say the one below looks like a mushroom or a jellyfish. Why not both??

Lava red.

A stalactite and a stalagmite fused together through time and created this pillar. There are more pillars of this kind.

One of the cave's natural openings.

One that looks like a lion.

Here's an alligator.

- After going up and down the maze-like cave, we finally boarded the ship back to the harbor, and took another 4 hours back to Hanoi. To celebrate our survival of a fun but tiresome day trip outside Hanoi, we had some comfort food for dinner. Jollibee!! Yes, there is a Jollibee in Hanoi, and for non-Filipinos reading this, Jollibee is the Philippines' answer to McDonald's. International Jollibee branches can usually be found in countries with plenty of Filipinos. Since we don't usually hear abouf Filipinos living/working in Vietnam as much as other countries like Singapore, USA, or countries in West Asia, it came as a surprise to us that there are a few Jollibee branches in Vietnam. Fortunately, one was just a couple of blocks away from our hostel. The chicken tasted almost the same as in the Philippines, but the spaghetti tasted more like Philippine McDonald's (i.e. more on spices and herbs) with a hint of sweetness. As the Vietnamese are big fans of vegetables, their meals come with a vegetable soup with clear broth and a simple side salad.

Got a bit worried seeing this. (Lol but now, the kiddo wasn't the one driving.)

Nearing sunset.

Painting a picture.

Hello from the other side.

Panorama!!

Saw another part of the mosaic wall upon arriving in Hanoi.

HELLO JOLLIBEE!!

Our food for the night.

- We went back to our hostel that night and quickly called it a night. We had to save some energy for yet another day trip outside the city - the Perfume Pagoda!! (Please don't forget to read Part 1 here,, Part 2 here, Part 4 here, and Part 5 here!!)