Ha Long Bay. The sun is setting and we mere mortals fall prey to the sights and sounds of the bay. A cool sunset breeze blankets our naked bodies, still wet from swimming in nature’s warm waters.

A view of 3,000 islands portruding valiantly from the waters, untouched by man, reminds us a world we never see. The azure, rouge, and royal purple sky tantalizes while lapping waves against our boat lulls us into meditation. We are seduced into slumber, but the unparalleled vista beckons us to stay with her.

– 6/09/10

Over 200 pictures were taken (they’ll be up on Flickr soon), but here are a few more of my favorites, starting off with a blatant competitive stand-off with Wikitravel.org

Photo from Wikitravel. This is the picture that I mentioned in the "About" page that inspired me to go on this trip in the first place.

Ha Long Bay just got served. Ignore the gross bug bites.

Ha Long Bay is exquisite. As the pictures show for themselves, you need to be there to believe it. I admit, when we arrived there I felt a sense of uneasiness: the place was PACKED with backpacking tourists and I felt a little shame I was adding to the chaos. And looking in the bay I couldn’t help but say “this is it?”

But you need to book a junk (the name of the boats that take you in the boat) that’ll allow you an overnight stay in the Bay. We did it through our hotel for $45 USD/a person (all inclusive including lodging and food; drinks NOT included). They’ll:

1. Pick you up the next day at 8am in the morning
2. Drive you for 3 hours to the bay
3. Pick up your tickets
4. Ferry you to your junk
5. Feed you lunch
6. The junk will take you more into the bay; this is where the “ooh” and “ahh’s” start.
7. Take you for a cave exploration
8. Let you kayak and swim
9. Feed you dinner
10. Let you stargaze/sleep in
11. Feed you breakfast
12. Ferry you back to the Bay
13. Feed you lunch
14. Drive back another 3 hours back to your hotel in Ha Noi
15. Leave you with countless memories you’ll never forget.

Things I cannot forget from Ha Long Bay:

• Kayaking in the bay.
• Cave exploration (pictures to come up soon); spelunkin’ like Indiana Jones.
• Diving into the bay and swimming in its warm waters.
• Getting out of the bay from a swim to see 2 GIANT jellyfish come towards us.
• Losing my watch in sea after taking that dive you see above (i’m losing something every week!).
• Watching the sunset in the bay.
• Falling asleep on the roofdeck of the junk, watching a star-filled night sky occasionally flashing with lightning in the distance.

- At time of posting in Ha Noi, it was 89.6 °F -

Humidity: 75% | Wind Speed: 7km/hr | Cloud Cover: n/a