Halong Bay

120 miles east of Hanoi is bizarre, beautiful Halong Bay. It has over 3,000 limestone pinnacles protruding from the waters of the Tonkin Gulf. These pinnacles are dotted with beaches and caves.
We boarded our small cruise boat at noon Sunday with about 15-20 other people and after spending overnite aboard we debarked the next day at noon. We ate fresh seafood- prawns, crabs, fish for our meals and sat on deck as we floated thru the islands. We stopped at one island to explore a huge cave and at another where some kayaked and others bought fresh seafood for the boat crew to prepare. The weather was very pleasant and the sky was relatively clear.
The Bay was declared a UN World Heritage Area in 1994 in hope to save it from massive tourism and pollution for the future.


A few photos of the Bay:



This a a docking area near a pinnacle with an extensive cave that we, and lots of others, explored:
Remember you can click to enlarge these photos



As the sun set, the beauty of the seascape was even more beautiful:

As is so common in these developing countries in Asia, the influx of tourists causes poor locals to try to sell trinkets, snacks and soft drinks. On Halong Bay thy swarm in small row boats usually accompanied by their children. It is extremely hard to resist these cuties: