1.HẠ LONG BAY
v Introduction
Ha Long Bay (or Halong
Bay) - a magnificent scenic spot located in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, is
famous for its mountains, water, clouds, caves and grottoes. Ha Long Bay is the
center of a larger zone including Bai Tu Long to the northeast and Cat Ba
islands to the southwest. It was recognized as World Heritage Site by the
UNESCO in 1994 and listed in the New 7 Wonders in 2012.
v Geography
Situated northeast of
Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is located in Quang Ninh Province - a part of the Gulf of
Tonkin of Vietnam, is 165 km from the capital of Ha Noi. It is consisted of the
sea area of Ha Long City (one of four cities of Quang Ninh Province), Cam Pha
Town and a part of Van Don island district. It is bordered with Cat Ba Island to
the southwest, Bai Tu Long to the northeast and China to the north and the
mainland to the west with a coastline of 120 km. With a total area of 1553
square kilometers, Ha Long Bay possesses 1,969 lime-stone mountains and islets
in various sizes and shapes, of which 989 islands named and 980 islands
unnamed. The area recognized as World Heritage is 434 square kilometers
including 775 islands , such as a triangle with three vertices is Dau Go Island
(in the west), Ba Ham Lake (in the south) and Cong Tay Island (in the East).
v History
Hạ Long Bay has
experienced at least 500 million years in various geological states of orogeny,
marine transgression and marine regression. During the Ordovician and Silurian
periods (500-410 million years ago), Hạ Long Bay was deep sea. During the
Carboniferous and Permian periods (340-250 million years ago), Hạ Long Bay was
at shallow sea level.
The dominated uplift
movement of tectonic and recent tectonic influenced deeply on topography of
this area, and the present landscape of sea-islands was formed around 7 or 8
thousand years ago by the sea invasion during Holocene transgression begun at
about 17-18 thousand years ago. Particularly from the Holocene time, from about
11,000 years ago Cat Ba - Hạ Long area has much archaeological evidence
connecting variations in sea levels with the development of ancient cultures
such as the Soi Nhu and Ha Long cultures.
v Population
Ha Long Bay possesses
nearly 2000 islands but nowadays there are only about 40 inhabited islands which
having an area between tens to thousands of hectares. Most of these islands located
in the east and southeast of Ha long Bay. Recent decades, many fishing villages
that drift on the water, begin to settle
on some islands and turn these pristine islands into populous and rich ones as
Sa To island of Ha Long City, Thang Loi Island of Van Don island district.
According to the result
of 2009 Viet Nam population and housing census, Ha Long's population is 215,795
people and number of fisher living in Ha Long Bay is about 1,540 people who
mainly live in Cua Van fishing village, Ba Hang fishing village, Cap De fishing
village of Hung Thang ward, Ha Long city. Most of the Gulf’s residents live on
boats or floating houses to facilitate fishing, aquaculture and hybridization
of aquatic and seafood breeds. Today, living standard of the locals has been
improved by the development of tourism and service industry. However, floating
fishing villages with their aquaculture are still the highlights in the culture
of Ha Long Bay and the feature in almost tours operating there.
v Sightseeing
Dau Go cave: Floating on the emerald
water, Dau Go Island is amongst the most famous tourist attractions in Ha Long
Bay. Into the cave, a massive system of stalagmites and stalactites resembling
stony waterfalls would make anyone feel like being one with the nature.
The cave has three main
compartments. The first area has a curved shape which is filled up by natural
light. The ceiling of this area is a giant oil painting describing primitive
landscapes with rows of stalagmites and stalactites changing their color upon
the intensity and angle of the light. Many tourists love letting their imagination
go wild with all the light reflecting on those stalagmites and stalactites.
Passing the first area by
going through a narrow entrance, tourists will get to the second part. It is a
little bit lack of light, but it has a more intriguing ambiance of fuzzy
picture formed by the harmonious combination of light and stalactites that
stimulate your curiosity but also be a little bit creepy.
The adventure continues
with a sudden discovery of the last massive. Here, there is a sacred fairy well
that is said to be used by beautiful fairies descending from the heavenly
kingdom.
Dau Nguoi Islet is situated in the south
of the island range of Bo Hon, Halong Bay, about 13 kilometers far from Bai
Chay Tourist Wharf. It lies near Luon Grotto, Sung Sot Island and Ti Top
Island.
Dau Nguoi Islet is about
25 meters high. The islet is famous for its special shape of a man’s head. From
a far position, it looks like the head of a Greek with a big hawkish nose and
pointed chin above the water surface. Some thought that it’s like a statue of
the Egyptian Sphinx. The most ideal time to gaze the islet is at the sunset. By
kayaking or from the cruise, tourists will see fantastic scenery of Dau Nguoi
Islet in red sunshine of late afternoon.
Situated on Bo Hon
Island, 14 km south of Bai Chay Beach is the Luon cave. In front of the cave is Con Rua Islet, and the Sky Gate
is on the right. Luon Cave is about 60 meters long and 4 meters wide. Height of
the ceiling ranges from 2.5 – 4 meters up on tidal level. Therefore, the small boat
or kayak can access it. Passing through
Luon Cave, tourists will reach a lake formed by an enclosed group of lime-stone
mountains. The lake inside seems like a stadium surrounded by high podium. It’s
a brackish lake with calm and green sea water. Size of the lake is nearly 1
square kilometers. On the cliff are many fossilized freshwater snail shells
proving that place used to be a deep freshwater valley. Especially, it’s
highlighted with pristine setting of ferns, orchids and wild golden monkeys. The
perfect combination of lime-stone mountains and jade-green sea makes Luon Cave
a unique site to visit on Halong Bay. Furthermore, Luon Cave is a preferred
place of tourists for kayaking.
Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave) is
situated in the center of Ha Long Bay's heritage zone. It lies on Bo Hon Island
group, surrounded by the Bo Nau Cave, Me Cung Cave, Luon Cave and Ti Top
Island. The cave was found by the French in 1901 and called as Grotte des
surprises. Sung Sot Cave is a large cave with the size of 12.200 square meters.
The cave has three compartments and high ceiling with lots of stalactites in
various shapes. The ceiling’s maximal height is 30 meters. The first one is similar to a theater hall with many
stalactites hanging from the high ceiling. A narrow passage leads to the second
chamber, where a flow of natural light bathes the surfaces. The light is
filtering in from above, through a large opening creating a natural skylight,
this opening also serves as the exit from the cave. The deepest point of this
chamber a “royal garden” appears with a clear pond and a fascinating landscape
of small mountains. Many birds and plants here.
Tuan Chau Island which is a newly
established tourism center of Ha Long City, about 4 kilometers far from Bai
Chay Tourist Wharf to the southwest. The island is connected to the mainland by
a 2 - kilometer road built in 1998. it now covers an area of 4 square
kilometers. On the island, the weather is cool all around the year. It’s
featured with 2-square kilometer green pine forest, white sand beach stretching
6 kilometers. These all features make Tuan Chau Island an ideal place for
visiting and relaxing on Ha Long Bay. Beside the aesthetic value, Tuan Chau
Island also has historical value with many archaeological relics. Archaeologists
found many stone tools and pottery which are the evidences of Ha Long Culture
dating around 3.000 – 2.000 BC. In Tuan Chau, tourists might also enjoy a
variety of exciting activities like Jet Ski, canoes parachute, sea fishing,
kayaking, mountain climbing, camping, or lavish services and entertainment such
as dolphin show, seal show, circus, and martial art show 6 days a week (except
Monday).
In French colonial
period, Ti Top Island was called Cat
Nang Island. In 1962, the island was named after Russian cosmonaut Gherman
Stepanovich Titov, a hero of the former Soviet Union, to mark the historic
visit of President Ho Chi Minh and G.Titov to Ti Top Island on November 22nd
1962. Located in the heart of Ha Long Bay, which is only 8 kilometers from the
Southeast of Bai Chay Harbor, Ti Top Island is regarded as beautiful stop of
cruising on Ha Long Bay as well as a heaven of relaxation in Ha Long. Different
from other popular tourist sites in Ha Long, Ti Top Island does not only
possess breath taking romantic landscapes, but also has a heavenly beautiful
beach called Ti Top which is perfect for any beach activity. Ti Top beach is in
the shape of a crescent enclosing the island. It’s famous for scenic landscape
with quiet atmosphere, white sand and cool water that create a great ambiance
for tourists to relax. From the top of the mountain on Ti Top Island, tourists
can take a panoramic view to magnificent setting on Ha Long bay. Thanks to all
these, Ti Top Beach draws a huge amount of visitors during summer of special
occasion.
Bai Tu Long Bay occupies three quarters
of Ha Long Bay and many islands in Van Don, Cam Pha district. With long and
smooth sand banks and clear water waves, Bai Tu Long Bay is associated with the
graceful and sweet beauty of a teen-aged girl. The bay also attracts a growing
number of domestic and foreign visitors to its historical and cultural sites,
rare and precious specialties, and a pristine beautiful natural landscape. Until
now, Bai Tu Long still remains a wide unexplored area. Being as beautiful as
neighbor Halong Bay, Bai Tu Long has many attractions to visit: Cong Do area,
Vung Vieng fishing village, Da Xep Park, Cong Dam area, Thien Canh Son cave,
Tra Gioi beach… There are some islands that people living there: Quan Lan
Island, Ngoc Vung Island, Cong Dong, Cong Tay Island with many beautiful
beaches. In addition, Bai Tu Long bay national park is rich in biological
diversity, home of many different flora and fauna.
Situated at Hung Thang
commune, Ha Long City, 20 km away from the tourist boat wharf, the fishing
village lies in a calm bay surrounded by mountain, which is called Cua Van. Cua Van village has a population of 733
in 176 households. They mainly earn their livelihood by fishing. Their floating
houses look spacious and clean. The well-off families even have tiled roof
houses with radios, television sets, tables and chairs…Cua Van fishing village
with the majestic limestone mountains, fishing villages on the river float. The
landscape here is extremely romantic and leave a distinct impression of
visitors to the boat roof painted colorful pictures create a shimmering sea
floating on Ha Long. These things make Travel Website Journeyetc.com put Cua
Van fishing village on a list of a rarity in the 16 villages still retain its
beauty glamour world. The lives of the people here have not been disturbed by
modern life. Cua Van fishing village by appealing not only beautiful natural
scenery, bustling life activities but also by people of all environment
conscious effort to preserve. At Cua Van, floating all are very clean, tidy.
People took turns rotating scavenging sailing on the sea every day, water
savings reduce the amount of waste to the marine environment. Therefore, Journeyetc.com
said Cua Van worthy places that tourists should visit to enjoy a once in a
lifetime.
Vong Vieng (Vung Vieng) fishing village is a small fishing village, beautiful and peaceful located on Bai Tu Long
Bay. Vong Vieng was far away land (a 1 and a half hours by boat from Bai Chay
Wharf) with more than 62 households, the
population is between 200 and 300 residents. This includes nearly 100 children.
These families have lived in this village for generations. The village is a
"floating village." The village is very poor so there are no
structures built on land.. Traditionally income for food and potable water
(imported from the mainland) came solely from fishing. Now, there is also some
supplemental income from tourism. Vong Vieng has gradually accessed to a
professional tourism and taken full advantage of their strengths. When going to
Vong Vieng fishing village, you can learn about fishing work and daily life of
the local inhabitants. These interesting things will attract tourists and make
them come back here in the near future.
v Gastronomy
Ha Long Bay is famous
because of many kinds of seafood like not only lobster, squid but also snails.
Besides these sea products, there are the usual seafood specialties such as:
shrimp, crab, fish, pomfret fish, fish etc.
Ha Long Bay Lobsters, they have long been titled as
King of highly nutritious seafood. Lobsters’ meat is extremely firm and sweet.
Once you have tried it, you will never forget its taste.
Oyster: Like lobster, oyster is one of the
famous seafood in Ha Long. Oysters live on the sandy beaches, seaside quagmire.
Oyster, which is high nutritious food, has a hard-shell and the red bowel.
Ha Long squid sausage is well-known not only in
all three parts inside the country but also for international tourists. True to
its name, the main ingredient is squid. However, it is said that no kind of
squid can make the squid sausage as wonderful as Ha Long Bay's squid. It must
be fresh squid that is newly caught. The dish, hence, will get the sharp.
Fried Sea Snails with Chili Sauce, Ha Long Bay Vietnam Apart from lobsters, squids, Ha Long has a less
expensive food but sharing the same appetizing taste: Sea Snail. Sea snails
vary widely in breed and cooking process; and fried sea snails with chili sauce
seems to be the most common.
v Climate
Ha Long Bay has a
tropical climate with four distinctive
seasons: spring, summer, autumn and
winter.
Spring happens from the middle of March
through June. Temperature during the spring season ranges from 19º C to 31º C.
The bay becomes more inviting in April and remains attraction to tourists
through October. There is still the possibility of rain and foggy conditions
during the spring months. March is considered an ideal time of year in Ha Long
Bay.
Summer from June to August is humid and warm.
Temperatures in June range from 21º C to 30ºC. In July, temperatures range from
22º C to 32º C and in August they range from 24º C to 34º C.
It is also the time when
tropical storms break out in the area and bring heavy rainfall.
Autumn runs from September through November
and brings cloudy weather with rain. September is still pleasant with
temperatures from 22º C to 30º C. The weather gets cooler with more rainfall in
October, with temperatures ranging from 20º C to 29º C, and in November
temperatures go down to 18º C to 30º C.
Winter extends from November through February
and sometimes as late as the middle of March. This time is referred to as the
low season. January and February are the most chilly months, with temperature
going down as low as 10º C and up to 30º C. The weather becomes quite cool in
the winter. There is low visibility with overcast conditions in December,
January and February.
v Get it
Thanks
to its popularity, Ha Long Bay is quite accessible from just anywhere in
Vietnam and neighbouring countries. Many visitors get to Ha Long Bay on a
larger international cruise ship which dock in Cai Lan International Port
(about 10 minutes from Halong Bay). Others choose to fly to Hanoi (180km) or
Hai Phong (80km) airport and take a road trip to the Bay.
By
car
Travelling
by car considers the best choice as its flexibility, safety, quality and
valuable rates. First, you follow Highway 18 to pass by Tuan Chau Island, Bai
Chay Road and Hon Gai Bridge. If you travel from Hanoi, an average trip without
traffic will take at least 4 hours for one way.
By
air
From
Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, you can fly either to Hanoi or Hai
Phong Airport and then get a car transfer to Ha Long Bay. From other Southeast
Asia countries, you also need to fly into one of these two airports to get
access to Ha Long Bay. From Cat Bi International Airport in Haiphong is roughly
2.5 hours away to Ha Long city by road.
By helicopter
You
can also travel to Ha Long Bay on helicopter which takes about 1.5 hour and it
is only possible from Gia Lam, Hanoi. Moreover, it only runs with a minimum of
six guests. This service is exclusively run by Northern Vietnam Helicopter
Company and it is quite a costly option to reach Ha Long Bay.
By
bus
The
best way to go to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi is by bus. It is cheap and comfortable
and the buses to Ha Long Bay are new, have air conditioning and come with a
safe driver. The road quality from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay is acceptable, not too
bumpy. However, this type is more suitable for those who are more familiar with
Vietnam conditions or has adventurous streak; for first time tourists, it is
not recommended.
By
motorbike
Once
you are in Vietnam, you can reach basically everywhere by motorcycle, even at
the most remote places. This type is the utmost adventurous and thrilling of
all. Since Ha Long bay is only 170 km away from Hanoi and the road is quite
straight forward, this is a good choice. However, it is advisable that you
should go with a small group of friends to support each other on the way,
especially in case a bike breaks down. Careful inspection of bike before the
trip is crucial to ensure a safest trip. It will take slightly longer than bus
or car to reach Ha Long and is certainly more tiring. Thus you need to have a detailed
plan before reaching Ha Long by motorbike.
