a life in words: the bay of descending dragons

2nd February 2012

Ha long Bay,Vietnam

Northern Vietnam plays host to a disarmingly cold climate at this time of the year, and a vast blanket of dense mist seems to hang constantly over Hanoi; obscuring the blue sky and sunshine which up until now had been a permanent fixture in the sky during this trip. I boarded the 24 hour coach in Vientiane in shorts and a t-shirt, sweating profusely from the humid climate but stepped off the coach a day later shivering from the biting cold which greeted me in the northern capital. The sudden change in temperature had me frantically delving into my bag to pull on my fleece and woolly hat as quickly as possible; items of clothing which had remained lảrgely untouched for months. I had not packed for this kind of weather and so those days spent in Hanoi saw me wearing pretty much all the clothes I had brought along on this trip; regularly wearing at least five layers wherever I went! I mentioned previously how I had got chatting to Rachel from London on the mega bus journey over here and since that first conversation in the cold and miserable immigration office at the border crossing, she has become the most recent addition to a long line of acquaintances that I've had the pleasure of travelling with. We explored the city of Hanoi together and on one of the days there we arranged to get ourselves onto a tour to go and see the famous Ha Long Bay which rests 170km from the capital. The name Ha Long translates literally as 'descending dragon bay' and to paraphrase from my rough guide, the myth - one of many myths which surround the area - came about when in the late nineteenth-century a French newspaper of the time, 'The Hai Phong News' printed a story whose title ran 'Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay'. The story reported that in 1898, sub-lieutenant Lagredin of the French exploration ship Avalanse, claimed to have seen a huge sea snake while exploring the Ha Long area. His claim was corroborated by his crew and the myth grew and now only adds to the area's impressive reputation. The 1,969 limestone karsts and isles which populate the green waters in Ha Long have resulted in the area being recognised as a world heritage sight by UNESCO and the serenity, tranquillity and stunning beauty which the place exudes in abundance has also secured it a place in the top seven natural wonders of the world. It was with great anticipation, therefore, that we awoke early on the morning of the 2nd ready to catch the minibus over to Ha Long city for a a trip which involved a tour of the islands on one of the 'junk boats' the area is also famous for. Arriving there for midday, we bumped into a German/Polish couple who had also been on the bus from Vientiane and together we climbed aboard our wooden-decked 'Hoa Binh 22' junk boat - which was in fact nothing like the authentic Chinese vessels of the same name - and set off towards the limestone islands which jutted into a misty sky overhead. Due to the bad weather, the bay had unfortunately been engulfed in a thick white blanket of mist which resulted in poor visibility but did give the place an eery and ghostly atmosphere appropriate to the magical stories which surround its heritage. Even though the rain never stopped falling, the impressive limestone islands which slowly came into view through the dense fog, for me at least, were every bit as impressive as I imagined. Standing on the deck of the junk boat as it cruised out to the famous congregation of limestone islands, I could see that we were being joined by a fleet of tourists vessels; each transporting an army of SLR wielding westerners all ready for battle. Stopping for awhile in the centre of the emerald islands, we had lunch aboard the boat as the patter of rain on the wooden deck above sound tracked the meal while the dark green karsts provided impressive scenery outside the rain-speckled windows. Floating markets selling recently caught fish rocked in the green waters and small row boats could be hired to do a tour of some small caves at the base of the imposing limestone outcrops which dominate the area. After lunch, the last part of the trip involved a brief hike through some of the larger caves that dwell in the western portion of the bay. Walking through Hang Dau Go and Hang Thien Cung caves we were greeted by unbelievable interiors boasting sparkling stalactites and razor sharp stalagmites which dripped with water that had creeped in from the lashing rain outside. Artificial lights had been placed out of view to light the caves in a spectrum of striking greens, blues, oranges and reds; the colours reflecting off the limestone formations in a dazzling vibrancy which added immeasurably to the grandeur of the place. Leaving the caves late afternoon, we all headed back down a small winding path to the boat which gently rocked in the dark green waters of the cove below. Looking back from the stern of our junk boat as it cruised back to the mainland, I caught one final glimpse of the famous limestone outcrops just before the thick fog engulfed them back into obscurity; hiding them once again behind the vast cloud curtain which hung from an impenetrable sky overhead.

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The fleet of wooden 'junk' boats which littered the green waters, ferrying hordes of tourists back and forth to the limestone outcrops.

Ha Long Bay

Location of Ha Long Bay

The famous limestone islands were partially concealed by a thick blanket of fog. Poor visibility was always going to be a danger at this time of year but I'm still glad I got out to see it.