Monday, 6 February 2023 - We left the Hanoi hotel and drove to Hạ Long Bay. We boarded a riverboat which would tour the bay and we would stay overnight.

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Hạ Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Hạ Long means "descending dragon". The bay features thousands of limestone islands in various shapes and sizes.
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Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 600 square miles, including approximately 1,960 islands, most of which are limestone.
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It was very cloudy and sometimes a mist of rain.
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According to local legend, when Vietnam had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight against invaders. To assist the Vietnamese in defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders.
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We sailed through the bay and islands for a few hours. The scenery was beautiful.
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Oyster farms in the bay.
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Vietnamese fishing boat.
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Huge rock islands popping out of the water.
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Close up look at the limestone island.
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A fishing boat about to disappear behind a rock wall.
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The weather was bad - so some pictures look better in black and white.
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The boat dropped anchor and there was an excursion to the large island of Cat Ba and then a drive to the Trung Trang Cave complex.

A short climb to the cave entrance.
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The path through the cave is long - about 300 yards. And you see the typical cave rock formations.
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Many stalactites in very dim light.
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Minerals drip down the sides of the cave forming odd rock formations.
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Strange tubes formed in the rock.
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A small tree growing in the bay - at low tide.
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Back on the boat we cruised through the rocks for another hour before stopping for dinner.
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Some locals out fishing late in the day.
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The setting sun did provide interesting light making the water reflect green.
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The light was running out - one last picture of the giant limestone islands.


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