Halong Bay--one of the most beautiful old places in the world?

We left Hanoi yesterday for a three hour drive to Halong Bay, a gorgeous spot on the China Sea, with thousands of huge jagged mountains thrusting up from the water.  These mountains are almost impossible to understand without seeing them.  They point straight up, with tufts of lush green brush growing on the sides and tops.  They are primarily limestone, so they are lighter rock underneath, stained by years of blackening from rain and sea. There are only two places in the world that have this kind of natural formation, Western China and Halong Bay.  A particular combination of river erosion, earthquakes, and sea level shifts created these amazing mountains. The bay has been home to humans for at least ten thousand years, with archeologists still finding bones, coins, tools, and artifacts in some of the limestone caves.  

We arrived in the bay and went to the marina. The area is obviously booming, with older buildings and open spaces being replaced by row after row of very sterile generic condos along the waterfront.  We boarded small power boats that took us out to our big boat, the Jasmine.  The Jasmine was three stories high plus a lovely roof deck.  It was a large wooden traditional Chinese junk, complete with two large fan-shaped sails on top.  Junks are flat bottomed boats, shaped almost like a paper carton for French fries.  From the deck on up, they are stacked and squared, almost like traditional Mississippi River boats.  The Jasmine was gorgeous, like a real luxury hotel, with bamboo panelling and big showers and comfy beds, which were very welcome after the overnight on the train the night before.  

The Jasmine took us out into the bay past the mountains, zigging and gently zagging, following the beautiful channels in the green water. It was overcast and humid, and the moisture colored the mountains different shades of gray depending on how close we were to each one.  Small traditional fishing boats worked around us, and we saw other junks moving slowly through the mist. 

Later in the day we went out in smaller boats to get near to a small floating fishing village.  In order not to disturb the village, we got into small flat-bottomed wood boats paddled by villagers. They rowed us past their small wood floating houses, the small school, and the one government building.  The village has been there for hundreds of years, hidden in a large natural cove with a small mouth between two looming mountain heads.  This keeps the water fairly smooth and protects from storms. The government has started to encourage families to move to shore, and has built them houses and guaranteed an education for their kids.  This helps alleviate the poverty and environmental impact.  People in this village were obviously poor, and tourism also brings them much-needed additional income.  

We also stopped at a large cave and had the chance to walk around.  Giant stalactites and stalagmites gleamed white around us.  The cave was filled with tiny mollusk shells, most of which are ancient and belong to a freshwater species--signaling that this cave was river-carved and ancient, from before the sea level rose.  Humans have lived in the cave for at least 10 thousand years.  And people from the nearby floating fishing village traditionally sent young people there when they got married as a sort of honeymoon.

After a lovely night back on the Jasmine, and some delicious and plentiful food, we got up early to get going.  Many students were up for the misty morning sunrise at 5:45 am sunrise, and everyone was up for the 7:00 am tai chi session on the roof deck.  With thick strong coffee and some croissants, it was a great way to start the day!

Before we left the Jasmine, we got to land on an island.  There was a steep trail with more than 400 steps going almost straight up to the top with a viewing platform.  Many people started up.  Jess, Lauren, Ashley, Sophie and Mariam made it all the way.  The rest of us were swimming in the glorious warm green water, with the mountains around us, and the sun making the morning glisten with gold.  

And now we are on a bus, on the way to the airport as we leave northern Viet Nam for good.