Wanderlust: Ha Long Bay

I've just returned from 4 days in Ha Long Bay and tomorrow I'm off again. Hanoi just isn't where it's at. While I have wifi from the comfort of my hostel, I thought I'd get a few pictures up. Ha Long Bay was just as amazing as I hoped it would be. We got to see the bay and all of the amazing limestone islands from one of the many junks that travel the waters there. We walked through an awesome cave that actually housed people during war time, kayaked a bit, and even saw some monkeys. We spent one night on the boat, then the next two nights on Cat Ba island. Cat Ba was supposed to be a beach retreat for me, but we were unfortunately presented with a bit of rain and chill. No matter. I still met some fantastic people and had a relaxing time.

Of course, this means my pictures didn't come out as beautifully as I would have liked. I don't think you can really get an idea of just how beautiful this place was, with hundreds of small limestone islands rising from the water. Ha Long means "descending dragons", and I can certainly see why. It's not hard to picture the many islands as humps in a swimming dragon's back. In the mist, its magical.

While on Cat Ba, since the was no sun for a nice swim, I instead took a walk and strolled through a more residential, non touristy area. I had a great time, as the locals eagerly asked me to take their picture wherever I went. They had me smiling the whole time.

I returned today. Hanoi has surprisingly gone from unbelievably warm and humid to a bit chilly in a rather short period of time. Winter is setting in, apparently. So I think I'll follow the warmth and head south from here. I'm really looking forward to discovering what the smaller towns of Vietnam have to offer. Stay tuned :-)

Cruise ships with the misty islands in the background.