Cruising Ha Long Bay by Junk Boat
One of the most famous and popular places to visit in Vietnam is undoubtedly Ha Long Bay. This are of outstanding natural beauty is a huge attraction to both Vietnamese and foreign people who make their way to Ha Long City.
Ha Long Bay has 1969 limestone mountains poking up out of the sea at various points within an area of 1,500 square kilometres inside the bay. The name Ha Long actually means the descending or landing dragon, as it is believed that the mountains look like parts of a dragons body protruding from the sea water.
The only way to get out into the water and get a close up view of the islands is to get on one of the hundreds of junk boats that take visitors out every day. During peak season there can be up to 500 junk boats sailing around!
These junk boats used to be painted bright red and would have looked dramatic and beautiful sailing out around the islands. However, they have now all been painted white as a tourism minister visited the south of France and saw that all the yachts there were white and decided that all the junk boats of Ha Long Bay should be painted immediately. I can’t help but think this is such a shame as they would have looked totally unique if they were all still red.
The islands are lush and most are completely green and come in all different shapes and sizes. If you have a tour guide on your junk boat, which I’d recommend, then they will point out islands that are in the shape of certain things if you look at them from the correct angle. There’s a dog, a cat, chickens, fish, King Kong, a man’s face and loads more besides if you are willing to use your imagination.
Among the islands there is a floating village of people who are specifically allowed to live here as a third of the site of Ha Long Bay is protected by UNESCO due to its intense natural beauty. The people allowed to live here are fishermen whose ancestors have been living and fishing on the land for hundreds of years. The floating village even has a little school for the children of the fishermen to attend.
On the day I visited Ha Long Bay the visibility wasn’t that great and there was a sort of grey mist hanging over the bay. This made cruising around the islands seem peaceful and almost a little eerie. It really is like nowhere on earth I’ve ever seen before and it’s a place that is absolutely worth visiting.
I’m Emma, a twenty-something Scottish girl who’s obsessed with travel.
I’ve been to 38 countries so far and had some incredible adventures around the world.
My passion for travel and writing led me to create my person blog Emma’s Travel Tales.