Ha Long Bay
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On our way to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most touristed sites in Vietnam...for a very good reason. Here's more info http://www.travelfish.org/location/vietnam/hanoi_and_surrounds/quang_ninh/ha_long_bay edit
There are a lot of these women who sit alongside the highway and sell food. I assume to people on their way to work. This lady has French bread.
The harbour at Hai Phong. A complete madhouse of tour groups coming and going.
Our boat for the next 3 days, the Halong Phoenix Cruiser.
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Our cabin, with AC, our own bathroom and shower. Plus a window.
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The top deck of our boat.
The dining room and bar.
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"Hey! Hey You! Buy Something?" These young women row back and forth between the tourist boats selling fruit and food. A horribly tough job.
They are also incredibly persistent. "Buy Something!?"
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A floating fishing village, there are an estimated 8,000 people living in the bay.
Looking up at the exit of Surprising Cave from the water.
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Surprising Cave
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Make sure to enlarge this one, it's huge. That's why it's "Surprising."
Looking out over the tour boats from the overlook/exit of Surprising Cave.
Part of a floating fishing village.
We were told that there were 500 tour ships in the bay at any given time.
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Cuttlefish that have been captured in the fishing village.
Squid fishing boat
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A very famous landmark in the bay - The Fighting Cocks.
The bay is kind of trashed, with debris floating everywhere, especially in the central bay where all the ships overnight. The Gov hires these guys to try and clean some of it up.
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Our kayak guide in a mellow mood (Deb says he was playing Beatles songs.)
We took a morning kayak trip. This is a pearl farm.
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Harvesting Oysters
While we kayaked this boat followed us and was our place to have lunch and rest.
The captain/owner of the boat cooked us an entire four course meal on a wok in that little closet in the back left corner.
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It's hard to see, but he's cooking here.
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These are 6,000 year old piles of snail shells. People used to live in this cave when the area was still fresh-water.
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