On the northern coast of Vietnam is an otherwordly area known as Halong Bay. Halong Bay is nearly 930 square miles in size and features somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 limestone islands and outcroppings (it can be hard to count all of them, let alone remember which ones have been counted!).
Halong literally means “descending dragon,” and there’s a local legend that says that when the Vietnamese were fighting foreign invaders long ago, the gods sent a family of fighting dragons to help them defend the land. As the dragons descended upon the area, they spit jewels and gems, and when these hit the water, they turned into little islands, which today dot the bay.
As I was traveling through Halong Bay — especially when I was at water level via kayak — I felt like I was immersed in a place that hovered somewhere between Middle Earth (from Lord of the Rings) and the luscious green backdrop of Jurassic Park. Here are a few of the shots that I snapped while I was visiting Halong Bay.
Nomadic Matt
as much as i dislike Vietnam, I did think halong bay was beautiful…minus the “dragon” in the cave..that was super cheesy!
October 28, 2010 at 5:37 am
JoAnna
I can’t say that I saw the dragon in the cave, which is probably a good thing, huh? We did go into a few caves, though, and I have to say that I was shocked at how badly they had been damaged. The best thing they could do with them, in my opinion, is just leave them alone and not take anyone into them.
I know you’re not a fan of Vietnam, but I am glad you found Halong Bay to be beautiful.
October 28, 2010 at 5:53 am
Jen Laceda
Oh my gosh, this looks very familiar to me. In 2002, we went on a kayaking tour of Halong Bay with Handspan Travel. At that time, we were allowed to set up overnight camp at the reserve (is this still the case? I heard a “no-camping” policy now). It was so amazing!!
October 28, 2010 at 9:42 am
JoAnna
I didn’t hear anything about overnight camping, so I’m not actually sure Jen. There were private beaches in the bay where certain companies stopped for lunch or whatnot, but I don’t about overnight camping at the reserve.
October 28, 2010 at 8:03 pm
pam
I was at Halong Bay in really heavy fog and low clouds. It was totally different than this, but I, too, found it freaky beautiful. I’m happy to see what it looked like under better skies.
October 28, 2010 at 1:53 pm
JoAnna
Thanks for stopping by, Pam. We had rain for a good portion of the trip, which is why some of the photos are a bit misty, but at least we could see the outcroppings. It would have been such a bummer if there had been fog!
October 28, 2010 at 8:05 pm
malaysia luxury hotels
beautiful view on Images of Halong Bay, Vietnam, I am like your blog, wao the sunset, beach I like it
October 28, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Sophie
Looks beautiful and misty, mystical
October 29, 2010 at 5:52 am
Candice
These shots are unreal, JoAnna!! I love it!
October 29, 2010 at 5:52 am
Lola
Really beautiful!
October 29, 2010 at 8:13 am
Abbie
very cool pictures
October 29, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Zablon Mukuba
these are wonderful photos i am very impressed
October 30, 2010 at 2:19 am
Adam
Great pictures. We absolutely loved our time in Halong Bay, and it was a great start to our month in Vietnam, one of our favorite countries on Earth.
You got some great shots, thanks for sharing!
November 1, 2010 at 9:43 am
Gray
Wow, this place is beautiful. Those cliffs are majestic. And is it just me, or is anyone else always surprised that vegetation can grow off rock cliffs like that?
November 2, 2010 at 4:43 pm
johnny
amazing photos! what camera do u use?! i was there last year, halong bay town is a sh*t hole!!! but the bay is beautiful =)
November 4, 2010 at 2:11 pm
JoAnna
@Johnny ~ I didn’t actually spend any time in the town near Halong Bay, but I’ve heard that it’s not particularly pleasant, which is really unfortunate. Thanks for the kudos on my photos. I use a Nikon CoolPix P100.
November 10, 2010 at 7:55 am
Nadine
Great pics! What time of year did you go?
November 21, 2010 at 11:45 pm
JoAnna
I was in Halong Bay in early September — monsoon season! It actually rained most of the time I was there, which was a bummer, but it was still really beautiful!
November 23, 2010 at 4:53 pm