Bay of Dragons

Last week, I took a 4-hour bus ride out of Hanoi to visit one of Vietnam’s most famous tourist sites, Ha Long Bay—a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A part of the Gulf of Tonkin, the bay is full of thousands of limestone karsts rising out of the water, as well as islands where you can enjoy a walk on the beach, hike to a hilltop pagoda, or explore a cave.

Ha Long Bay means Descending Dragon Bay. According to legend, the gods sent a family of dragons down to help the Vietnamese in their fight against the Chinese. The dragons came to present-day Ha Long Bay and began spitting out jewels and jade. Upon hitting the water, these jewels turned into the various islands and islets dotting the seascape and formed a fortress against the invaders. The dragons fell so much in love with the area that they decided to remain on earth. The mother dragon lies on what is now Ha Long and her children lie is Bai Tu Long.

Despite the lack of sun during my visit, the area was still beautiful and majestic. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures below from my trip.

Typical junk (aka, boat) touring around the Bay.

Limestone formations at Ha Long Bay.

View of Ha Long Bay from the front of our junk.

Exploring the largest cave in Ha Long Bay.

Another view of Ha Long Bay from our boat.

Oh, Happy Day

This week has been a fantastic week so far and it can only end with epic week status. I haven’t traveled anywhere new, had interesting discussions with locals, or generally had any crazy experiences. It has just been one of those weeks where you feel like nothing can bring you down. Mostly, it is because my mom and sister arrive on Saturday, so I’ve been flying high on cloud 9 all week in anticipation of their arrival. I’m not the travel planner that my sister is, so there is no scheduled itinerary, at least not yet. I’m just looking forward to actually spending time with loved ones in person. We could sit in my apartment all week and I’d be happy! Have no fear though, I will take them around Hanoi and be sure to post pictures of the hilarity that ensues. There may even be video!

Other than being excited about my family’s arrival, I had a great time reconnecting with a friend in Hanoi, and one of my Hanoi friends had an adorable baby girl on Monday. I had the chance to hang out with them and soak up the new baby smell and feel on Tuesday night. Then, one of my colleagues brought the office a 5-pound bag of assorted bite sized chocolates from his trip to Seattle! Tuesday morning never looked as good as it did yesterday with Twix, Milky Ways, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers for breakfast! To top it off, he brought me and my roommate a box of Girl Scout cookies! It is a good thing I also found a fabulous new step class at my gym this week!

Here’s to friends, chocolate, new babies, a good sweat, and visitors!