Halong Bay, Vietnam <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/favicon.ico" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <meta name="Keywords" content="Halong Bay"> <meta name="Description" content="Halong Bay is a scenic bay in northern Vietnam that is inscribed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site"> <LINK REL="StyleSheet" HREF="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/stylesheet.css" TYPE="text/css" MEDIA="screen"> </head> <script type="text/javascript"> window.google_analytics_uacct = "UA-10972741-16"; </script> <body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" link="#0000FF" alink="FF0000" vlink="#0000FF"> <div align="center"> <table width="96%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr><td><h1><a href="http://www.earthdocumentary.com/index.htm"><img src="http://www.earthdocumentary.com/0/gbl.gif" border="0" alt="Explore a different destination" title="Explore a different destination"></a> Halong Bay<font size="4"><br></h1><hr size="1" width="100%" color="#CBD3E2"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/02.gif" title="Home" border="0"></a> <a href=javascript:history.back()><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/back1.gif" title="Go back one page" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/hanoi.gif" title="Hanoi" name="Hanoi" alt="Hanoi" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.asiaexplorers.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/asia.gif" title="Asia" name="Asia" alt="Asia" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.earthdocumentary.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/earth.gif" alt="Earth" name="Earth" id="Earth" border="0" title="Earth"></a> <a href="http://www.worldgreatestsites.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/world.gif" title="World Greatest Sites" alt="World Greatest Sites" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.timothytye.com"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/tim.gif" title="Tim" alt="Tim" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.budgetaccommodationguide.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/budget-hotels.gif" title="Budget Accommodation Guide" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.timothytye.com/advertise.htm"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/buttons/advertise.gif" title="Advertise on this page" alt="Advertise on this page" border="0"></a> <a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" onclick="addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; return addthis_click(this);" target="_blank"><img src="http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" height="16" border="0" alt="Bookmark and Share" /></a> <script type="text/javascript">var addthis_pub = 'afriendlytim';</script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://s9.addthis.com/js/widget.php?v=10"></script> <a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/hanoitraveltips.rss"><img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/logo/rss.png" alt="Hanoi Travel Tips RSS Feeds" title="Hanoi Travel Tips RSS Feeds" border="0"></a><br><br><form action="http://www.asiaexplorers.com/asiaexplorers-search-results.htm" id="cse-search-box"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-6764158085453359:k218i4yvwcm" /> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="31" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/coop/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box&lang=en"></script> </td></tr> <tr><td align="left" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="6" border="0"> <tr><td align="left" width="*" valign="top"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <h2>About Halong Bay</h2> <span class="bodytext">  Halong Bay is a scenic bay in northern Vietnam. Called Vinh Ha Long in Vietnamese, it is a major tourist destination in the Gulf of Tonkin. It was recognised by Unesco as a World Heritage Site since 1994. Located 170 km east of Hanoi. It takes about three hour to get there Halong Bay from the capital.<br><br> Vinh Ha Long means Bay of the Descending Dragon. The origin of this name is linked to one of the many skirmishes the Vietnamese had with their mighty neighbour up north, China. According to legend, during one of the invasions mounted by the Chinese on Vietnam, the Vietnamese called upon the gods for assistance. The gods sent a troop of dragons to help defend the land. The dragons descended in Vietnam at Halong Bay. Out of their mouths came - not fire - but jewels, and these jewels transformed into the many isles and islets dotting the bay. These tiny islands became a natural shield against sea invasion, and three times in Vietnamese history, the labyrinthine passages through the islands prevented the Chinese from landing. Even the Mongols were thwarted in their 13th century attempt to conquer Vietnam - the Vietnamese led by General Tran Hung Dao planted steel-tipped wooden stakes into the sea bed. When the Mongol fleet passed through them, the stakes punctured their ships, sinking them.<br><br> Halong Bay covers an area of 1500 square kilometres. Within this area is close to two thousand limestone islands (someone counted and claimed there're 1969 islands) that jut out in spectacular fashion from the sea. The islands are similar to those at Phangnga Bay in Thailand, and come in unusual shapes. Some of these have their own names, such as <a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/fighting-cock-island.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Fighting Cock Island</a>, a pair of limestone outcrops that look more like a two chicks about to, not fight, but kiss. There are so many islands, but the ones I can name include Yen Ngua Islet, Ba Trai Dao Islet, Con Coc Islet, Cong Do Island, Soi Sim Islet. We stopped over at Ti Top Island where we climbed up to the view point right up at the top.<br><br> The islands of Halong Bay are pockmarked with caves and grottoes. The largest of these is <a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/sung-sot-cave.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Sung Sot Cave</a>. The scenery from the mouth of the cave is simply postcard perfect. The other significant caves in Halong Bay include Ba Ham Cave, Bo Nau Cave, Dau Go Cave, Kim Quy Cave, Luon Cave, Me Cung Cave, Tam Cung Cave, Thien Cung Cave and Trinh Nu Cave. <h3>Getting there</h3> You can book a tour to Halong Bay through a travel agent in Hanoi, or through the hotel you are staying in. <h3>Other Sights in and around Halong Bay</h3> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/bai-chay.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Bai Chay</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/bo-hon-island.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Bo Hon Island</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/cat-ba-national-park.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Cat Ba National Park</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/fighting-cock-island.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Fighting Cock Island</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/me-cung-cave.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Me Cung Cave</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/sung-sot-cave.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Sung Sot Cave</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/titov-island.htm" style="text-decoration:none">Titov Island</a></li> </td> <td align="left" width="500" valign="top">  <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <h3>Halong Bay Location Map</h3> <span class="bodytext"> <iframe width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107231365091486332170.00046bcbdb8106858e4ee&ll=20.915266,106.999969&spn=0.641399,0.686646&z=10&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107231365091486332170.00046bcbdb8106858e4ee&ll=20.915266,106.999969&spn=0.641399,0.686646&z=10&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Halong Bay</a> in a larger map</small> <br><br> <span class="captiontext"> <img src="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/pics/halong-bay-1.jpg" alt="Islands of Halong Bay" name="Islands of Halong Bay" id="Islands of Halong Bay" border="1" style="Islands of Halong Bay"><br><b>Islands of Halong Bay</b> (31 August 2006)<br>© Timothy Tye<br><br> <img src="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/pics/halong-bay-2.jpg" alt="Islands of Halong Bay" name="Islands of Halong Bay" id="Islands of Halong Bay" border="1" style="Islands of Halong Bay"><br><b>Islands of Halong Bay</b> (31 August 2006)<br>© Timothy Tye<br><br> <img src="http://www.hanoi-traveltips.com/pics/karst-mountains-of-halong-bay.jpg" alt="Karst mountains of Halong Bay" name="Karst mountains of Halong Bay" id="Karst mountains of Halong Bay" border="1" style="Karst mountains of Halong Bay"><br><b>Karst mountains of Halong Bay</b> (31 August 2006)<br>© Timothy Tye<br><br> </td> </tr></table> <br><script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br><br> </td></tr> <tr><td><table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr><td align="center"> <span class="bodytext"> <div align="left"> <img src="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/logo/more-to-explore.jpg" alt="" border="0"><br><br> <IFRAME SRC="http://www.penang-traveltips.com/my-latest-updates.htm" FRAMEBORDER=1 WIDTH="100%" HEIGHT=245> If you read this message, your browser doesn't understand IFRAME. 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