Our second stop in Vietnam was Ha Long Bay, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Gulf of Tonkin with about 2,000 limestone karsts rising from the water. Ha Long means “descending dragon.” The famous karsts formed over 500 million years, and our guide informed us that climate change 20,000 years ago brought the water we see now from melted ice caps to the bay. The organic limestone was formed by the accumulation of shells from sea organisms that create calcium carbonate; plate tectonics then forged the limestone into the tall karsts, some hundreds of feet high. We took a cruise to Bai Tu Long, a farther, quieter section of the bay that sees 40 cruises per day, as opposed to the 500 that crowd the area closer to shore. Swan Cruises provided a comfortable room and a few relaxing days of kayaking and cave exploring with excellent views everywhere. We stopped in a model of a local fishing village, where we saw a demonstration of pearl farming. After dinner, Alexa tried her hand at squid fishing, and I came in second place playing a game in which I tried to balance two forks on a toothpick stuck in a lime on top of a beer bottle. While much of the experience was enjoyable, the food on the cruise was memorably bad – worse than any meal we’ve ever had in a highway rest stop or bowling alley. Here is a selection:
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September 2018
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