1000 Places to See Before You Die 11 - Halong Bay, Vietnam
In 2009 on my big Asia trip we also went to Halong Bay in Vietnam. It is situated in the north of Vietnam 160 km east of Hanoi. We went on a day trip from Hanoi. It should be easy to find an agency to book you a trip. As always watch out for tourist traps. It is of course hard to know until you are stuck in said trap whether or not a specific agency has conned you. But ask other travelers for recommendations and check reputable guide books/websites for reviews. Halong Bay was according to legend created by a dragon coming from the mountains. It moved towards the ocean and along the way it carved out valleys and gouges with its tail and as it plunged into the sea, the area behind it filled up with water leaving only the tips of the gouged out landscape visible. These tips are what you see rising from the water today. The bay was named a World Heritage Site in 1994, and the limestone islands, called karsts, dotted with grottoes fully deserve this designation....