Halong Bay (April 01)

According to our guide, there are1,969 island in Halong Bay. Composed primarily of limestone and jutting out of the sea, most are too vertical and too arid for human occupation. Nestling in between some of the islands are floating villages. The people who live in these villages are fishermen and their families. Some even have rudimentary school.

We entered Halong Bay before sunrise. There was a substantial haze, making picture taking even more difficult.











After the ship docked, we headed out on a kayaking adventure. A bus took us to a pier where we boarded a sampan.





Only about 30 tourist sampans where moving around with at least 100 more at anchor. Our guide told us that on weekends it was not unusual for the demand for such craft to exceed the supply. Some offer weekend trips, staying out overnight among the island.

The sampan took us across an open part of the bay and in between some of the islands.











We arrived at one of the fishing villages.





In the picture below, note the round of huge lightbulbs above the boat's cabin. The fisherman use the lights to attract squid at night.


We transferred from the sampan to kayaks.


Off we went.














Throughout the day, vendors were never far away.


Yes the man in the picture above is wearing a box on his head. Even when the sampan was moving, boats trying to sell something would come along side.


In general the people we saw were reserved, but we did get some smiles and a wave.


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