Took a Sunday night walk in Hanoi before leaving Monday morning for the #1 beauty spot in northern Vietnam, Ha Long Bay. Four hours on a bus through rice paddies, tall thin houses and dogs going to new owners ---- or some other fate. But when the road met the sea, we weren't prepared to be so awed and enchanted....
Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious: words can't do justice to this natural wonder. Picture 2000 karst islands rising from emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin -----breathtaking beauty, that's all I can say. Declared a UNESCO site in 1994, it's more magical than the 3 Gorges of China or Krabi in Thailand. Legend has it that a dragon descending in to the sea thrashed its tail and left all these sea-bumps!
The only picture I can show on a clear day is from a postcard. We had fog and drizzle, but somehow it added to the enchantment as we glided quietly as if not to break the spell. Even the floating fishing village seemed a piece of art. Really, truly, the most fantastical visions I've had in 86 countries.
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