Ha Long Bay

Sunrise over Ha Long Bay

I got up at my usual hour of 0430 and sat in the dining room trying to catch up on the journal, but I kept getting up and going outside to look at the stars and the growing light on the eastern horizon (and took numerous snapshots). Eventually it got light enough I adjourned to a table on the side deck off the dining room and, with the arrival of coffee, I sat there as the rest of the crew and walkers woke up. Around 0645, the smaller junks individually hoisted anchor and left the cove, leaving the Classic IV and a larger boat still anchored there.

Sunrise and breakfast
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Sunrise over Ha Long Bay.

Jonathan collecting a few images.

I liked that the cloud formation repeated the shape of the silouetted karst.

Sheri silouetted against the morning sky.

The sun beginning to peer through the clouds.

Now shining across the water.

The cliff faces illuminated by the morning sun.

Tai chi lessons on an adjacent boat.

A fishing boat bracketed by karsts.

Yellow billed reef egret (Egretta sacra).

Julie, Barbara, and Gwen.

Tom and Carol.

Our fellow walkers: Leah (back to camera), Audra, Julie, Lyn, Terry, Alan (seated), John, and Jack (seated).

Half of the breakfast spread.

The other half.

Black kite (Milvus migrans) in flight.

Exiting Sung Sot (Surprising Grotto)

2016.11.08.1220 Aboard the Bhaya Classic IV on Halong Bay (Dong Tien “Lake”), Vietnam

After breakfast, actually just before, the Classic IV hoisted anchor and we threaded our way among the limestone karsts to the Surprise Grotto. The grotto is a couple hundred feet above sea level and is thus a “dry” cave. It consists of three main chambers accessible to the public. The cave is lit with various colored spotlights — which drew a certain amount of negative commentary from the group. I was OK with it, but understand the desire for more neutral lighting — I won’t say “natural” light, after all, what is natural light in a cave?

From signage at the landing:

CULTURAL AND VALUE:

Ha Long Bay is an area that was home to the ancient Viet people in prehistoric times. There have been three continuous cultures, dating from 18,000 to 3,500 years ago, including Soi Nhu, Cai Beo, and Ha Long.

Ha Long Bay was the first ancient international trade-port for Viet Nam in the 12th century and is the place of many glorious victories of the nation from the 10th to the 20th century.

Ha Long Bay is also the home of fishing communities, where traditional cultural values are well-preserved.

GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY VALUE

Ha Long bay’s ancient karst landscape results from complex geological processes taking over five hundred million years, resulting from the earth’s movements, sea regression, tectonic down-warping, and sea transgression, to create thousands of limestone islands emerging from the sea. It is composed of sedimentary deposits containing the remains of flora and fauna from the ancient past in may forms, including those of plants and animals that have become extinct.

Many of Ha Long Bay’s limestone caves, such as Thien Cung, Dau Go, Sung Sot, Tam Cung, and Me Cung have ben 11,000 to 700,000 years in the making. These caves are the results of water seeping into cracks and slowly eroding the limestone.

BIODIVERSITY VALUE

Ha Long Bay is a biodiverse site with ecosystems including: tropical rain forests, mangrove forests, tidal mud flats without mangroves, sandy tidal flats, sea grasses, coral reefs, caves, and lagoons.

To date, scientists have listed the number of species living in Ha Long Bay as 435 species of plant life, 22 sea animal species, 76 species of bird, 28 varieties of mangrove flora, 5 species of sea grass, 315 species of fish, 545 species of invertebrates, 234 species of coral, 411 species of plankton, and 139 species of sea-weed.

The variety of natural environments in Ha Long Bay provides favorable habitats for unique and beautiful species of flora and fauna that are endemic to Ha Long Bay including: Ha Long Ginger, Ha Long cycad, Ha Long fan palm, Ha Long Jusmine (sic), Ha Long thick-stemmed Balsam, Ha Long Fig, Woolly Chirita, Ha Long Chirita, Chirita Modesta, Paraboea Ha Longensis, Zeuxinnella Vietnamica, Ha Long Schefflera, Ha Long cave loach.

Sung Sot (Surprising Grotto)
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The landing below Sung Sot, the Surprising Grotto.

Truong briefing the group: Alan, Leah, Judy, Audra, Albert, Steve, Terry, Lyn, and Trung.

Climbing the >100 stairs to the cave entry.

The view from the cave entrance.

Julie, Judy (obscured), Alan, and Lyn.

The stop sign was an admonition not to enter the little passageway to the left of the sign.

Audra leading through a narrow passage.

A stalagmite illuminated in red against the natural light from the cave entry.

Truong described this as a pointing finger. Less noble-minded folks had a different interpretation.

Just to the left of the green illuminated structure, two staff members keep an eye on things.

A long view into the third and largest chamber of the grotto.

A long view back towards the cave entry.

The blue illuminated formation is called the 'smiling Buddha.' Hung suggested it was my portrait in stone.

Another view back towards the entrance.

The Ferdinand (blue) and Isabella (light purple illuminated) formation.

Looking back towards the town/city.

The walkway to the departure landing. Tthe 'diamond-in-a-circle' motif is a UNESCO World Heritage logo.

Boarding the tender for the trip back to the Clasic IV.

Hauling Anchor (5 MB video, 0:15)

Inside Sung Sot (Surprising Grotto)