After a few days in Hanoi, we zipped over to Halong Bay for our three day/two night tour on a traditional Vietnamese junk in this stunning archipelago. Jess was still with us and so we booked a triple suite on board our beautifully restored junk, the Paloma.
According to Lonely Planet, Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’, and legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible.
Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, this mystical landscape of limestone islets is stupendously spectacular, especially as the eerie fogs roll in and you fell as if you have been transported into a dream.