Ha Long Bay 1

Ha Long Bay is, I believe, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I'd been looking forward to this segment of the trip the most. I love boats and the water, and the concept of an ecomuseum was one that I really wanted to explore. I was not disappointed.

It was a few hours bus ride north, northeast from Hanoi. We arrived as it fell dark, so really couldn't see anything around us. We boarded a small boat to travel to our boat, then our boat drove into our docking location in the bay, while we settled into our cabins and prepared for dinner.


This was my cabin. It was so comfortable! And this was the boat that we had to ourselves for the 2.5 days.


I woke the next morning and promptly opened my curtains to see what I could see. OH MY!!! I can't even imagine being graced by such beauty every single day. The photos really don't do the place justice. It is all limestone karst islands and outcrops, lush with foliage, sea kites flying everywhere, and an incredible sense of place that I just can't find words for.


One of the tourist junks nearby. Spectacular, and yet typical, scenery in the bay.


The ecomuseum is an amazing concept. Part museum, part ecological preserve, it is completely community-inspired and community-driven. It is intended to be a way to develop economically, yet also foster cultural heritage preservation, both tangible and intangible. Ha Long Bay is twice inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, once for landscape and aesthetic values, and once for scientific and geologic values. The community is seeking a third designation, for culture.

This is one of the key pieces of the project, the floating museum at Cua Van. In total, there are 12 component sites of the ecomuseum project, and one hub that is in planning stages.


Inside the floating museum. The model was built by the community and shows the museum's place in this section of Ha Long Bay, there at the far left, where it is protected from cyclones. These are fish traps used by the community for subsistence fishing.


After the museum we stopped at the village school.

Innovation at work to make the boat more comfortable. The lower school meets in the morning while the upper school uses the classroom in the afternoon.


That afternoon we went hiking. Our first stop was Me Cung Grotto, another of the 12 sites.

This is the game that the older gentlemen were playing at the temple I visited my first day in Hanoi.


And they keep climbing! Funny how the sign is in English, isn't it? The last photo here is from my friend Joanne. Yes, I'm there in the red shirt.