Places of Interest - Vietnam

The Ha Long Bay is a bay near the town of Hạ Long in the north of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, near the border with China. The bay has a coastline of 120 kilometers and the area covers about 1500 square kilometers. In the bay are 1969 limestone islands, each with dense vegetation at the top. The limestone monoliths rise spectacularly from the ocean and are a big tourist site. Several of the islands are hollow, with huge caves. Hang Đầu Gổ (Wooden Sticks Cave) is the largest of these caves. French tourists who visited this cave at the end of the 19th century called him Grotte des Merveilles (Cave of the Miracles). The three large rooms contain many large stalactites and stalagmites (and French 19th-century graffiti). In addition to the caves, there are beautiful white sandy beaches. In 1994 the Ha Long Bay was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam and thousands of tourists visit Halong Bay every year during a tour. Some of the islands have floating villages of fishermen catching 200 species of fish and 450 species of molluscs in the shallow waters. Animals live on some islands, such as chickens, monkeys and iguanas, such as in the "Cat Ba" national park.

The bay of "Halong" has a long and sustainable history. In the bay Vietnam has had several sea battles with its neighbors. Up to three times the Vietnamese army has stopped the Chinese in the labyrinth of waterways. In 1228 General Trần Hưng Đạo prevented Mongolian ships from ramping up the nearby river Bạch Đằng by placing wooden sticks at high tide, causing the Mongolian fleet to sink. One of the biggest victories Vietnam and its inhabitants are still very proud of. During the Vietnam War, the US Navy placed sea mines in various waterways between the islands. Some remaining mines still pose a risk.