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Today we woke up soooooo early and left the hotels at 6am to go to Ha Long Bay. The bay is a world heritage site, known for its clear water and series of islands with unusual hills. The drive to the bay took about 4 hours. We meandered through the countryside, passing rice fields. APEC signs and billboards let the whole way. The most interesting part was that there were very few billboards with Vietnamese communist propaganda.
Three other points are worth mentioning about the drive. First, people and oxen worked all the fields with non-mechanized implements. The government owns all the land and leases it to people. Nevertheless, land is divided into small parcels that people work on.
Second, there is sooo much construction. Buildings are made out of cinder blocks and plaster. They are tall and skinny and look like a strange mix of French and stereotypical Asian styles. The buildings are tall, because the leased price of land to people is determined by building width. The buildings are also constructed with future construction in mind- the sides are left unfinished in case neighbors decide to build, too. At one part during the drive, we saw factories (they might have been power plants, it's hard to tell) along the whole horizon. There's construction everywhere.
Third, visibility was extremely poor all day. It's a mixture of pollution, smog, humidity, and dust. Partially it's due to old vehicles and factories. Also, all the construction is putting lots of dust into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the poor visibility did not spoil the views of Ha Long Bay. 
We took junk/boats into the bay and docked on one of the islands. The island was full of calcite caves lit up with colored lights. We wandered around the surprisingly hot caves and took in the beauty of the vegetation, views of the bay, and we tried to figure out what all the rock formations looked like.
Afterwards, we got back on the junk and put-put-putted to a floating fish farm of sorts for lunch. We ate crab, octopus, shrimp, fish, rice, vegetables, spring rolls, and other food that wasn't immediately identifiable! We came back, rode the 4 hour bus back to Hanoi, and exhausted ate dinner. Time for bed, because it's another long day tomorrow!!!
Three other points are worth mentioning about the drive. First, people and oxen worked all the fields with non-mechanized implements. The government owns all the land and leases it to people. Nevertheless, land is divided into small parcels that people work on.
Second, there is sooo much construction. Buildings are made out of cinder blocks and plaster. They are tall and skinny and look like a strange mix of French and stereotypical Asian styles. The buildings are tall, because the leased price of land to people is determined by building width. The buildings are also constructed with future construction in mind- the sides are left unfinished in case neighbors decide to build, too. At one part during the drive, we saw factories (they might have been power plants, it's hard to tell) along the whole horizon. There's construction everywhere.
Third, visibility was extremely poor all day. It's a mixture of pollution, smog, humidity, and dust. Partially it's due to old vehicles and factories. Also, all the construction is putting lots of dust into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the poor visibility did not spoil the views of Ha Long Bay. .jpg)
We took junk/boats into the bay and docked on one of the islands. The island was full of calcite caves lit up with colored lights. We wandered around the surprisingly hot caves and took in the beauty of the vegetation, views of the bay, and we tried to figure out what all the rock formations looked like.
Afterwards, we got back on the junk and put-put-putted to a floating fish farm of sorts for lunch. We ate crab, octopus, shrimp, fish, rice, vegetables, spring rolls, and other food that wasn't immediately identifiable! We came back, rode the 4 hour bus back to Hanoi, and exhausted ate dinner. Time for bed, because it's another long day tomorrow!!!
- Daniella
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