Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam

During a cruise ship stop in Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, I booked a bay tour with a local provider. Ha Long Bay is home to thousands of limestone karsts islands and islets, of various shapes and sizes, peppered throughout the green-hued waters of the bay. Ha Long Bay is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its natural wonder. The name Hạ Long means "descending dragon". The islands are covered in thick jungle vegetation. A community of people live on the bay in floating villages. Many live and work from their floating houses and making a living through fishing and marine aquaculture. Sung Sot cave is on Bo Hon Island. To enter the main chamber of the cave requires climbing about 200 stone steps to a ledge high on the cliff, before descending down into the cave itself. The lofty view of the bay from the entrance of the cave is worth the stair climb! The cave is over 10,000 square meteres in size and very impressive. Most of the cave consists of wide open spaces, with the exception of a couple narrower passageways but still adequate to maneuver through. The cave has interior lighting and designated walking paths. Exiting the cave requires ascending a comparable series of steps up to a different opening on the cliff ledge, and then about 200 steps back down to the shoreline. The next stop was a waterway cave called Luon. People could either take a duo-kayak through Luon Cave or ride on a bamboo boat with a local person doing all the rowing. If you intend to take photos during this, I highly recommend riding the bamboo boat. There is a lot of traffic in the water and the kayakers were trying to paddle around the boats, bumping into things; the risk of losing a phone/camera in the water is high. The day cruise boat crew provided a freshly prepared Vietnamese lunch, brought out in so many courses I lost count. It started with seafood rolls and shrimp, then rice and veggies, french fries and fried seafood, pho, grilled fish, and more. It was delicious! (And no food poisoning.) At Ti Tov Island there was time to hang out at the beach, or hike 430+ steps to the top of the island for unbelievable views, or shop from various vendors that had set up shop on the island. The sail back to port afforded some beautiful sunset views. The city of Ha Long is modern and flamboyantly lit up at night. It was truly a lovely day.