All of our ports were interesting, but there were two highlights for me on our next segment on board, my overnight trip to Angkor Wat and our visit to Ha Long Bay, where a beautifully eerie morning sail-in had us all in awe. We also stopped in Bintan, Indonesia, Muara, Brunei, Chan May, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Ko Samui, Thailand and Bangkok, Thailand.

Sailing into Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, early in the morning and the sun has not yet burned the mist off the many islands that dot our way to the harbour. Rusting tankers and cargo ships line our route with old junks and little boats snuggled up against their side. Some are unloading cargo, others look like they have been there forever. But most magical are the monolithic limestone islands that jut up from the sea, here and there and all over the place. Scattered throughout these outcroppings are many caves. Also little junks are speeding by in between the boats and the rocks. This morning other passengers are out on their verandas, taking in the beauty of the moment, and no one speaks. We just wave or nod. No one wants to break the beautiful quiet peace of the moment. Quiet except for the lonely sound of an intermittent fog horn.

Ha Long Bay, meaning “descending dragon”, is located about 178K (111 M) from Hanoi. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and local legend has it that when Vietnam started to develop as a country they had to fight against invaders, so the Gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. The dragons spit out jewels and jade and these jewels turned into islands dotting the bay and linking together to form a wall against the invaders. As the invader ships moved in, the rock mountains suddenly appeared in front of them. The front ships struck the rocks and the rear ships ran into them. After winning the battle the dragons decided they liked the peaceful bay and decided to live there. It’s funny but before I heard the legend, I was thinking it could be hard to avoid some of these rocks as we sailed in. I guess that’s why we have a pilot boat to lead us.

We had the fourth of our Around the World events here in a cave. The area is full of caves. They were formed when millions of years ago the area was subjected to tense tectonic plate movements causing the formation of underwater mountains. Erosion from the sea created the caves, many of which remain undiscovered. They say there are thousands of them. We visited the most famous Sung Sot cave earlier in the day. But in the evening we were transported to a humungous cave where we were treated to a wonderful evening of drinks, a delicious dinner and superb entertainment all this in a beautifully lit cavern. It was magical.