Vietnam North to South – Day 4: Arriving in Hạ Long Bay
We left Ninh Bình at quarter to eight and rode almost 200 kilometres to Hạ Long Bay. Known for its many limestone islets, the bay is a very popular destination: there are around five hundred boats providing transport and accommodation to tourists. The bay’s name means “Descending Dragon.” Legend has it that when fighting off foreign invaders, the local Vietnamese were aided by dragons who spat jade into the water to form a defensive wall. Seeing the beautiful landscape they created, the dragons decided to settle down, and they live in the bay to this day.