Halong Bay is a serene fantasy-like seascape of stunning limestone karsts and stone structures in bizarre unfamiliar shapes, jutting vertically out of the water, rising high above it and shrouded in dreamy misty fog.
Unfortunately, the natural beauty is rapidly becoming spoiled by overtourism. The bay is crowded with hundreds of noisy tour boats and thousands of tourists, destroying the inherent peacefulness of the place. Never once during our cruise were we alone -- we were always surrounded by at least a dozen other boats in view.
The promotional pictures and postcards always show a single junk boat with the Chinese-style sails in an otherwise empty bay. Such a picture would be impossible to take today, as it would always contain a plethora of boats within the frame. It turns out the Chinese-style junk boat sails are also fake. While beautiful, they are fake -- just for show. None of the boat actually uses the sails for propulsion; they have large diesel engines instead. The bay is also becoming extremely polluted, with all the boats dumping all their raw sewage right there in the marina. The signature shot of
Halong bay is a pair of stone structures called "The Fighting Cocks", vaguely resembling two roosters facing each other. However we were not even able to approach it closely as there was a major boat traffic jam all around it (and even one boat collision).
In spite of this, it was still impressive and enjoyable. There is a massive cave, a little floating village (complete with a local bank branch), and a kayak-able sea tunnel. My cabin onboard was fairly
luxurious -- better than many of the hotel rooms I had been staying in. All in all, it was a worthwhile trip. It's just a shame that such a beautiful natural wonder is being spoiled by over-exploitation.
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