We were driven from Hanoi to Halong Bay, a drive of about four hours, through the countryside, which mainly consisted of fields where rice and vegetables were growing.
While in Hanoi, I was astonished at how few birds there were, I put this down to pollution, although a local told me that birds were shot and eaten, but surely they couldn’t all have been caught!
The land between Hanoi and Ha Long Bay seemed devoid of birds too, although I did see a flock of white egrets. Maybe their scarcity is due to a lack of food. The vast majority of the land was farmed, with very few trees or green oasis’s.
As soon as we arrived in Ha Long Bay I heard birdsong. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it. Here, we boarded a boat for a few days.
Ha Long Bay, in the South China sea, has roughly two thousand limestone structures rising from the water, topped with rain forest, and ten islands. It is thought to have taken over 500 thousand years to develop and is now a world heritage site.
It was misty throughout our visit, which made it all the more ethereal for me. Silently gliding through the water while giant, majestic, ghostly rock formations appeared and disappeared was just magical. It was like discovering a prehistoric, forgotten world.
Everything about Ha Long Bay felt mystical to me, I could have spent the entire month here alone. A particular highlight was boarding bamboo boats while a local lady rowed us, as smooth as silk, without creating a ripple in the water, to a mainly abandoned floating fishing village.
Fishermen and their families once lived here, a few remain, but most have moved back to the city. 
I could imagine how hard it must have been to live here, without electricity or running water while enduring the frequent storms that ravage this area.
Many of the homes seemed occupied, maybe some of the fishermen were relaxing during Tet. Their homes reminded me of of our old narrowboat, I had an urge to spend a few nights in one. If only eh?
Gliding under the arches in our bamboo boat was a beautiful, peaceful experience. The gentle lapping of the waves combined with the mist became hypnotic.
Not only did the ladies row, they also scooped up any plastic they saw floating in the water.
Some of the scenery left me speechless, what words do justice to this?
I had expected Ha Long Bay to be really busy with boats everywhere, after reading some of the reviews, yet we were only sailing with three other boats and it was peaceful and quiet.
As the light faded, so did the rock formations and all that was left was the haunting, eerie call of the sea eagles to lull you to sleep…..
that, and the reflections of the other boats. Their lights were comforting somehow.
And Finally…..
There be dogs everywhere in VN.
Looks gorgeous …
All the best Jan
Great post and images.
So gorgeous!
Breathtakingly beautiful.
I could almost feel the atmosphere.
You went away at the right time. Snow here and too much of it.
Safe travelling and have fun.
Looks like a sort of dreamscape with all those shear rock formations. I’m afraid one reason you don’t hear a lot of birds is the heavy use of pesticides in Vietnamese agriculture. Well, at least there are dogs!
Magical, eerie, hypnotic, all of these features are conveyed in your pictures. Your pictures are stories in themselves.
There are parts of the Mediterranean where bird sound is rare, because the natives liberally shoot any feathered thing that flies. I was once offered a local delicacy of a jar o whole pickled bird chicks. Small birds were the most favoured. I had absolutely no difficulty in declining the offer.
It is quite likely the explanation you were given for the lack of birdsong was based on fact.
I look forward to the next travelogue post….this is a lovely journey. xxx
Wonderful post & I especially enjoyed your evocative writing about your boat trip through Ha Long Bay … You captured the magic perfectly! Nice to enjoy the trip through your eyes..
Looking through some of those rocks, I couldn’t help wondering if there’s much tidal action there, and if the boaters have to be careful not to be caught on one side or the other of the rocks. While I can grow tired of clouds and phog (would that be the Vietnamese spelling?!) it’s the perfect setting for this day. Bright sunlight would provide a different kind of effect, but this is marvelous.
You certainly are having some wonderful experiences, and I’m enjoying it all.
This looks like a wonderful place to be – it would be interesting to see it in sunshine, stunning I expect. It seems a shame that the local people have relocated to the busy city; I wonder if they regret the loss of that wonderful peace and quiet.
Just loving these posts. If I can’t get to Vietnam (yet!), at least I can live vicariously. Such stunning scenery and the mist just makes it all the more magical. xx
Quite magical, your photos capture the wonderful atmosphere, I can imagine how peaceful it was.
I had a period of my life in which I lived with very minimal electricity, and no running water, and it wasn’t bad at all. But of course, it depends a lot on what one’s objectives are, and the environment. I think they may be telling you the truth about the lack of birds. We’ve had periods here where there were a lot of foreign workers from Thailand, and they were so skilled at hunting and trapping, that we actually saw a changed in the population of wild life. It was so obvious that some new laws were instituted, and we tried to convince these temporary workers of respect for wildlife. Don’t know if we succeeded in that. But there has been an improvement. Your photos are such a pleasure and so romantic. Another fine post. xxx
Wow…. I almost felt as if I was with you though…. what a wonderful experience! WoW! You are brave going on these wild holidays….!xxx
How lovely, Diana! Your photos and words capture the mood so beautifully! Thank you for this wonderful post. I especially liked the absence, then presence of birdsong you noticed, making me hear it, too! I loved imagining the appearing and vanishing rock formations, and feeling the gentle glide of the bamboo boat through the water…what a wholy holy experience! Enjoy, and please continue sharing such spectacular posts.
It’s magical! Eldest daughter lived in Hanoi for some time, teaching with the British Council there, and loved it. She too went boating in this beautiful, bewitching bay.
It looks so atmospheric with the mist and the rock formations rising out of the water, it looks quite haunting, but beautiful. What a contrast to Hanoi.
Like Flighty I would prefer this to Hanoi but I wouldn’t be brave enough to risk a bamboo boat.
A wonderful post. What stunning scenery. You have really captured the atmosphere. I would love to go here one day, but not Hanoi, I’m not happy in big, busy cities. But this is amazing. Now mind you don’t come home with any of those dogs in your luggage.
Lovely post and pictures. Unlike Hanoi this a place that I would enjoy visiting as I much prefer peace and quiet. xx