When I left Canada, I had one almost unavoidable thing in mind.
"Almost" because we shouldn't be disappointed if plans change and life gives us other opportunities.
This unavoidable was the Hạ Long Bay.
credit: sites.google.com/site/daytourscruisesinhalongbay/halong-bay-map
Hạ Long Bay is the center of a larger area that includes Bái Tử Long Bay to the north and Lan Ha Bay to the south. So I have to choose. I dig to try to determine where I would find the shoe that suits me, or rather "bay to my liking".
My quest is easy... Lan Ha Bay offers the same magnificent landscapes as the center of Hạ Long Bay minus the hordes of tourists. More greenery, more deserted beaches, everything to please me.
credit: visithalongbay.com
The trip is a little longer to get there but my search for calm is well worth a few more km.
According to local legend, when Vietnam had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight against invaders. To assist the Vietnamese in defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. Under magics, numerous rock mountains abruptly appeared on the sea, ahead of invaders' ships; the forward ships struck the rocks and each other. After winning the battle, the dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth, and then decided to live in this bay.
credit: Wikipedia.org
It's a departure for the landscapes that made me dream in movies such as Indochina, Tomorrow never dies, Pan, Life, Kong: Skull Island,...
Tonight, after a delicious meal, I catch some squid... and enjoy the mild weather.
The next day, exploration of bays and beaches, by boat, kayak, swimming, and visit to a fish farm.
After a last evening under the stars, a night where I was delicately swayed by the waves, and a good breakfast, my companion set off on his bicycle to discover a workshop for making rice alcohol, taste cobra wine and finish with a pedicure in a pool of small fish that delight in dead skin...
For my part, I stay on the ship and I take this moment of solitude to meditate on my trip. This trip which will have lasted three months and which will have allowed me to discover a part of Vietnam and Thailand, but above all a new part of myself.
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