by Princess Junk on February 14, 2012
Lan Ha Bay is part of the Halong Bay community but unlike its more famous neighbor it boasts some amazing sandy beaches.
Located east of Cat Ba Island, a World Natural Heritage site which is famous for its dreamlike and fresh beauty, tourists cannot ignore a pit-stop here when visiting Haiphong Province.
Lan Ha has an astonishing 139 sandy beaches. Some of them are tucked between giant rock mounts and thus are more quiet spots without big, crashing waves and are ideal places for a quiet swim.
The bay is over 7,000 hectares wide, of which 5,400 hectares is managed by Cat Ba National Park. This is a peaceful bay with 400 islands and islets of varied sizes.
The bay is endowed with limestone mountains which give the sea small islands and islets as well as fascinating caves. Some caves have wonderful stalactites in diverse colors and shapes in Ham Rong, Do Cung and Ca grottoes.
There are also hundreds of rocks in various shapes such as Guoc Islet (shoe) or Doi Islet (bat).
Diving to admire colorful corals is a must in Lan Ha with Van Boi and Van Ha beaches, Sen, Cu and Khi islands as good choices.Tourists can also drift along canyons and small islets by kayak or wooden boats. There are also some pearl farms in Cat Dua Beach to discover.
Lan Ha Bay also features a scattering of fishing villages which are also must-see places for travelers to learn more about the daily life, culture and customs of fishermen.
SGT
by Princess Junk on February 7, 2012
A Thai tourist has been forced to pay VND10 million (around US$500) for a 6-kg fish at a fishing village in Ha Long Bay, northern Quang Ninh Province.
Kasilod Wuttichai from Thailand visited Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist site in Vietnam, with the excitement of exploring a new country.
After the boat carrying him stopped at the Ba Hang fishing village where many tourists like to visit, Kasilod and some friends went to a fishing craft for sightseeing. He caught a fish and told the owner that he wanted to buy it without asking the price first.
The owner told Kasilod that the fish he chose cost VND1.8 million per kg and weighed a total 6 kg.
As the result, he was forced to pay more than VND10 million (US$500).
“I told them I don’t want it any more, but they force me to buy it because they already beat the fish’s head to death,” Kasilod told Tuoi Tre.
After being informed about the scam, Nguyen Dang Truong, chief of Quang Ninh’s market management, reassured that during the Tet holiday from January 16 to 30, the price was very stable in the market and he had yet to receive any information about the rip-off at local fishing crafts.
However, he also warned tourists to be careful.
He said tourists should ask fishing craft owners to show the marked price first before deciding to buy anything.
In case they are ripped off, tourists should keep the receipts and notify authorities of the violation via hot-lines.
