On our way to Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, composed of 3000 islands of towering limestone in the Gulf of Tonkin, we stopped for "learning & discovery" at a local cemetery where we learned that when Vietnamese people die they are first buried 6' deep in a temporary location marked by a mound. The families then wait 3-5 years for the body to decompose, then they exhume the remains, clean them and re-bury the bones in a more permanent site similar to what we are used to seeing in the US cemeteries.
The first burial, marked by a mound.
The permanent family burial site
with the exhumed remains 3-5 years later.
Our next stop on the way to Halong Bay was Hong Ngoc Humanity Centre, an NGO where disabled children and adults are taught simple skills such as embroidery and woodcarving. This is an incredible success story where people who were once considered burdens are able to support and sustain both their families and themselves.
Student working in the picture embroidery workshop.
Student working in the lacquer workshop.
We finally arrive at the pier and board our junk, a wooden sailboat in the traditional Vietnamese style, and cruise past some of the more than 700 islands and inlets that make up Halong Bay.
Can't hang...
After lunch, we toured one of the many caves, Hang Sung Sot (Surprise Cave), discovered in 1901 and used by the Viet Cong as a hideout during the Vietnam War. This cave, with its "interpretive" stalactite formations of a giant phallic symbol (AKA the surprise), tiger, dragon, penguin and melon ball stalactites, was truly amazing.
After dinner on our junk tonight we retired to our rooms, cruised a short distance & anchored in one of the inlets for the night. It was the perfect ending to a calm and peaceful day of adventure.
