An ongoing correspondence from GORP contributor Dan Kaplan, as he travels the ancient Silk Routes across southern Asia. Halong Bay is one of the natural marvels of the world. Located in northern Vietnam's Gulf of Tonkin, over 3,000 strange rock formations rise straight up from the emerald waters as if defying the laws of geography.
Clouds float ominously by, and the wind whips up whirlpools of mist.
In the winter months, there's an eerie chill and everything is damp. Throughout the bay the old mountain tops rise from the water like obelisks, pillars and giant thumbnails reaching for the sky. Halong is a place where the beauty is mysterious and the mystery beautiful. Jill and I motor along in an old wooden junk on a four-hour ride to Cat Ba Island. The journey there and the magic of Halong Bay make me realize how important Vietnam's history is to its identity.