Ha Long bay ( descending dragon bay), a UNESCO heritage sight, a must see in Vietnam. Trying to avoid the overpriced touristic boats... good old google gave me a perfect option. I bypassed the overcrowded charter boat town of Ha Long city and went south to Cat Ba island, a popular destination for multi day tour groups. I stayed with two friends in a waterfront view hotel for three nights and booked are tour directly from the island ( smaller groups cheaper and supports the locals, perfect!) The sky was a little overcast/ misty as it is 90% of the time, but the fog did add a little something to the atmosphere. We visited Ha Long bay, Lan Ha bay, floating fishing villages, a cave, went swimming and we even got to kayak!:) The bays were full if limestone karst and isles popping out of the water, all shapes, all sizes, it was memorizing. Legend has it (Asia is full of legends..) dragons were sent by the gods to help protect Vietnam from enemies. The dragons then spit out jewels which formed into the islands and cliffs we see today and to help continue protect Vietnam from invaders by sinking ships or otherwise... the dragons are thought to still live at the bottom of the bay. Thats why the fog adds to the mysteriousness of the bay and the legend. Unfortunately there was a fair bit of floating garbage which we were able to collect in our kayaks, but still sad to see what we are doing to such a beautiful place. The island itself was small, green, had a small national park which we hiked up to a view point and lots of caves, including a hospital cave. Very beautiful place, for now... There was quite a few construction sites on the go... so it's just a matter of time before the resort start popping up as they do. It was a great trip, that's all I can say, even met a Swedish rapper, what more can you ask for.