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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
  30 Day Blogging Challenge Halong Bay, we're going for an up-close look at its amazing limestone islands, rock formations and caves. Whittled away over centuries by wind and water, they’re breathtaking. Today we're going to see Sung Sot Cave (Surprised Cave) and Titop island. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g293923-d17475877-Halong_Bay... https://indochinatravelblog.com/tag/sung-sot-cave-wikipedia https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293923-Activities-c57-t54-Halong_Bay_Qu... Discuss what you've learned and what you felt seeing the pictures. The first stop on our adventure today is Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave). We get to go beneath the bueaty of the surface to venture into the bowels of the land. Here rock formations delight as we make our way through he biggest cave in the area. We dock at the bottom of Bo Hon Island. We got out and began to climb up 100 or so steps to the mouth of Sung Sot Cave. The cave covers a staggering 10,000 square meters (that’s twice the size of the White House if that’s anything to go by). The cave is about 30 meters high and sports a 500-meter long passage - no worries for anyone with issues with claustrophobia. The views were extraordinary and I took lots of photos. The entire cave is strewn with stalactites (tite to the ceiling) and stalagmites (come up from below) which apparently serve as endless material for the legends and lore of the area. Within the formations you can make out shapes and animals. Our tour guide did an amazing job pointing out the patterns and telling us the tales. One that we were told was that one of the stalactites greatly resembles a horse and a long sword. That horse and sword belong to the legend of Thanh Giong (Thanh can be translated to Saint in English) who is a pretty famous figure in Vietnamese folklore, who left these items here to protect Halong Bay from evil demons. Our guide also pointed out other ‘recognizable’ formations - mammoths, elephants, seals, flowers, and even a general gathering his troops. We we also lucky to be one of the first groups to tour through today so it was not so packed. That was really nice. https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g293923-d456290-Reviews-Sung_Sot_Ca... https://indochinatravelblog.com/destinations/sung-sot-cave-the-surprising-story-... We headed off to Titop Island for more amazing views. It was so worth the climb just to see the panoramic views. Thank goodness I was able to pan a video of the experience. My mind circles with ideas for story here - I am indeed filling my creative well. It was also walk along the warm sand. I took my shoes off and let the grains work away at my soles naturally. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293923-d4795456-Reviews-Ti_Top_Is...  Blogging Circle of Friends BCoF prompt is Halong Bay is located by the sea so needless to say there are a variety of local fruits and vegetables and you can also check out the local seafood. There are huge mounds of crabs, jump shrimp and fish here, and if you want to set up your own beach barbecue later then this is the place to source your produce. Take us on a shopping excursion.What's different about Vietnamese markets versus ours? https://www.visithalongbay.com/travel-tips/halong-bay-food-guide.html https://vina.com/halong-night-market/ https://www.fareastour.asia/guide/detail/what-to-eat-in-halong-bay-22.html Sa sung is the only thing on the list of seafoods I wouldn't want to try - sea worms. Nah. But everything else....I am so open to try. The Halong Squid cake was quite good. As was the Horseshoe Crab (Sam) and the Drunken Prawn and Lobster dishes. I am liking the night markets. Browsing the interesting collection of items and talking to the locals. The lights and buzz and hum of the place is welcome after a couple of days in tranquil heaven on Halong Bay. I picked up a T-shirt and some trinkets. And of course, I took lots of pictures. |
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