Ha Long – Aesthetic value

Ha Long Bay is a mighty, wonderful and unique sculptural site by Nature with thousands of islands and islets rising from the blue sea.

Islands on Ha Long Bay do not look boring; it is possible to find various interesting shapes of the islands and islets: one brings to mind a pair of chicken bobbing on the spacious water (Trong Mai Islet); another is like an eagle looking for food (Dai Bang islet); yet another is like an old fisherman (La Vong islet) etc. Ha Long Bay’s beauty varies according to the one’s location, the time of day and one’s emotion.
Ga Choi island
The beauty of Ha Long Bay is not only the forms of its mountains, islands and the colour of its waters, but also its infinitely rich system of grottos and caves. Each has different scale, shapes and beauty, which make such fascination and attraction. Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace Grotto) bears a modern and refined trait, while Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto) is ample and grandiose and Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto) appears deeply secretive.
For a longtime, the beauty of Ha Long Bay leads endless sources of inspiration for artists. Nguyen Trai – a Vietnamese great poet travelled to Van Don visiting Ha Long Bay was inspired by its landscape:

“How innumerous mountains to Van Don
A wonder of the earth erected toward the high sky”

(Extracted from the poem “The way to Van Don”)

Ha Long Bay – view from Bai Tho mountain

The King Le Thanh Tong of 15th century praised:

“Hundreds f rivers flow into the bay

Scattered islands look like a chessboard of sea joining the sky, both azure blue”

(Extracted from the poem carved on the wall of Bai Tho mountain)

UNESCO has inscribed Ha Long Bay on the World Heritage List, saying that: “The inscription of Ha Long Bay on this List confirms the exceptional and global value of the bay as a cultural and natural site which requires protection for the benefit of the human beings”

INDUSTRY EFFORT

In light of this awful tragedy in Halong, cruise ship owners and travel companies operating in Halong Bay are out to salvage the World Heritage Site’s tarnished reputation. Understandably, clients and partners need to be reassured that the bay is safe for cruises.

According to Pham Ha, founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Company, staying overnight on the bay is a dream of many tourists, especially ones from Europe and America, when visiting the World Heritage Site. But the accident will concern tourists and dent the prestige of travel companies. Travel companies will also suffer losses when clients decide to change their tour itineraries by cancelling scheduled tours to Halong Bay.

Nguyen Cao Son from Paradise Cruises said when Halong Management Board temporarily banned overnight cruises on Halong Bay, the company put its clients up in the four-star Bai Chay beach resort.
“Paradise Cruises paid all extra expenses for rooms at four star-grade hotels, transportation fees for all guests booked on overnight tours. If anyone wants to cancel their tour, we will refund them totally,” said Son, whose company runs seven four-star cruises serving 150 – 250 guests a day in Halong. After two days docked in the port, Halong Phoenix Cruises is now operating overnight tours again.
“We have to send a message to our local and foreign partners and clients as well as update information on our Facebook and Twitter pages to clarify the current situation and regular maintenances of our cruises,” says Pham Thanh Hung from South Pacific Travel, which manages Halong Phoenix Cruises.
“My thoughts, when I first heard the news, went immediately out to the families of these passengers. I thought of the calls they would be receiving from our corner of the world, communicating this dreadful news, and how their lives would never be the same,” says Jacques Le Fur, the captain of the Emeraude, one of Halong’s most splendid cruise ships.
“My thoughts then turned to the welfare of my own passengers. I frequently ask myself the same question: “Have we on the Emereude done everything possible to ensure that our passengers are as safe as possible on their Halong Bay cruise?”
“To ensure safety, the team has to follow a strict regimen. Every year, usually in July, they haul the Emeraude out of Halong Bay for maintenance in a shipyard they trust. They’re giving up almost a month of business to make this inspection, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Obviously this accident has a negative impact on Halong Bay tourism in particular, and on Vietnamese tourism in general,” says Ha, who believes there are too many overnight cruises operating in Halong Bay.

“More than 130 overnight cruises are floating on Halong Bay at the moment making it too crowded and damaging the environment,” he says “The local authorities should inspect quality more carefully, should classify the cruises based on their quality, conveniences and safety standards, like hotels with one to five stars ranking them from budget to luxury accommodation, while improving the quality and quantity of services and entertainment at hotels and restaurants on land.”
Ha suggests that if a one or two star vessel meets with an accident, the local authorities would ban all vessels of that standard while 3-5 star standard vessels could operate as normal. If a five-star met with an accident, they could stop all cruises. That way one incident wouldn’t necessarily mean the whole bay had to close down.
Most tourist experts agree that tourists should look for detailed information on services and quality before booking a Halong tour and should not choose one just because it’s cheap. As Vietnam caters for large numbers of young western backpackers, there is a large budget tourism industry throughout the country.
But, “you should not endanger your life by booking an overnight tour for under $50 to Halong Bay, including transportation, a guide, sightseeing fees, meals and overnight boat,” advises Pham Thanh Hung, from Halong Phoenix Cruises.
“Hanoi based tour operators offer daily packages for different budgets from Hanoi to Halong Bay,” notes Pham Ha. “Many tourists book cheap packages and use a shuttle bus. Sadly cheap deals cost lives in Halong Bay in this recent tragedy.”

HaLong – Choppy waters

The recent boat tragedy in Halong left the tourism industry reeling but the authorities’ response has been swift as Vietnam hopes to ensure tourists its safe to travel on the bay.

When a tourist boat I sank resulting in 12 deaths in Halong Bay on February 16, the story had gone global in a matter of hours. The boat started to sink before dawn near Titov island in Halong Bay, while most of the passengers were sleeping. Fifteen people escaped the boat before being pulled out of the sea by crew from nearby junks, which were also anchored down overnight by the island.
The victims were later identified as holidaymakers from the US, Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland, along with a Vietnamese tour guide. Halong Bay is one of Vietnam’s most popular coastal destinations and arguably the country’s most stunning location. The reaction to the incident was immediate. The whole bay was shut down for two days as an investigation got underway. At the time of writing over 100 junks have been inspected and declared seaworthy.
So what happened to the junk that sank? At first it was reported a panel of the ship ripped away and water quickly inundated the hull, pulling the ship down. This had alarm bells ringing over the quality of junks and cruise ships operating in the bay. But according to Quang Ninh police department, human error was to blame. The vessel’s captain and a crew member were duly arrested. Apparently, a valve that allows water to come into the boat to cool the engine was left open while the vessel was anchored for the night, said police spokesman Le Thanh Binh. There were no holes or cracks in the hull. As captain Nguyen Van Minh, 22, and his crew mate Do Van Thang, 27, were in charge of the engine, they were arrested.

At present all overnight cruises operating are under strict supervision before disembarking, and all vessels belonging to Truong Hai Company are banned.The Halong Management Board and Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee launched the special inspection team which checked more than 500 tour boats operating in the bay last week. The 164 overnight cruise vessels were made a priority.
“We are also checking the knowledge and qualifications of captain and crew members working on all cruises,” said Dang Huy Hau, vice chairman of the committee. “We will decide which ones are suitable for operating overnight cruises and which are not to improve the safety of tourist activities.”
“This is the deadliest tour boat accident since the country opened up to foreign visitors 25 years ago. We will pay an expensive price for this accident,” said Hau before promising, “Those held responsible will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the law.”
Tourism authorities also confirmed that AZ Travel (based in Hanoi’s Old Quarter), which booked tourists onto the ill-fated tour, is now not allowed to deal with international inbound travelers.
The UNCESCO-protected World Heritage Site Halong .Bay is a massive hotspot for I tourism in Vietnam

Ha Long Bay tops new world wonder poll

The bay currently takes the lead in the poll, followed by South Korea’s Jeju Island. On www.new7wonders.com, Ha Long Bay always took the lead in the last several days. In May, Vietnam promoted its advertisement and canvas for the bay with many activities held in Vietnam and abroad. Vietnam and South Korea have joined hands to vote for Ha Long Bay and Jeju Island. On website http://www.jeju-halong.com, the Vietnamese page, there are over 4,500 votes for the two landscapes. The poll for the new seven world natural wonders is now in the last stage, with 28 candidates. The winners will be announced on November 11, 2011.
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistoric human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago.
In 1962, the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism designated Ha Long Bay a ‘Renowned National Landscape Monument’. Ha Long Bay was first listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, in recognition of its outstanding, universal aesthetic value. In 2000 the World Heritage Committee additionally recognised Ha Long Bay for its outstanding geological and geomorphological value, and its World Heritage Listing was updated. In 2009, the New 7 Wonders Foundation, which runs the New Seven Wonders of the World programme, including Halong Bay on its list of nominations as one the World’s 7 Natural Wonders.

Vote for Halong Bay

The Ministry of Education and Training has instructed educational institutions and Education and Training Departments in cities and provinces nationwide to promote online votes for Ha Long bay to become one of 7 new Wonders of the Natural World.

The promotional campaign is part of the summer activities for pupils and students in the country.
According to information on the website www.new7wonders.com, the Seven Natural Wonders of the World will be announced on November 11. Ha Long Bay is the only heritage site in Vietnam to be short listed from 28 other wonders and recommended for the 7 natural wonders of the world.
People can call phone number 033.3847481 or http://www.halongbay.com.vn for further information. Vietnamese people and foreign visitors can also go to www.natural7wonders.com to vote for Ha Long Bay.

Campaign launched to promote Halong Bay

A promotional campaign has been launched in cities and provinces throughout the country with activities that highlight the spectacular beauty of Ha Long Bay.
According to information on the website www.new7wonders.com, the Seven Natural Wonders of the World will be announced on November 11 this year.
Ha Long Bay is the only heritage site in Vietnam to be ranked twelfth among 28 other wonders listed from across the world, for recommendation as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Vietnamese citizens as well as foreign visitors can go to

Promote votes for Hạ Long bay at New School Year Opening Ceremony 23/08/2011

QNP - The Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism has asked universities and schools across the country to promote the campaign to vote for Hạ Long Bay as one of the world’s new seven natural wonders.

Hạ Long Bay

Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism requested these educational institutions to encourage teachers and students to vote for Hạ Long Bay on the occasion of the start of the new school year 2011-2012.

Those who need technical assistance or further information can come into direct contact with the Hồ Chí Minh Youth Union - the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism at the phone number 04.39433629.

In order to become one of the new 7 wonders of the world, the bay needs to collect 60 million votes. Thus, Quảng Ninh province in particular and Việt Nam in general have conducted a huge advertising campaign for the bay to attract as many votes as possible./.