a dragon tale

Once upon a time, there was a dragon.

While out playing with his dragon friends way up in the clouds, he happened to look down and became enamored with the beauty of the misty waters he saw below.  Like a gay man who spotted better eye candy on another street, he quickly abandoned his friends and, with the movement of a darting snake, descended upon these waters.  

Upon discovering that the water was too shallow for a luxurious spa and bath and that it barely covered his long, segmented belly, he burrowed into the earth with his large, unclipped dragon nails and scaly dragon toes to deepen it.  He worked long and hard, knowing that the ultimate reward was a relaxing cold bath under beautiful starry skies.  However, the earth was hard and unforgiving, and his progress was slow.

To this day, this determined dragon continues to dig in these waters, ignoring the calls of his heavenly dragon friends who have now adorned themselves with shiny accessories from Prada and Gucci, made of snake skin.  Parts of his body protrude out of the surface of the water, appearing to be ranges of hilly islands, so the mortals call this body of water Ha Long (Descending Dragon) Bay.

Our trio arrived in Ha Long Bay today after a nearly four-hour long shuttle ride from Hanoi to discover a sea of tourists ready to embark on the same journey - exploring this UNESCO world Heritage site with about 2,000 islets of limestone.  There also seemed to be close to 2,000 boats ready to transport all the mortals who eagerly arrived to witness the majesty of our dragon friend.  Everyone has seen horrifying pictures of traffic jams in Los Angeles, but this marine traffic is something else, as herd after of people hopped onto boats, which then shoved their way to get a head start on the journey.  Boarding required jumping onto several boats to reach yours, as there was not sufficient space for all boats to dock.  And while moving away from land, the boats bumped into each other before freeing themselves into the Bay.

To our surprise, our boat carried more crew members than passengers, six and three respectively.  Looking around, we saw that other boats carried anywhere from five to twenty people.  Something tells me this business isn't modeled after efficiency.  Nevertheless, it was relaxing to have the boat all to ourselves, as we enjoyed a six-course lunch of fresh seafood and an even better feast of natural beauty.

A beauty of heavenly dragon scale.

the duck island