Just About Everything

  Some journeys begin with a plan. This one began with a pause. A few hours out of Hanoi, the city slowly gave way to open roads, and then to water… vast, quiet, and almost still. That was my first glimpse of Ha Long Bay. Arriving into Scale At first, it’s the size of it all that catches you. Towering limestone formations rising straight out of the water—almost unreal in their stillness. But what stays isn’t the scale. It’s the silence that comes with it. We boarded a 1-night cruise —simple, comfortable, and unhurried. And somewhere between the movement of the boat and the stillness around it, time began to feel… different. Moving Through It The experience isn’t just about seeing Ha Long Bay—it’s about entering it. Kayaking through narrow openings, where the towering cliffs close in just enough to make the world feel smaller. Walking through caves that seem to hold centuries within them—textured, quiet, and humbling. And then, moments in between. Sitting on the deck. Watc...

Halong Bay, Vietnam Here is another beautiful place that should not be missed if you are in Hanoi. I found out from Soma, who visited Vietnam last year, that Halong Bay in northern Vietnam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered one of the natural wonders of the world. It has thousands of beautiful limestone karsts in unusual shapes and varying sizes. I had no idea that Vietnam had so many beautiful places, I was aware of only a few touristy places but this is something! Halong Bay is around 170 km from Hanoi and is accessible by road. From Halong harbour, one needs to get into a boat in order to go into the core area. The bay has around four floating villages inhabited mostly by fishermen.The unusual beauty of this bay is because of the limestone islands with thick vegetation and unusual shapes rising out of the ocean. Many of these islands are hollow and house large caves with stalactites and stalagmites. Some of the islands are inhabited, and provide hotel fac...

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi Stage This is something so unique that I had to share it. These water puppet show pictures are courtesy Soma who travelled to Vietnam last year, and that is when I came to know of the water puppet show. I will share a video that is more detailed, she did not take too many still photos, and hopefully when I post the video it will give you an idea of how beautiful this show is! The origin of this water puppet show dates back to the 11th century; villagers would use this traditional art form to entertain when the paddy fields were flooded with water. They made use of the water to innovate this traditional form of puppetry into this water puppet form. And now the same art form is such a world famous water puppet show! The puppet show tells some beautiful stories such as, the love story of a phoenix pair, the story of emperor Le Loi and the tortoise God of the Hoan Kiem lake, and many more such stories depicted so beautifully that ...