Ha Long Bay

it felt surreal that after all these years of listening to my mom romanticize and dream about going to Ha Long Bay, I finally got the chance to experience it for my own. as i sat on the top deck of the wooden junkboat sailing around the majestic limestone formations that my ancestors had once glorified in their love letters and poems, i felt a strange sense of both familiarity and invincibility, ineffably intertwined in my temporary state of spiritual transcendence. at night, my friends and i lay sprawled across the benches on the boat's rooftop, enjoying the warm embrace of the bay's slight breeze and dreamily watching the clear sky dotted with thousands of stars. we were grateful for having each other's company in these moments, but at the same time in our hearts we each reminisced about our friends and families back home, yearning that they too could behold this breathtaking beauty alongside us. i hope that one day my parents will be able to come back to vietnam and finally see and to fall in love ha long bay. hopefully by that time, the waters won't be too polluted [:

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my select shots from ha long bay.






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