I haven’t gotten around writing anything here…if you have been to Hong Kong and would like to share your experience with everyone on this site,  you are most welcome to leave a comment!

Aisa

Aisa’s rating of destinations - Halong Bay

Culture & Sightseeing
Wildlife & Nature

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Halong Bay lies in the Gulf of Tonkin in northeastern Vietnam. The bay has a 120 km long coastline and is approximately 1,553 square km in size with 1969 islets. It features thousands of limestone Karsts in various sizes and shapes. It’s a legendary world of stone islands!

Halong Bay is 165 kms east of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The journey is about 3 hours and a half as traffic can be bad in Hanoi. It is probably the most popular travel destination of the country.

Halong bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed by UNESCO on December 1994 for its outstanding universal aesthetic value. Sightseeing in Halong bay is a feast to the eye - beautiful limestone formation, rock arches, clear turquoise water, scenic lagoons, caves, coves, cliffs and thousand of limestone islets…Among thousands of caves, Hang Dau Go (Grotto of Wooden Stakes) is one of the largest consisting of three chambers. Other big caves include Grotto of Bo Nau and 2 km long Hang Hanh Cave.

A trip to Halong bay usually includes a tour of the limestone cave, and a kayake around the caves and karsts to enjoy the spectacular scenery. The view is simply breath taking and Aisa found it difficult to describe in words - you have to see it for yourself! Imagine thousands of stunning islands rising from the turquoise water…It’s geographical art work! The landscape resembles Gulin in China. But Halong bay is of much larger scale. Sunrise in Halong Bay is amazing too.

Many take a traditional Chinese junk for the cruise. It’s a small boat with a high poop, lugsails and nice wooden floors.

There are hotels and a few quiet beaches in a Cat Ba Island. It’s a small island, although the biggest in Halong Bay.

Halong Bay is one of the most visited and recognized of the Vietnam tourist attractions. It houses a great diversity of ecosystems including coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forest, small freshwater lakes.

Seafood in Halong Bay is great.Read more about Vietnamese seafood at Seafood

Did you know There are two types of islands, limestone and schist. They are concentrated in two bays: Halong bay in the southwest and Bai Tu Long Bai in the southeast.

Ha long means descending dragons in a local myth.

Part of the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun” was filmed in Halong Bay.

Seasons There are two main seasons in Halong Bay: hot and moist summer from May to October, dry and cold winter from November to April. November to March is considered low season because the weather is foggy, cold and drizzly . Visibility is reduced.

Beware of over charging and prostitution.

Official website
http://www.halongbay.net.vn/

Text partly derived from Wikipedia and Wikitravel

A Fast-rising “Cool” Paradise

Aisa’s rating of destinations - Sanya

Beaches | Wildlife
Culture & Sightseeing | Shopping | SPA & Massage | Surfing
Diving & Snorkeling

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Aisa votes Sanya one of the Top 10 Tropical Paradises in Asia. Comparing to other Asian tropical destinations, Sanya is cooler, with a 25 degree average temperature. In January and February, it can be chilly to below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). In hot season temperatures rarely go above 34 degrees. Besides, Sanya does not have the same long heavy rainy seasons found in most other southeast Asian destinations.

Sanya is almost directly opposite Vietnam.It’s so little like the rest of China and so much like what we expect of the rest of South East Asia!

Sanya is a resort city on the southern coast of the Hainan province of China, and a tropical getaway to China. Hainan is the largest ocean island in China. Originally a fishing village, Sanya comes to life and is now becoming a fast-rising tropical hot spot.

Yalong beach on Yalong bay is the most popular attraction. Yalong beach is gorgeous- blinding white sand, brilliant blue water, prompt and dedicated fruit drink service. Yalong Bay is a popular spot for divers. It costs US$30-50 per dive.

Sanya also offers fairly consistent tropical surf most of the year. Dadonghai beach is the place for surfing. The surfing season is from May to November.

Sanya has many attractions. Lady Buddha (Goddess of Mercy) Park is located in the Nanshan area of Sanya. The park features a stunning 108-meter statue of the Goddess of Mercy, standing in a man-made island of the South China sea. It’s one of the top scenic spots in China. Read more about Sanya at Culture & Sightseeing,  Shopping, SPA & Massage

Nanwan Monkey Island located in Lingshui County to the east of Sanya. It’s the world’s only tropical island reserve for wild monkeys. There are about 2,000 monkeys on the island living in their natural habitat. It’s also the home to the pink-faced and wide-eyed macaque monkey. Here you get see free roaming monkeys and can get up close & personal with them! There are almost 400 species of tropical plants and over 100 different kinds of animal, including the famous rhesus monkeys.

Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden boasts over 1,200 tropical plants. Daxiao-Dongtian Park has 30,000 Dragon Blood trees. Many of them are about 2,000 years old. There are also indigenous flora, fauna and fruits. Read more about Sanya at Wildlife & Nature.

Did you know Sanya held Miss World contest since 2001 except for 2006; Mister World 2007 contest; World’s Strongest Man contest in 2006.

Don’t be surprised to see many Russian - Sanya is a popular place among Russian tourists!

Seasons The best seasons to visit is from October to May. It can be hot and humid from June to September. The peak season among Chinese tourists is during Chinese New Year (based on lunar calendar, can be late January to early February)

Beware of prostitution, beggaring, phony pearl items and overcharging. And be careful with malaria!Official Website http://www.sanyatour.com

Text partly derived from Wikipedia and Wikitravel