Vietnam and Cambodia
Luon Lagoon
Later in the afternoon of the day we arrived in Ha Long Bay, we visited Luon Lagoon at Bo Hon Island. Luon Lagoon is completely enclosed within Bo Hon Island and can only be accessed by going through Luon Cave, provided you go through at the right time. I didn’t know any of that at the time, only that we were going to visit a lagoon in the late afternoon. It was all a surprise to me, and what a wonderful surprise it was!
Here are some photos:
Near Bo Hon Island, we transferred from the Paradise Elegance’s tender to smaller sampans. Sampans are wide, flat-bottomed boats commonly used throughout southeast Asia to carry passengers and cargo short distances. Traditionally, they have slightly raised flat-topped sterns that a single oarsman stands on—facing forward—and uses two long oars to propel and steer the boat. In our case, the sampans had been equipped with four benches to fill the boat with tourists.
I saw my chance and snagged a spot at the right end of the front bench, which gave me an unobstructed view of where we were headed. Which was where? Was it the inlet ahead where all the boats were? If so, what’s the big deal? What am I missing? Sure, the scenery was terrific—I mean, look at that magnificent cliff on the left—but so far this gets a “Big Whoop” from me…
Hold on, wait a minute!?? The sampans are disappearing under the mountain??
My clue should have been the sign on the rock, “Hang Luon”. But I don’t know Vietnamese and I had no idea what that sign said…
OMG, we’re going to go through the mountain! Under the mountain!
It turns out that “Hang Luon” means Luon Cave. Luon Cave is a natural 200+ foot long limestone arch that just happens to be at sea level. It is the only navigable way through from Ha Long Bay to the interior of Bo Hon Island and its Luon Lagoon. For about ⅔ of the day—the time centered around low tide—the sampans and their oarsman can fit under the arch’s ceiling, but during the other ⅓ of the day the sampans just don’t fit.
Luon Cave is the only way to or from the lagoon on the water’s surface, but under the water’s surface there are many passages. The limestone islands in Ha Long Bay are like Swiss cheese, filled with holes and passages, and Bo Hon Island is no exception. Of course, to use one of the submerged passages to get to the lagoon, one would need scuba gear—and permission from the government!
Luon Lagoon is a more-or-less mitten-shaped lake in the northeastern corner of Bo Hon Island. It is completely surrounded by towering steep cliffs, and those cliffs give the lagoon protection from ocean waves and winds. As a result, the water of the lagoon is glassy smooth. That water, though, is brackish, not fresh, as would normally be the case with a lake, because of the lagoon’s connection to Ha Long Bay through Luon Cave and the numerous submerged passages through Bo Hon Island that connect the lake with Ha Long Bay.
I somehow managed to get into a sampan that had mostly non-Sail with Seth people in it (there were, I think, only maybe 4 or 5 of us in that boat), but that put me in a great position to get this shot of the rest of the Sail with Seth group just as they were crossing the bow of my boat. From left to right, that’s Prisbe, probably Andy (though from just a hat, it’s hard to tell!), Jean, Jackie, Steve, Jason, Renee (I think), Martha, Jeff, Seth, and Brandon.
Bo Hon Island and its area around Luon Lagoon is inhabited by Rhesus Macaques (commonly known as golden monkeys), and those macaques like to hang out near the water and watch the groups of big apes float by in their big blue boats. This big male was perched on some rocks above where our oarsman nosed the sampan in for a closer look.
Our oarsman took us in right next to Seth’s sampan. The put me in a perfect position to snap Jean getting a snap of the macaque.
The big male Rhesus macaque again.
This juvenile Rhesus Macaque was quietly munching on something while perched in a tree above the rock where the big male was keeping watch.
And then it was time for us to leave the lagoon, pass through Luon Cave, and head back to the dock.
Back on board the Paradise Elegance, I happened to step out on the balcony just before sunset and captured this image. A fitting end to a terrific day exploring Ha Long Bay.