Ha Long bay, stones floating like clouds

After visiting many wonders of the world, on coming back to visit Vietnam, one can find out that the country also has many spectacular landscapes. If being compared with other places, they are not only in noway inferior to tothers but also better in some ways.

I, the writer of this article is very lucky to have chance to travel around the world three times, visited about 40 countries, wandered to accumulate the beauty of nature and stored it in my memory to widen my professional skills; was also touched by the majestic landscapes, such as Niagara waterfall in the North of America, the dawn in Laponie or the proportioned sea and mountain in the South of America, but he’s never seen such a beautiful and majestic as Ha Long Bay where I lately visited in the North.

I previously met Europeans and Asians who praised differently about the beauty of Ha Long. For example, a European sailor said that it was very beautiful and mysterious like a fantastic sea ship parade; another said that it showed up in the frost so beautiful that he forgot all about his seasickness.

When I was writing this line, I suddenly thought of my friends, who loved my country and had praised the beauty of my country before I noticed it in the time I was studying abroad. But now I understand that the beautiful lines they saved to describe it to me that time is nothing in comparison with the feelings I felt when I first saw “her”.

I should state clearly that recently the company of tourism and that of ship supplying have asked me to research and to go to see the field to build some offices for the purpose of picking up and serving tourists and sailors from the boats which often go in and out Hon Gai (Quảng Ninh Province). Therefore, I and a new friend were picked up in Ha Noi, left by from the sunset for the place of the future construction to save tomorrow morning.

For that reason, we went to Bai Chay late at night. After the exhausting adventure, we slept right away after the late dinner. The day after that, we could see the scene of dreams and reality when seeing Ha Long Bay for the first time through the eary frost.

It’s not because I was half asleep that I said it was a half in dreams and a half for real. It was “for real” because it’s clearly colder than the South, my home town. I had to rummage the suitcase for a sweater, a scarf to help me get through the coldness on overlooking the scene in front of me. It was “for real” because I saw many bulky, dazzling bright merchant ships queuing in the frost. However, it was “in dreams” because I wondered why there was such a scenic painting like that. It was a water color painting, but more beautiful because it lived, there was clearly life in that painting.

The scene through the twigs of pine trees and some of a great tree in Ha Long Hotel looked slightly like Da Lat, like Buon Me Thuoc, also like Nice in the South of France. I could see the roads, the beach and then the water. The emerald water, mountains with green trees, soft white frost. Then majestically appear the limestone mountain of Ninh Binh which is greener, brighter, and then front islet and back islet merging into the early frost spreading endlessly, perhaps hundreds, not tens of kilometers.

The flying sun through this scene swooped down the surface of the water. Never have I seen mountains as light as cotton wool, and hovering, flickering like that. Every prejudice that the standing mountain must be still fades in my humble insight.

Halong bay for relaxing. photo by www.indochinasails.com

Last but not least, couple by couple of sailing boats, the special sail of this area, looks like “flying Geckos” which I had seen in Bach Ma Mountain near Cầu Hai of my Hue, surfing softly through islets, no difference from the scene that the boat is still and the mountain is floating. All ideas on movement or stillness, heaviness or lightness were fooling my habits.

In the immense scene, there were some white petrels, flying forward and backward, then suddenly swooped down the water surface, or swim carelessly. There was nothing more interesting than living among nature.

The nature here was too miraculous, mysterious that no one could describe it. There were the sky, the water, and the white clouds which seemed to talk to each other, suddenly appear and then disappear. It was immense but soft, limitless but close, aroused a lot of feelings, missing, etc.

Although he’s in high position, not me, but he did not flinch from hardships. Knowing that I often draw the natural scenes, he took the paper and ground the ink by himself for me…

I, therefore, took out the paper on the water table to draw, of course in the style of water painting… but I was afraid that I couldn’t afford describing the scene is hundreds of kilometers in front of me on a one meter sheet of paper in length. Therefore my hand was shaking. Although it was cold like that my forehead sweated.

Where should I start? I should draw the close scene or the far-away scene first? How is far? How is near? Some layers are called far or near, and rolling mountains. As Vu Pham Ham once said when he was in Huong Son. Mountains at the front, mountains at the back, we are in the middle”.

However, there were “A group of herdsmen are leading the buffalos back home, scattering on the whirlpool”, so there was ratio. But in here, there were clouds and water, front islet and back islet, boats and ports, white smoke and azure frost, the colors of the new dawn. With two colors - back and white and mixed feelings, I could not describe the scene.

In the afternoon, I got on Ha Long II to get closed to the islands that are seen before.

I saw islands with descent wall – a spectacular balance. I was suddenly terrified by the thought that this is the real architecture with painting and sculpture. The difference is that those blocks, multi-shaped images must be carved by the weather in millions of years. I have to remember the contribution of millions of people in thousands of years that made my home country where I grew up, was reared and received many of the achievements, but I’ve never had chance to do something worth the favor the nature gives us.

I thought that my wish to embellish the wonders of nature by my humble knowledge was not reasonable. If people have to build something to satisfy that, we certainly have to depend on the nature, be in accordance with the nature to resolve in it, should not construct rigid buildings to be against the nature…

It was nearly afternoon; the golden light was mixed up with the gray stones, dotted with green, fading in frost, which reminded me of the afternoons in the South of Europe, the North of America or the Highland of Vietnam. Frankly, there was no others making my heart overflowing with feelings like this place.

No matter where I have been, being on the snowy mountain peak in Austria, hovering in mid air in Niagara between the United States of America, being in front of the seaport of Rio de Jeneiro in Branxin, or enjoying Lang Co from Hai Van, or rowing in Tien River, Hau River, I was still in the harmony with its voice and beauty. But in here, my heart was stirred to the level that I felt no sound, no beauty. In the immense scene, poetic and romantic, tranquil and active, I felt that my spirit was upgraded and full of emotion.

Being confused, stunned, and stupefied by the First Wonder, I was suddenly wakened up by the sailor’s calling to prepare for the ship to land. Some colleagues and friends came to see my painting, then gave some good comments, which reminded me that there were not only visitors but also beautiful ladies in the boat. I was so impolite when not once had a conversation. On knowing my fault, I wrote these lines to thank the understanding friend.

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