The dangling feet at Surprise Cave, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

In September 2015 I was wandering around South East Asia and visited Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Below is a blog post I wrote about my visit.

The visit to the Surprise Cave in Ha Long Bay was interesting. We had a good tour guide who delighted in takings around the caves and pointing out the interesting rock structures and patterns.

The three chambers of the Surprise Cave in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, were impressive. The first chamber is quite small, but once you go through a narrow archway into the second and third chambers, you can see why the place is worth visiting. However, beware it is very popular and very crowded, particularly in the first chamber.

One thing that detracts slightly from the visit to the cave is the overuse of coloured lighting, but none-the-less the rock formations are stunning.

As I looked back into the cave, one thing caught my attention — the fire extinguisher next to the rock formation. If a fire did break out in the cave, what would burn? It’s all rock and water?

Looking back into the cave from also made me realise just how big the cave system is. There isn’t a sense of scale until you realise that the small dots in the distance people.

And as we left the cave our guide pointed out the feet hanging over the edge. Look at the image above, top right-hand corner, can you see the legs and feet hanging over the edge of the cliff? These aren’t the legs and feet of someone; it’s a rock formation. But it is convincing, and I challenge you to un-see it now that I’ve pointed out.

As you walk back down the cliff side to your boat, you get a chance to look back up and see the exit to the cave high above you.

I enjoyed my visit to the Surprise Cave in Ha Long Bay much more than I was expecting. The caves were very impressive, and the only thing that detracted from them is the overuse of coloured lighting. When I entered the first chamber, I was quite disappointed by how small it was, and how many tourists were present. But once I had passed through the small tunnel into the second and third chambers the sheer size of the cave complex meant that I became less aware of all the other people around me.

If you are in Ha Long Bay I would say the Surprise Caves are worth a visit.

Reposted from Nick’s WanderingsThe Surprise Cave, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam — part 2 of 2

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The bio is always the difficult bit. I’m a geek, a traveller and a photographer. I’ll be writing about blogging and my travels, plus the occasional ‘tech’ post.

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