Together some friends and I bought tickets at the wharf to join a group in one of the old wooden cruisers that picked up anchor at 7 a.m. The mist started to melt and the limestone islands became clearer.

I overheard people around me comment: “Paradise must look like this” and “Beautiful! Next time I will take all my family here”, while some just silently wondered at the talent of a creator who could carve such shapes.

Waking people from a dream, the tour guide said there are 775 islands, mainly made of limestone and schist in two main areas: the southeastern part of Bai Tu Long Bay and southwestern part of Ha Long Bay. These islands originally formed during a tectonic plate upheaval about 250 million to 280 million years ago. Since then they have been weathered and shaped by the action of water to form a karst.

I used to laugh when people called islands bazaar names such as Hon Dau Nguoi (Human Head Island), Hon Rong (Dragon Island), Hon Canh Buom (Sail Island), Hon Trong Mai (Cock and Hen Island) and Hon Lu Huong (Incense Burner Island). But now I understood why they were called those names as each island has a unique shape. Hon Canh Buom looks like big sails, Hon Trong Mai looks like a pair of chickens playing with each other above the sea and Hon Lu Huong looks like a ritual incense offering to Heaven.

The stone islands contain hidden caves, and most striking are Thien Cung, Sung Sot, Dau Go and Trinh Nu caves. We sailed to Thien Cung Cave which is considered the most beautiful cave in the bay.

After buying some bottles of mineral water to get the energy to deal with the crowd, I climbed hundreds of steep stone steps up the island’s side. “One, two, three and here we are, Thien Cung Cave welcomed me with an opening that bared stalactites like fangs! The small path gave the impression of a small cave so I wasn’t prepared for 130 meters long grotto - a museum full of nature’s art. Despite feeling crowded and suffocated by the big foreigners around me, I tried to experience as much as I could of the cave. The world seemed smaller and less defined and I got lost for a short while. A foreigner spoke to me “Wonderful, you must be proud of your country. I love it.”

After discovering Dau Go Cave, I reboarded my boat at 10 a.m. while the sun climbed higher in the sky. I felt lucky because it was my first caving experience and I will never forget. The boat continued cruising around islands, giving us one more chance to admire the bay and say goodbye.