Along Bay, Vietnam

Tonkin, northern Vietnam… Steamer Emerald slides stylishly in the heart of the famous Along Bay, offering its passengers an unforgettable cruise. Retro and sophisticated, the ambiance is reminiscent of the French ship namesake who scoured the bay at the time of colonial Indochina. The Emerald is a faithful replica, and welcomes cruise for a very contemporary journey through time and under the timeless charm of Along Bay.

Less luxurious but attractive too, junks, without sails most of the time, also offer tourists a tour of the Bay. On board, people are amazed by hundreds of breathtaking peaks, some reaching 200 meters above the green sea. Their chimerical forms and they hiden secret caverns have inspired extravagant legends, and have earned their ranking by the UNESCO World Heritage of Humanity. It is impossible to build on these steep rocks. In Along Bay, you live on the water. In the floating villages the population lives thanks to fishing and tourism. Floating homes are surrounded by fishponds where they keep the catch. For these small fishing communities, here and there anchored in the Bay, the sea is a pantry, garden, toilets and garbage...

Their existence, viscerally linked to Along Bay, is now threatened by water pollution. At the bottom of the bay, in the industrial area of Along, coal mining is in full revival, boosted by the strong economic growth of China. Hundred million tons of soil and water polluted, residues of coal mining, have already been released into the bay.

Despite this damages, a simple foggy sunrise behind the enigmatic landforms rising up from the waves, will allow that enchanting Along Bay to regains its magic. Then the loaves of sugar, looking like an insurmountable barrier, deviate imperceptibly to give way.

Texte : Anne Jankeliowitch