New York-based travel site Thrillist has named Lan Ha Bay on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam’s north as one of the most beautiful places to visit in Southeast Asia.
Backpacking in Southeast Asia can be a little overwhelming because there’s just so much to look at, all the time, the site wrote. The natural beauty of the region is hyped by every person who’s ever been there, and rightfully so. It’s also the human element, like the sizzling of fresh fish on the sidewalk and the miraculously functional chaos of the traffic, in which you’ll see scooters loaded down with entire families and livestock, that makes Southeast Asia so beautiful, VET reported.
Thrillist therefore revealed the best sights around Southeast Asia to help travelers decide where to visit.
Located in the southern reaches of UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay boasts Cai Beo floating village, which contains around 200 homes and dates back thousands of years, according to the site. Ha Long Bay itself is also home to numerous islands, of which Cat Ba is the largest and where you can rent a boat to explore or spend the day swimming.
There are well over 100 hotels in the immediate vicinity, so visitors can take their time if they understandably want to stay in the area a while.
Others on the list included Indonesia’s Kelimutu volcano, Brunei’s Kampong Ayer, Laos’ Kuang Si Falls, Malaysia’s Tun Sakaran Marine Park, the Philippines’ Banaue rice terraces Timor-Leste’s Atauro Island, Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, and Myanmar’s Bagan.
Just 30 minutes by boat from Cat Ba Island, you will be charmed by breath-taking views of the bay. Unlike its famous neighbor, Lan Ha Bay reserves a more pristine scenery with an intense concentration of limestone mountains which the sea surface has partitioned into smaller bays and gulfs. Due to it being a fair way from Ha Long city, not so many tourist boats venture there, meaning Lan Ha Bay has a more isolated appeal. Among three bays in the Ha Long Bay area, Lan Ha is considered to have the best water quality for diving and good conditions for rock-climbing (both on Cat Ba Island and on the bay).