The title of this blog (thanks again to Lonely Planet) says it all “Everyone, their grandmother and their friendly family dog” offers day or overnight trips from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay. And as a consequence, it’s the most popular tourist destination in Vietnam.

Ha Long Bay with its 1969 (quite a coincidence….that also happens to be the year that Ho Chi Minh died!) islands of various shapes and sizes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and considered to be one of the natural wonders of the world.

But for how much longer? The natural beauty of the area is unquestionable. Not even the low cloud, mist and non-stop drizzle which greeted us on our 24 hour visit to the bay could detract from that.

Nor could the armadas of tourist boats of all shapes and sizes.

But Ha Long Bay is grossly over-commercialized and polluted.

Hundreds of tour boats bring in hundreds of thousands of tourists on day trips and overnight trips from Hanoi. Local life now consists primarily of servicing the conveyer belt of tourists and most of the communities which made their living from fishing have all but vanished.

Perhaps there is still a way to experience the less crowded and polluted areas of the Bay but if there is, we missed it

UNESCO should put the government of Vietnam on notice that Ha Long Bay’s World Heritage status will be threatened unless they curb the rampant over-commercialization and address the environment-threatening pollution….