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Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
May 11, 2023
By Jinnie Lee
Standing in the middle of nature for hundreds of millions of years, Halong Bay’s karst islands are either majestically immovable or take on various interesting shapes that locals or anyone who sees them can't resist giving them a personality, a character. name or a legend. Halong Bay is one of the most worthy destinations in North Vietnam tours, where tourists can be immersed in the spectacular and majestic beauty of Vietnam that nobody can resist. Appearing as a beautiful picture given to Halong Bay by nature, Fighting Cocks Islet (also known as Trong Mai Islet) has a special shape like two large rocks as 2 chickens unfurling wings fighting each other above the immense waters.This is also a special image of Halong Bay that has attracted millions of visitors and become a tourism symbol here. It also brings a meaningful natural beauty symbolizing the folk culture of Vietnam.
Fighting Cocks Islet in Halong
No one knows that Fighting Cocks islet ever existed. But in the story of the old Vietnamese, Trong Mai islet appeared along with the ups and downs of history. Vietnamese people still often tell each other a folk story, talking about the origin of Vietnam. In this story, the supreme god of heaven, Ngoc Hoang, sent a ferocious mother dragon and her children to help the Vietnamese soon repel the invaders. After the war ended, Ngoc Hoang was surprised to see that the mother dragon and her children had not yet returned, and sent two chicks to bring them back to heaven. The chickens were so captivated by the beauty of Ha Long Bay that the two chickens themselves fell in love and forgot the mission that the Ngoc Hoang gave them. From then on, they stayed in Halong Bay until being petrified and turned into stone.
Each islet has a height of over 10m with small "legs" supporting the giant body, it seems that at any time it can fall into the water. However, after millions of years, Fighting Cocks islet with the image of two chickens still standing there, coexisting with heaven and earth without moving. The people here call it a symbol of faithfulness, the iron of the will to not succumb to storms.
Moreover, Vietnamese people believe that the image of a pair of chickens in love will always cling to each other for a long time over time. Fighting Cocks islet has also since become a symbol of the couple's bond, of the longing for happiness that the ancients cleverly sent to this Halong land.
Halong Bay has a tropical monsoon climate with two main seasons: the hot and rainy season. Fighting Cocks Islet - Halong Bay attracts visitors year-round with peak season from October to April. During these months, you can expect more sunny blue-sky days and lack of crowds make it the best time to make a trip here. However, January to March is often cool and drizzly, and the ensuing fog can make visibility low, but adds bags of an eerie atmosphere. There are a number of tropical storms that make landfall in Vietnam from May to September, so year-round tourist boats need to consider the weather conditions and alter their itineraries if necessary.
Located near Dinh Huong island in the southwest of the Halong Bay about 5 km from Bai Chay wharf, the best way to discover Fighting Cocks islet is book a Halong Bay cruise which you not only have a visit to Trong Mai islet but also go to other places and take in the panoramic view of the Bay. When traveling from Hanoi to Trong Mai Islet, there are a few options you can choose from to fit your itinerary.
If you don’t have much time in Halong Bay, you can book a day boat to visit the islet in around 4 – 6 hours. The day boat will depart at noon then you will enjoy a month-watering lunch on the boat while cruising through Fighting Cocks islet, Thien Cung Cave, Dau Go Cave and other destinations depending on the boat’s itinerary. However, we highly recommend that you should spend at least 2 days visiting Halong Bay. Staying overnight on a cruise is the best way to enjoy the fresh atmosphere and miracle landscape in Halong Bay more than during mid-day.
Another way to have an additional fascinating experience of Halong Bay – sightseeing over the dazzling natural attraction from seaplane. While cruising helps tourists view the bay at the horizon, the seaplane presents you with spectacular and appealing beauty from 300m high above the water level. The flight takes you 15 minutes of a scenic flight over Halong Bay offers the miracle of nature from a bird’s eye view.
Visiting Trong Mai islet is easier if you keep a few notes in mind:
Going by boat in the summer is very easy to catch the sun, so prepare a bottle of sunscreen, a full umbrella to avoid sunburn!
Should choose to visit Trong Mai island in Halong Bay tours. The average ticket price to visit Halong Bay is 290,000 VND/person.
Boat rental fee: 200,000 VND/person.
Thanks to the extraordinary values in terms of art and significance, the Fighting Cocks islet has become the inspiration for the works of numerous artists on photography, painting, and poetry to exploit and describe the beauty of the Halong Bay. Moreover, artisans of handicraft workshops in Vietnam also use Trong Mai islet to create high aesthetic fine artworks; simultaneously, through small products, the image of Halong tourism in particular and Vietnam tours in general, has been promoted worldwide. Trong Mai Islet in Halong Bay symbolizes true love here, proving its vitality and significance. If you get the chance to visit Halong Bay, one of the world's seven newest natural wonders, do not forget to admire one of the beautiful works created favorably for this place – Fighting Cocks Islet.
