In the dawn of time, when magic creatures lived upon the earth, and some men were free and others not, a great dragon came down from the north, bearing a people and their destiny in its mouth, a people rescued by the dragon from enslavement, whom it now sheltered safely among its many sharp and fearsome teeth. But the day was hot, and the dragon was exhausted after its long journey. When at last it came to the place called Ha Long, it could go no farther. Slowly, as the sun was setting, the dragon allowed itself to sink into the brilliant green waters of the bay – so cool, so inviting – until at last nothing could be seen except the sharp scales along its back which jutted above the waters as if they were thousands of islets made of karst or extruded limestone, rather than, as in fact they were, evidence of the miracle of creation that marked this bay as a sacred place. […]