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Two
kilometers south-west of
Titop Beach is the Me
Cung Grotto or Bewitching
Grotto. It formed on Lom Bò Island, and seen from afar,
the entrance is like the roof of a house denting the
island’s side.
After
a narrow crack only allowing one person through at a time,
many partitions appear. These chambers are somewhat small
and narrow, but very refined, and with many stalagmites
and stalactites bearing beautiful forms.
Threading
your way through narrow passages, you find a dim light
from afar, which signals the exit of the grotto. On
getting out of the grotto, climb up several rugged stone
stairs and look down, you see a large round lake
surrounded by the mountain. Its waters is blue all year
round. The lake is home to many kinds of fish, shrimps,
octopuses, algae, see weed, and coral. Lying adjacent to
the lake there is an area of old trees popularly known as
an alluring “royal garden”.
It
is dry and well-ventilated, and features a thick layer of
shells forming the foundation of the entrance. Formerly,
this layer was 1.2-meter-thick and semi-fossilized. In the
course of research, there was also a fossilized animal’s
skeleton discovered in the interior. The Mê Cung Grotto
has been recognized by archaeologists as one of the
vestiges of the pre-Ha Long new Stone Age culture, that
existed between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Pushing
into the grotto, tourists feel like walking in a palace of
a Persian king. Hearing the murmur from out of nowhere,
you think that Scheherazade is telling the stories of the
Thousand and One Nights for her king.
On
the island, there are many ancient trees casting long
reflections on the water of the bay. They are home to many
species of birds and animals (monkeys, chamois and varan
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