Vietnamese tourist witnesses the midnight sun amidst Greenland's giant icebergs

A Vietnamese tourist marvels at the island-sized icebergs in Greenland and enjoys drinking the water melting from them.

Viet's boat appears as a tiny speck among the massive icebergs. Photo: Bui Xuan Viet

Photographer Bui Xuan Viet, from Dong Nai, traveled to Greenland in early July to witness the famous midnight sun and photograph icebergs.

In Greenland, this phenomenon occurs in the northernmost regions of the island from late April to late August, and areas closer to the Arctic Circle experience it from early June to mid-July. The midnight sun is a result of the Earth's axial tilt relative to its orbital plane around the sun.

Most of the icebergs in Greenland's bay are fragments of the Greenland ice sheet, the largest ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere, containing about 90% of the region's fresh water. This massive ice sheet covers most of Greenland and is second only to the Antarctic ice sheet in global scale. Photo: Bui Xuan Viet

Viet described Greenland as a small town with most activities taking place on the sea. Even in summer, the temperature remains between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius, and the weather is unpredictable.

The Vietnamese tourist chose to take a boat trip into the bay to photograph the midnight sun amidst the icebergs, seeking a better vantage point than from the shore.

The Vietnamese tourist plans to return to Greenland soon to see the aurora borealis. Photo: Bui Xuan Viet

Viet's boat appears as a tiny speck among the massive icebergs. Photo: Bui Xuan Viet

Viet recounted seeing icebergs as large as small islands. His boat approached one with a stream of water flowing down like a small waterfall.

"The water, millions of years old and pure, was cool and crystal clear," Viet said after taking a sip.

According to Greenland Travel, about 85-90% of an iceberg's mass lies below the water's surface, with only 10-15% visible above. This explains the expression "tip of the iceberg."

Ice from Greenland can drift as far as the waters off New York, with some reaching Bermuda or Ireland, taking 3 to 4 years to melt completely. The iceberg that sank the Titanic also originated from Greenland.

For Viet, the midnight sun itself wasn't particularly remarkable, resembling a beautiful sunset and providing him with more time for photography. However, an unexpected encounter occurred when he spotted a huge tail thrashing near an iceberg close to his boat – a humpback whale.

"That moment felt like a gift," he said. While he had visited a whale-watching site in Greenland, this encounter with two humpback whales in the bay was even more thrilling.

"It will likely be a long time before I capture another moment like this, with the water spout illuminated by the midnight sun," he said.

According to Visit Greenland, humpback whales can reach 15-17 meters in length and weigh up to 35 tons. They are easily distinguishable from other whale species by their long pectoral fins, which can reach up to 5 meters. Humpback whales have a somewhat plump, heart-shaped body, about 3 meters high. They enjoy leaping out of the water and creating a large splash upon landing.

During the summer months, from April to November, humpback whales consume large quantities of krill and small fish in Greenland's waters, often in fjords and near the coast.

Humpback whales have the most complex songs in the animal kingdom, consisting of melodic phrases repeated in sequences. This allows them to communicate across distances of up to hundreds of kilometers.