served with a fresh baguette on the side and strong black filtered coffee. Our
hotel on the harbour front grants us views of the limestone karsts emerging in
the horizon. Fishing boats are just sailing out - round coracles with flat bottoms
made of bamboo and the carvel style junk boats which are usually used to ferry
around tourists making a short trip of Halong Bay.
We opted to do something different with the famed Halong Bay - which was to
We opted to do something different with the famed Halong Bay - which was to
linger longer than the standard dash-in-and-out tours arranged in Hanoi but
the cost of cruising around on a boat for more than 24 hours was
substantially higher than our £30 a day budget. Like most backpackers and
tourists, we conferred to the same old cliche - wanting to find ourselves 'off
the beaten path'. We also grappled with the mixed reviews of Halong Bay -
the scams, constant traffic of likeminded others and the environmental
problems - pollution of the waters from the rubbish thrown out at sea. And so
we faced the other direction - towards the smaller and lesser frequented
sibling - Lan Ha Bay. We stayed for four days, under budget, on the largest of
366 islands in the archipelago - Cat Ba island.
Cat Ba means 'Sandy Women' - and the tale goes that three women of the
Cat Ba means 'Sandy Women' - and the tale goes that three women of the
Tran Dynasty were killed with each of the bodies washing up on three different
beaches. Fishermen built temples on each beach in honour of them and so is
how the island thus became named. It is preserved by UNESCO, largely for the
national park that protects one of the most endangered primate species in the
world - the langur monkeys. There are only 68 left in the world and all of them
reside here with us on Cat Ba.
The town itself is not pretty, captivating, bustling but its lack of pretence holds
The town itself is not pretty, captivating, bustling but its lack of pretence holds
a charm in itself. The locals do not overexert themselves in plying for trade, the
buildings are hacked and modern. There is a plentitude of beauty to be
admired about the island but it is not thrown in your face. A quiet place, to come
and go as one pleases, enjoy what one will - just what we needed and glorious
warm weather after the constant chill of Sapa.
We hired a motorbike (that I am alive and kicking, Mum, should reassure you
We hired a motorbike (that I am alive and kicking, Mum, should reassure you
that Alex can handle one pretty well) and explored every road on the island.
Butterflies float everywhere and in all colours, goats with bells round their
necks skirt nervously past, a rocky path takes us between mangrove trees
hovering just above the sea level. A smell of pine as we dip beneath trees,
a bend of awesome valleys and limestone cliffs around every corner. Holding
on to the man I love as the wind rushes through and everywhere.
Cat Ba Island is also steeped in a little history, heavily influenced by both the
Cat Ba Island is also steeped in a little history, heavily influenced by both the
French Indochina and Vietnam Wars. As a bombing hotspot, there are caves
dug into hills that acted as hideouts for the locals and for the Viet Cong soldiers
stationed here. We stopped by the Hospital Cave, used all the way up to 1975 -
reaching it by climbing a steep ladder made of bamboo and welcomed by large
cavernous spaces. Rooms have been carved into the rocks and I was
entertained by its echoed recantation of my singing the Who, much to the
puzzlement of a couple of German tourists who were also having a look around.
Cannon Fort - a strategic look out point with bunkers and yes, cannons, was
Cannon Fort - a strategic look out point with bunkers and yes, cannons, was
where we watched the sunset. This granted us a panorama of the karsts
around us and with use of binoculars, a giggle at a few fat nudists on beaches
water and seeing the limestone karsts up close. With Asia Outdoors, for £16 each,
we booked a day's kayaking trip. A pickup by minibus and a motley crew of tourists,
mostly ignoring one another, climbed on the boat at the harbour and onto the
upper deck to lounge on cushions as the boat weaved around hundreds of little
islands dotting Lan Ha Bay.
Around one corner, we were greeted with the sight of floating fishing villages,
Around one corner, we were greeted with the sight of floating fishing villages,
one of which held the kayaks we were to use. Half of the group separated to go
'deep water soloing' - the term describing one who rock climbs as high as they
can go and then, being able to go no further, throwing themselves into the sea.
This had looked like fun, but we were being frugal, happy to enjoy ourselves at
lower levels.
After lunch, the groups reversed except for us, choosing to stay on the
Alex and I, being as competitive as we are and not at all sportsmanlike (with each
other), did not make an agreeable coxless pair on the tandem kayak. This is
especially as I, without my hearing aids, had opted to go up front at first and
was unable to have any two-way conversation for all of three hours. Grumpy
and inhospitable to his attempts to steer, we made way through tunnels, caves
and explored lagoons in a dogged effort at a straight line weaving through the
water. The American guide with the big beard laboriously showed us how to climb
in and out of the kayaks safely in order to swim in the lagoon and Alex managed
to capsize it. Twice. He takes the prize for being the only one to do it unaided, but
as he says "if you aren't capsizing you aren't trying hard enough." It was slow
working back to the boat, with a kayak mostly submerged in water.
After lunch, the groups reversed except for us, choosing to stay on the
kayaks. This meant that I was granted with the company of tall, toned and
topless men from Bulgaria, Australia, Canada, Italy. And one fat American.
having dissipated and with our tandem now much more in sync with me at
the back. We all stilled to watch monkeys chattering on a cliff, rattling trees
to send down a scatter of leaves from hundreds of metres high. We climbed
out of our kayaks to wade through 'Spider Forest' (thankfully we did not see
any) and to climb through sea grass back around the other side to our
kayaks. By the time the sun was getting mellow, we were diving off the boat
and clunking beers with our newfound friends on the upper deck.
As the sun sets, and the boat sailed back to Cat Ba, conversation stilled as
everyone sunk in the majestic sights under the glow of the horizon. We were
gloriously stiff, with sore arms and limbs, cheeks red from the warmth, hugging
our damp knees in the breeze with one hand clasped onto a beer. Following the
same route we had taken that morning, the length of the day and the sights we
had seen stretched before us and we sat contented, people from near every
continent, knowing that the money spent had been worth every single penny and
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