We took a 3 hour bus to Halong city then onto an old Chinese Junk (actually built 3 years ago). There were 9 cabins – we had one with twin beds. Halong bay is the most amazing geological formations I have ever seen. And it has become quite a tourist attraction. In addition to our 9 cabin sleeper there were 499 others like it – and countless day boats. The harbor was densely packed with ships. However, the bay is so large, once out of the harbor there is little traffic. We cruised for an hour then went kayaking. Dinner on the ship.
Next day we changed boats and then then cruised to Cat Ba island. The plan was to bike 3 miles each way and hike in the forest in between, but Bo and I motorbiked instead. It was a bit scary at first because the road was narrow, up and down and very uneven and shifting gears took some practice. On the road we came across a herd of mountain goats. They posed for a picture. Then, back on the boat and around the island. We anchored near a tiny island called Monkey Island with a small secluded beach and went swimming off the ship to the beach. It was spectacular. After the swim, we cruised into Cat Ba town and checked into our air conditioned hotel. We were all exhausted from the heat and humidity.
Cat Ba town is a little resort town, which was very quiet at the moment. Not many tourists there. It is a nice option for staying on the beach for a few days because hotels are inexpensive, beaches are beautiful and there is Cat Ba national park right there to explore. We discovered that there are high speed boats from Haiphong linked to buses to/from Hanoi. The whole trip takes 4 hours and only costs 200,000 dong (about $14). It’s a good option instead taking an organized cruise.
After walking up and down the town and a good dinner with three German and one French cruisemates, we enjoyed our air conditioned room.
In the morning, a bus took us across the island to another harbor, from which we took yet another boat to Ha Long city and then back to crazy Hanoi. We got lucky at the hotel because they gave us a huge room this time so we’ve got lots of space to spread out our stuff for the next 3 days.
Next day we changed boats and then then cruised to Cat Ba island. The plan was to bike 3 miles each way and hike in the forest in between, but Bo and I motorbiked instead. It was a bit scary at first because the road was narrow, up and down and very uneven and shifting gears took some practice. On the road we came across a herd of mountain goats. They posed for a picture. Then, back on the boat and around the island. We anchored near a tiny island called Monkey Island with a small secluded beach and went swimming off the ship to the beach. It was spectacular. After the swim, we cruised into Cat Ba town and checked into our air conditioned hotel. We were all exhausted from the heat and humidity.
Cat Ba town is a little resort town, which was very quiet at the moment. Not many tourists there. It is a nice option for staying on the beach for a few days because hotels are inexpensive, beaches are beautiful and there is Cat Ba national park right there to explore. We discovered that there are high speed boats from Haiphong linked to buses to/from Hanoi. The whole trip takes 4 hours and only costs 200,000 dong (about $14). It’s a good option instead taking an organized cruise.
After walking up and down the town and a good dinner with three German and one French cruisemates, we enjoyed our air conditioned room.
In the morning, a bus took us across the island to another harbor, from which we took yet another boat to Ha Long city and then back to crazy Hanoi. We got lucky at the hotel because they gave us a huge room this time so we’ve got lots of space to spread out our stuff for the next 3 days.
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