Cat Ba

Probably the most iconic part of Vietnam is the protected area of Halong Bay, hundreds of karsts jutting out of the sea just off the mainland near Hanoi – and it was here that was the next place to see (or not!) on our list. We caught a bus (that smelt of sick most of the way there thanks to a very projectile toddler) to the town of Haiphong and then jumped onto a ferry to make our way across to the main island in the bay – Cat Ba island. The weather unfortunately hadn’t got any better, visibility was still only about 100 meters and as the ferry pulled out into the bay all you could really make out was the faint shadows of karsts! Once we arrived in town the girls went for a wander while me and Matt sat having a drink outside our guesthouse and watched the mist slowly roll in until you could just about make out the person sitting opposite! Having moved into the main bar of the most happening place in town, just us 4 and 2 others, We spent the rest of the night getting a little tipsy before Adele got rather friendly with the barman and ended up getting a massage that she just laughed all the way through! We’d booked ourselves onto a boat and kayaking trip out into the bay for the following day but wasn’t really convinced it was going to be worth it with the current visibility. Woke up the following morning, a little hungover and peaked out of the window fearing the worst but were treated to blue skies and views out far into the distance, this would have been even better had it not hurt my eyes and head soo much! Someone somewhere was being kind to us! Hopped on the back of motorbikes and headed 5 minutes down the road to a small dock to board our vessel for the day – we were joined by a French couple and an American couple, who although very nice did just talk about climbing all day, which was fine for Shona as she knew what they were talking about but the rest of us just sat there wondering what a 5.10b was!! After a couple of hours of cruising the bay, checking out the karsts, floating homes and fisheries we left the boat and jumped in the kayaks to explore the bay more personally. Just before lunch it was time for a quick dip. The water hadn’t seemed very warm when we were kayaking but we were convinced by the guys on the boat that it was…hmmmm not quite! Shona having seen others reaction delibirated for some time before finally taking the plunge, bless her she went instantly blue and almost started hyperventilating! She did manage to get to the island we were swimming to though just in time before she froze over completely – where was our own personal lifeguard Adele when you needed her – she was showing off swimming around the island! Back to the boat, quick bask in the sun, hearty lunch and a cuppa to warm up before another kayak then back to Cat Ba island just as the sun was setting.