Rock the Cat Ba
Trip Start
Jan 19, 2005
1
30
35
Trip End
Feb 23, 2005
Cat Ba Island, Vietnam
Friday, February 18, 2005
We left early and endured a stuffy three hour trip in another mini-bus. Along the way, we passed by a lot of farmers and water buffalos toiling in the rice paddies. I think most of them work during the morning, take a long break during the afternoon, and return to work in the evening. Undoubtedly this is to avoid the intense sun in some parts of Vietnam.
The weather in northern Vietnam is actually pretty cool though. I think Hanoi was sitting at 16 degrees Celcius yesterday (while Ho Chi Minh City was a stifling 32 degrees). When we got off the bus at Halong Bay, it was also considerably colder than Hanoi. For about the second time this trip, I donned my hoodie.
Halong Bay is nothing short of spectacular. Without a doubt this is the best place I've seen in Vietnam. While much of Vietnam is about the entire sensory experience rather than the visual spectacle, Halong Bay is extremely easy on the eyes. This is an area where large limestone cliffs have risen independently from the ocean. Most people have probably seen pictures of Halong at one point or another, as it is really quite a unique scene.
Unfortunately though, it was an overcast day and the limestone cliffs were often enshrouded in fog. You would have to get fairly close to get a decent picture of anything.
We chartered a surprisingly nice boat into Halong Bay. We had it all to ourselves and, what more, the food on the boat was quite exceptional. As we made our way to our first stop before Cat Ba Island, I was amazed by the sheer quantity of limestone islands in this area. Before arriving, I was under the impression that there would be no more than a hundred islands and they would all be concentrated close together. I couldn't have been more wrong.
The cliffs were well spaced and I don't know exactly how many there were, but I do know there was no shortage of them during our 4 to 5 hour cruise around Halong Bay.
After lunch on the boat, we stopped at some caves. Since limestone percolates water so well, it's not surprising to hear that there are quite a few in the area. We visited a series of caves called "The Surprising Caves". Now I've been in caves before, but I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as nice as these caves.
They were quite cavernous and well lit. A variety of colour shone on sections of the cave giving off a truly lunar feeling to the whole thing. The main chamber would have also doubled for a set from a James Bond movie (specifically the ending of "Never Say Never Again"). Oh, and the reason it's called "Surprising Caves" is actually quite funny. When you come around a corner in the cave, there's a huge cavern before you. Smack dab in the middle of it, flooded in red light, is a phallic-looking natural formation. Yes, it was truly surprising!
After another two hours of cruising, we finally arrived at Cat Ba Island. We must have docked on the back side of Cat Ba, as when we disembarked there weren't a lot of buildings to be seen. Rather than take a motorbike, we decided to hoof it to our hotel.
On the other side of the hill, I was amazed by the town that unfolded before my eyes. Up until that point, I really hadn't seen any large settlements. A smattering of floating villages here and there, but nothing with a big population or large structures.
I instantly fell in love with Cat Ba. The streets were quaint and cozy. And although there were few tourists here, there were still quite a few hotels. Life seemed a whole lot simpler on Cat Ba.
Our hotel was absolutely gorgeous as well. Despite having to haul our luggage up five stories (as there was no elevator), it was a remarkable place. Our balcony peered out onto one of the main streets of Cat Ba, and, in the distance, the ocean sparkled brightly.
Dinner that night was a bit strange. Because there are few tourists on Cat Ba, the quality and quantity of restaurants aren't great. We found a place that seemed alright... so I thought. But against the back wall of the shop, were five large jugs filled with water and... something else. I figured it had to be a two-headed baby and cloning experiments gone wrong. It honestly looked that disgusting from afar. But on closer inspection, it was even worse. There was one bottle with a whole baby lamb in it. Another with snakes. And the others, I'm not too sure. Our guide said something about "deer testicles" though.
Fortunately, I ate my meal before I made the jug discovery. 'Cause if I had checked out the jugs before eating, I'm not so sure I would have eaten.
After the meal, we went for a drink for Thomas' 30th birthday and then called it a night.
