Cat Ba Death March

"We're going to take a leisurely hike up to that tower."
see all photos »

So we booked a 2 night, 3 day trip to Halong Bay.  Halong Bay is a World Heritage Site that is full of amazing rock formations (see pictures).  The plan as we were told was to take a small bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay...spend that afternoon and night on the boat, sleeping on the boat...go the next morning to Cat Ba Island, which is the largest island in Halong Bay...do some Cat Ba stuff...stay on the island that night...go from island to port to Hanoi on the last day.

It didn't start out well, although this was not the fault of the tour company.  Friday morning it was pouring rain in Hanoi.  While running the half a block from the hotel to the bus in the rain, my camera fell out of my backpack.  Cameras don't like falling into puddles.  It was a goner. On top of that, I (Steve) was starting to let the constant rain or nearly rain conditions of the entire trip get to me.  However, the ride was tolerable and by the time we got to the port the weather was improving.  The boat was decent and away we went with our little group of about 14 people plus guide.

It was at this time that the others in our group questioned the flip-flop advice.

Funky, cool, kitchy cave
see all photos »

First stop was a cave with some cool stalagmites and legends about dragons going to die there.  It was a little touristy, but it was fine. Then we cruised around the bay for awhile and saw some pretty cool stuff left and right.  We eventually got to a floating village which was our departure point for kayaking.  (Note: these floating villages feature multiple families living there, fish farms, people trying to sell you dry goods, and at least 4 dogs.)  We had an hour to kayak, and it was pretty cool.  We went through a relatively small opening (about 7 feet) in this cliff and on the other side was a secluded little bay.  We then had to hustle back to the ship as it was almost an hour and, more importantly, it was getting dark.  This is not a good place to be kayaking after dark since there are big boats everywhere.  I then went swimming off the side of the boat.  The waters in Halong Bay are very comfortable, but the are where we were anchored was a little on the dirty side.  As I said, tour boats everywhere.  We had dinner and pretty much crashed.

Casey on the boat with Halong Bay in the background
see all photos »

Saturday was maybe the nicest overall day we've had on the trip.  We got dropped off on Cat Ba Island fairly early and jumped on a bus that was going to take us to the hotel.  Except that we stopped on the way at the hiking trail.  We were going to hike up to a fire tower, a 2 km walk with an elevation change of about 225 meters.  That doesn't sound too bad, right?  They told everybody that flip-flops were fine, but Casey and I wore our hiking shoes anyway.  So, it's about 90 degrees (NOW the sun comes out) and we start walking...it's flat.  Then we start up some stairs.  Many, many stairs.  And these are not dry stairs...they are covered in mud and leaves.  They have turned ankle written all over them. We get to the top of the stairs feeling more than a little winded.  But that was the easy part.  What follows next involved a combination of a steep slope, rock climbing, and metal ladders all covered in slick mud (well, not the ladders).  It was at this time that the others in our group questioned the flip-flop advice.  We were both struggling.  As we neared the top, I told Casey "the title of our next blog is going to be Cat Ba Death March".  But we made it, and it was quite a view.  The walk back down was somewhat treacherous but a little easier. We were rewarded at the bottom by a fresh water spring to soak our feet and a food stand.

Ship on Halong Bay
see all photos »

The island in Cat Ba City was actually very nice, and we had a room on the 5th floor with a balcony overlooking the harbor.  The only down side was no elevator.  After lunch we went on a smaller boat around a different part of the bay and eventually to Monkey Island.  Being the sometimes pessimist, I told Casey that I thought it was named that because of how it looked, but they did have three monkeys on the beach when we showed up.  They beat one Japanese student up a little when he got too close for a picture.  That was funny.  The beach there was beyond nice.  Coral shells everywhere, but very fine sand.  And the water was not polluted this time.  We agreed that this was the prettiest place we had ever been for a swim.

Steve is enjoying himself and the wonderful surroundings
see all photos »

Eventually we had to leave, so we made it back to town.  After a mediocre dinner, we headed out for cocktails.  Eventually we met up with a Dutch couple who were on our trip and had some beers with them.  Later another couple (French & Chinese) from our group joined us.  Then we ran into our tour guide, who also had some family members with him.  He invited us for karaoke.  Now, neither of us can sing, but sometimes you have to go with the flow.  Unlike the US, but like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation, karaoke is not performed in bars but in rooms that you rent.  We also brought along a couple of bottles of Vietnamese vodka (bad idea).  His family was singing Vietnamese songs when we got there, but then they insisted that we do some English songs.  I did not have my shirt inside out, and I did not sing any Brian Ferry.  But Casey and I did a rousing version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and everyone joined in for "Hello" and "Say you, Say me."  The Vietnamese like them some Lionel Richie.   Why, I do not know.

More cool Halong Bay rock formations
see all photos »

The next morning I shook off the remnants of Vietnamese vodka (Casey was smart and stayed away from that stuff) and we headed back.  Bus to the jetty, boat to port, and bus to Hanoi.  All in all, it was a very good time.  But I will never trust anyone who tells me that flip-flops are "fine" for a hike.