Prince Hotel Cat Ba

Revelj 07.00 upp toa sedan frukost for idag skulle en djungel besegras av ett par otaggade svenskar!<br><br>In i bussen kl 9.20 for fard mot vandringsleden. 09.35 den ca tva mil langa vandringen langst klippvaggar och nastinstill lodrata backar kunde nu borja.<br><br>De forsta kilometrarna var validigt latta, med asfalt och senare murad(?) stig. Men detta blev ...

... k*n bli v*ldigt otrevlig* konsekvenser for dem, guiden s* sj*lv *tt de dod*r honom, okl*rt om de g*r s* l*ngt men m*n vet *ldrig i det h*r l*ndet.<br><br> Hotellet vi skulle bo p* kost*de 12 doll*r n*tten och l*g mer inne i st*n. R*tt slitet st*lle och vi f*r sen*re hor* *tt det finns mycket b*ttre hotell med fin*re l*ge nere vid h*mnen for en billig*re penning ...

... junk boat - as we left the harbour we introduced ourselves to the 7 other guests whilst sitting on the top deck looking at the view. It took an hour of weaving between the pinnacles and avoiding the floating fisherman villages before we reached our first stop. We moored up next to a large floating fishing hut and jumped into some kayaks. For an hour we tootled around the area exploring around some of the towering stones and meandering past the fishermans huts. Moving on we ...

... br><br>18th October<br>We woke early for breakfast and our trip to Monkey Island via Cat Ba island. Cat Ba is a national park yet some parts are very developed for tourism. We went into the park with our new and crazy guide called Phouc (but you pronounce 'Ph' as an 'F'!) We went biking for an hour through the Island with Phouc cycling along playing loud dance music using some speakers in his bag! We arrived at a cave where they had built a secret ...

... rendered speechless by the place. It just seemed to open up forever. With different types of stalagmites and stalactites surrounding us. The tour guide gave us a brief history of Halong Bay (Halong means descending dragon) and how it was formed. They believe a dragon was sent from China to the sea, and the aftermath of it's journey is what formed Halong Bay. You can see why. After an hour touring the cave we headed off to get a kayak and were then free to have an explore for ...

... couldn't see anything, no corals), swam in the sea, sunbathed on the roof of the boat, had nice lunch there, went to Halong Bay cave (huge huge one). We also met lovely people in Cat Ba : Earnst a really cool dude from Holland, Tom and Gen who we had drinks with, met a couple from Finland we actually met the first time back next to Halong City and another couple we met from Australia who were sitting next to us in a bar.."

... was waiting for us when we got back to the village and then we had our 6 km walk back to tthe ipier to get back on the boat. again the sun was beating down on the way back to hte resort so we all had a little nap!!<br>after a little rest back at our beach hut, we again were served a top notch meal, tasty pork and beef dishes and lots of different sauces to dip! we were so well fed in comparison to what we've been eating!! early ish to bed that night as day 3 had more fun and ...

... straight off on a tour of Halong Bay which is a tourist trap. They've got the market sewn up so you just have to join the conveyor belt if you want to see Halong Bay. Fortunately it was well worth it. We had booked ourselves onto a very luxurious cruiser thanks to the persuasive sales lady at the booking desk! The ship was called the Halong Phoenix Cruiser and had 3 decks. Our cabin was very plush with sea views of course. We spent a 2 days cruising the ...

... remind myself that I'm 33. <br><br>The topography of the Bay is stunning and very similar to Phang Nga Bay in Thailand, although the water is more of a gray-green than the crisp blue-green of Thailand. Still, it was a great 2 days! Ha long means 'where the dragon descends into the sea.' I couldn't think of a more appropriate name. <br><br>I'm off to Sapa on the night train and from there...next stop China!