Ha Long Bay - Day 118-119
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2008
1
82
251
Trip End
Ongoing
Cat Ba,
Vietnam
Friday, June 20, 2008
Departed Hanoi at 8.30am for Ha Long Bay. First a three and half drive by mini-bus to Ha Long city. In Ha Long city I joined up with some of the other people on the tour, seem like an alright bunch. We had a bit of a wait in the sweltering heat at the harbor for the boat, typical Vietnamese style, everything is so laid back here. When the boat finally arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a beautiful dark wooden vessel with cabins, a sun deck and lounge/eating area, really comfortable. I'll be sleeping on the boat tonight somewhere in the majestic Ha Long Bay, then tomorrow night in a hotel on Cat Ba island.
After we boarded the boat, we sat down for a spot of lunch, I was sat next to an old German guy. A couple of minutes after sitting down a Vietnamese woman came over and gestured to me to move up so she could sit down, so I did
Ha Long Bay 1
. Then the German guy said in an angry fashion, "This is my wife, she wants to sit next to me!". I sarcastically said, "Oh, I deeply apologise for coming in between you and your wife". A couple of minutes of silence passed on the table. Then his wife must of told him to apologise to me and he did, but what a wanker! It's not like I'm going to steal her from him. He probably has more money than me anyway, so I'm sure she'll stick with him :o)After lunch we circled the floating villages, set in an epic landscape of massive limestone rocky outcrops. The floating villages are mainly occupied by fishing family's, probably a hard way to make a living but what a place to live. This is truly an amazing place, defiantly in my top 10 landscapes I've ever seen for pure natural beauty.
After leaving the floating villages we headed for the Hang Dau Go cave. A really magical cave system which is like a big cathedral made by mother-nature. The cave took 700,000 to form which in geological timescales is not too long but limestone erodes relatively quickly when it comes in contact with water hence the fantastic formations. Massive stalactites hang from the roof of the cave like organ pipes in a church. The cave was beautifully lit too with colourful lights dotted around
Cave Entrance
. Also, the occasional beam of sunlight pieced through holes from the roof, a seriously impressive place!The rest of the day was spend sailing around and taking in the beautiful scenery. In the late afternoon we dropped anchor in a glorious part of the bay for the night. It was an extremely clear tonight with a few wisps of cloud and a near full moon. The bay was so beautiful in the moonlight with the silhouette of the outcrops clearly visible and the light reflecting on the dark waters. First time in while that I've seen any stars too. It was really nice to sit on the sun deck and try to take it all in.
Day 119 - 20/06/08
After a good night sleep on the boat, we docked on Cat Ba island this morning to start a 2 hour trek into the hilly jungle of the island. As we walked through the trees and vegetation, big spiders and giant webs appeared everywhere spanning 5 metre gaps between trees trunks. The spiders where at least 15cm long from leg to leg, gigantic multi-coloured things all the same species. Wouldn't want to walk into one of the webs, that's for sure.
Climbed a relatively high hill, which was harder than it looked from the bottom due to the heat and humidity
Ha Long Bay 2
. Just before the summit there was a bit of scramble up some nasty sharp limestone, which I actually quite enjoyed. At the top, a beautiful panorama of the rolling limestone hills of the island. A great view not just of Cat Ba, but of some of the surrounding outcrops of the bay too.After the trek we checked into the hotel and I had a brief nap before going out for a walk to explore the town, didn't do anything constructive just walked around, found an Internet café and generally chilled out. The main town on the island was like the Vietnamese Blackpool but with nicer weather and better scenery. They even have cheesy illuminations on the promenade that runs parallel with the coast.
