Cat Ba Island and Halong Bay - Monkeys, Birds and Serpents

We had five nights on Cat Ba Island, and we couldn’t wait to see the sea again. The bus to Haiphong was very uneventful, and we had a tedious wait before we were transferred to our boat to cross over to Cat Ba, but once we were on the speedboat cruising through the waves everything just fell into place; a reminder of all the great things about home gave way to a warming sense of homesickness. We passed a stretch of mangroves, and several fishing stations that rose out of the water like HG Wells’ Martians (which also made me think of home, and listening to Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds with my family).

When we arrived on Cat Ba Island we had one last bus from the ferry port to Cat Ba town, taking us right past the National Park, which covers a substantial chunk of the island. Cat Ba town consists of a very small promenade and all the action revolves around the adjacent seafront road, imaginatively called D 1-4. It comprises a string of tour operators, restaurants, bars and hotels, plus the occasional shop limited to cans of coke, bottles of beer and packets of crisps and biscuits – we would be eating out every night here! There was a bakery though (the Family Bakery, which was amazing) so lunch was covered. Fortunately, despite being a small resort town, the restaurants were all very reasonably priced, so we could enjoy a great meal for two for around £5. That first night I had some incredible squid, delicious! Bradley was less fortunate with some average-tasting chicken.

There are a few makeshift bars set up along the promenade, consisting only of a fridge on wheels and a handful of fold out tables and plastic chairs, but these are a quite charming way to enjoy the harbour at night (you can’t get too comfortable though, which may be a good thing as we began to notice rats lurking nearby). The beaches were all round the corner from the harbour so you can’t see these from the town, but the harbour at night is very pretty, with boats moored throughout and several floating restaurants bobbing peacefully in the quiet sea.

Our hotel was fairly central along the small road, and although we did have an enormous cockroach in our bedroom (swiftly evicted out of the window) and I’m convinced I saw another one in the bathroom the next day, it was a pretty reasonable place to stay – and had the best breakfast I’d had in ages! You could get either mango or pineapple pancakes with honey drizzled on top – they were amazing and I had them every day! Bradley mixed it up a bit with some eggs, but was also a massive fan of the pineapple pancakes in particular.

We were back to work the next day, but before we got started we had time to book a boat trip to Halong Bay. We were really torn about which trip to take – there were several amazing sounding trips involving overnight stays on boats, but in the end we decided on a full day trip, paying a little more for a small group and a cosier boat, organised by a local tour group company from the island, Cat Ba Ventures.  They were very helpful and efficient, so this was sorted very quickly, leaving us time to enjoy the morning before we set to work.

The day trip to Halong Bay took us around fishing villages and nearby islands, and of course through the incredible and unique karst landscape of the bay. From the moment we set foot on the small wooden boat we were ushered to sit on the roof deck and enjoy the view – and the breeze – and as we headed out of the harbour we had our first sight of the open sea dotted with these unique island peaks. There are over 3,000 of these islands of varying size in the bay; the tour guide took us to some quieter areas to explore (we’re so glad we paid the extra money, as we saw some huge boating behemoths that looked like cruise ships – the atmosphere must have been negligible!).

There were only nine people in our group – a Dutch couple, a French couple, and three Germans who were great fun. 

Monkey Island!

The boat picked up the Dutch couple from the beach of nearby Monkey Island (Bradley couldn’t believe there was actually an island with the same name as his favourite computer game – we were half expecting Guybrush Threepwood -  the main character - to stroll out with a monkey on his shoulder). Monkey Island does actually have monkeys – it is home to the golden-headed langur, or Cat Ba langur (sadly, one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world: http://primates.squarespace.com/top_25_primates_in_peril/). We even spotted some later in the day when we dropped them back there!

The first stop for the day was a small island with some caves we could walk (and stoop) through, plus a beautiful turquoise mountain lake that looked like it has been painted on, it was so still.

There were also lots of rare birds on the island (though I wish I’d written down their names, as now I cannot remember for the life of me) and we even spied a few as we walked. Once we had explored the island and its curious caves, we boarded the boat again for more leisurely meanderings through the peaks before stopping for lunch. And what an amazing lunch! There was fresh locally caught seafood, colourful vegetables and spring rolls galore to enjoy, and plenty to go round. 

Feeling full and content, we were soon rummaging around with our stuff and packing our dry bags (to protect cameras, etc) for some kayaking.

This was the really exciting part, getting to make our own way through the water for a while and to explore some of the sea caves and passages. We got a bit carried away and immediately lost the tour guide as we wanted to check out a dark little cave that we were momentarily stuck in – the Dutch couple had to come back for us, oops! 

Once we were back out of the cave, we paddled over to some incredible, well-hidden archways, leading into a beautiful sea lake surrounded by dense forest. It was paradise. Halong Bay is a World Heritage Site, and as such is a protected area – but since environmental protection is a fairly low priority throughout much of Vietnam, we can only hope it won’t become over-developed.

After the kayaking, we glided by boat to a remote beach, where the boat took a breather while we went swimming and snorkelling. The sea is just so warm here; it was like having a bath. We didn’t see many fish, but just having the freedom to swim around for an hour or so was wonderful - we hadn’t so much as had a bath for ages, so a swim felt decadent (we have of course been showering, but baths are just so relaxing and such a treat, and this is how the swimming felt!).

Snorkelling Beach

The boat eventually took us back, via Monkey Island and those monkey sightings, and we had one last hour to enjoy the peaks. It had been a fabulous day, and was topped off by some gorgeous late afternoon pre-sunset views.

That night we went for dinner (more squid and pineapple for me, better chicken for Bradley) – and immediately bumped into our German friends from the day – we were eating dinner at their hotel! They stopped for a quick drink with us, and when they headed off for their own dinner we retreated to the hotel for a film and an early night after a great day.

It had been so long since we’d been near the sea, let alone had access to beaches, so we decided to spend the next day doing nothing much more than relaxing by the beach on the three Cat Ba ‘Cat Co’ beaches (mostly Cat Co 2, the quietest of the three beaches). Armed with nothing but a book, we lolled wonderfully aimlessly on the beach, swimming by turn and lazing on our beach towels. The sun was shining, and the island was so peaceful there – it was a truly essential non-event of a day, perfectly timed after the hustle and bustle of Hanoi.

Cat Co 2 Beach

In order to make the most of our last day on Cat Ba Island, we decided to hire a motorbike and visit the National Park and ride the islands key coastal roads. 

even rocky had a montage

This was the first time we decided to hire a motorbike for the day, but it wouldn’t be the last time as it is such a great way to get around, without having to negotiate with taxi or tuk-tuk drivers. Driving a small automatic was simple, and within minutes of putting on our helmets, we were out of the town, and on the open road (all thoughts of being an ‘uneasy rider’ soon evaporated). There are a few very brief villages on Cat Ba outside of the main town, but these have little more than a basic corner shop and possibly a café. It’s more like the contents of a single cul-de-sac have spilled out onto the main road. And occasionally a small farm, as evidenced by this herd of goats:

We enjoyed a leisurely ride through several small clusters of houses, before we reached the National Park. For just a few Dong, we could go and explore the National Park on a well-marked path to one of the peaks, a walk that should take no more than two hours in total (there and back again). It was steep in places, but so tranquil – bar a few other visitors! We saw what looked like a squirrel within minutes, but otherwise the forest seemed very quiet until you stood still, and realised you could hear an infinite number of insects chirruping, and goodness knows what rustling about in the undergrowth. The view from the peak was spectacular, and it was great to see some of the limestone peaks from a different perspective, away from the water.

Route To Top!

View From The Top

On our way back down, we had what we hope will remain our closest near death experience. We were walking along the last stretch of path before heading back to the bike, when Bradley must have stomped a bit too close to a KING COBRA.

It reared up, flared out its hood, and hissed loudly at us – fortunately, Bradley and I both leapt back quickly and the cobra decided to retreat into the forest. It was easily 3 feet long, more like 4 feet, and a google search that evening confirmed that it would indeed have been a King Cobra. Considering that a bite from a King Cobra can kill within the hour, we were very lucky to escape its fangs!

After the incident with the cobra, we were feeling quite shaken, so we took it easy for the next few miles, riding the roads out to the ferry and round the coastline. There were some beautiful scenes of the bay, and as the sun went down we started to feel back to normal after the cobra encounter. 

We had one last delicious dinner on Cat Ba Island, and an early night to justify the early start required to squeeze in a pancake breakfast. Then it was time for the bus-boat-bus back to Hanoi, and the subsequent train to Hue. A whole day of travelling in three different ways!

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