Vietnam: Day Three – Cat Ba Island

Who would’ve thought – even 2 days ago – that we would be waking up this morning on an old Junk floating in the middle of the most stunning bay of limestone islands? I was a bit hesitant to sleep overnight on a boat (sea-sickness wasn’t high on my to-do list) but the boat was so still all night that I couldn’t even tell we were on water. How wonderful to greet the day with such a stunning vista and end it with new found friends!

Cat Ba Island

The plan for today was to spend the day at Cat Ba Island – the largest island in Halong Bay.

We reached Cat Ba Island around 9am and was picked up by a crowded minibus that had no air-conditioning! We knew that part of our tour included a hike but no one was told that it would happen straight after docking! I think everyone was expecting to check in to our island hotel first, have a shower and then get changed into suitable hiking gear. But in true survivor style – we were herded off the minibus, dropped off at Cat Ba National Park with whatever we were wearing and directed straight up the hiking trail!

Ngu Lam Peak

And what started out as a pleasant stroll ended up as more than just a trail – it was a 70 degree climb to the top of Ngu Lam Peak with some irregular steps, mud everywhere, rusty ladders and tricky footholds. I was wearing a pair of runners that were barely adequate – I felt sorry for all the poor guys who did the ascent in thongs!

By the time we got to the top, 45 minutes later, everyone had lost about 5kg in sweat – from both the humidity and the energy exerted! I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in such a short period of time. When we finally got to the top, there was a fantastic view but for the competitive amongst us, it wasn’t over.

There was a tower at the top that went a further 225m higher that we simply *had* to climb. Attached to the tower was a sign that warned people to only climb five at a time. Usually I’d poo-poo such a sign – that is until I got on this thing and felt the rusting steel shake with every step. Then anytime another tourist wanted to get on, all five of us who were already climbing yelled at them in unison!

Getting to the top was no easy feat – I’m usually okay with heights but the metal steps were made of such thin strips that it looked like every step you were taking was into thin air – straight down! The viewing platform at the top wasn’t any better – the floorboards were creaky and loose reminding you of your precarious position. Thankfully the risk was worth it – the 360 degree view was absolutely stunning!

What goes up must come down

The next challenge was getting down. In and of itself this was already a challenge but now it was getting to the busy part of the day and more and more tourists were arriving to do the trek. It was already difficult enough making our way up in single file, now we had to go down – the same way – weaving our way in and out of sweaty foreigners. It wasn’t unlike being in a mosh pit on a 36 degree day at an outdoor festival….uuuurrrgghhhh….

After what seemed like forever, we got to the bottom where Josh and I both almost went head over tail on the very last step! Thankfully we held it together because a few steps more revealed a freshwater well. Everyone was so happy to drench themselves in the cool water found there. There was not a dry patch to be found anywhere…

Cat Ba Town

Thankfully the evening was a whole lot less work (I don’t think the tour operators were told we were on holiday!). We arrived in Cat Ba Town which is the main town centre for Cat Ba Island. It was a bit reminiscent of Bondi Beach in shape and outlook but that’s about where the similarities ended – all the hotels were on one side in a semi circular fashion overlooking the water. Unlike Bondi, this water wasn’t for swimming however – it was a working port for boats. A swimming beach was 10 minutes walk in the opposite direction.

We checked into our hotel which was spectacular – it was the newest and tallest hotel on the promenade. We can’t believe that we could afford a place like this on the budget tour we are on! Bonus was that air conditioning and Wi-Fi were both awesome not to mention the view!

Unfortunately the praise pretty much ends at the hotel – Cat Ba Town is really quiet (especially for Vietnamese standards). There are the usual street vendors and night shops but they all pretty much sell the same things as each other. Josh & I searched high and low for a pub, bar, even Karaoke to hang out to no avail. I’m sure they exist but with barely any people inside them (other than restaurants) there wasn’t really much of a night scene.

The best thing about backpacking?

What was great though was spending some time with a few new friends we’ve made over the course of the last few days. Possibly one of the best things about backpacking is that every now and then your path criss-crosses with a few others. Tonight our path just so happened to cross again with Stuart, a builder from London, and Lu & Nandi, two students from Seattle who are here to study Vietnamese history and culture.

We met Stuart on day 1 on the bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay and thought we lost him as he was booked onto a different Junk. The next day we bump into him again when we had to transfer Junks. Lu & Nandi were in a different group trekking through Cat Ba National Park at the same time as us earlier today. They both gave us a Vietnamese history lesson while we were hiking.

It was great to be ending the day sharing stories and laughing at shared experiences with new found friends over Mango Creme Brulee, Chocolate Fondant & Green Bean Ice Creams!

Its actually going to be a bit sad to think that tomorrow we’ll all be leaving this magical place and each other – perhaps never to meet again…

Adam