Having travelled back to Hanoi from Hoi An via plane, we made our way out to Cat Ba with a bus/boat/bus package – the quickest and easiest way to reach the island without your own transport. (See my post ‘Our 12 Day Travel Plan’ for more info).
We caught the bus in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, giving me a chance to briefly show mum and Ian the hustle and bustle in that part of the city – the many street sellers, the packed streets, and the countless lines of black electrical wires looped in what appears to be an extremely unorganised fashion on telegraph poles above. From Hanoi we had an easy ride to the harbour on the outskirts of Haiphong. As part of our transport package we then took a speed boat to the island, not as traditional as the transport ferry that most locals tend to use (and that I’d taken on my past two trips to Cat Ba), but certainly quicker. After barely a 10 minute ride we were disembarking and boarding another bus, the final part of our journey which took us to the touristic part of the island.
A victim of its own beauty the island has increasingly become a tourist hotspot. As with Hue, it seemed the powers that be had got carried away creating an attractive and bright atmosphere with fairy lights hap-hazardly flung among the trees and illuminated images hung as banners across the road, welcoming people into town. The surrounding bays are an endless maze of towering limestone karsts, with fishing villages dotted here and there along the water. This is, without a doubt, where the main attraction lies. Cat Ba does have beaches, but these have fallen victim to hotel developers and so their natural beauty is sadly waning.
After checking into the hotel, mum and Ian patiently waited for me to finish teaching. As soon as I was done we headed to Casa Bonita’s, a favourite of mine which my boyfriend Josh discovered on our visit to the island back in February. This is another Vietnamese/western fusion and vegan friendly place, and one that was a victorious hit with our whole party.
Mum and Ian had ventured out to book a boat trip while I was working, and we set out for said adventure early the next morning. Around twenty-something people in total had signed up for the same tour as us that day, and we were all led aboard a boat made to comfortably fit around 50 people.
As the boat made its way out into the bay and the guide finished up his intro speech, we all began to wander freely around, everyone looking for the best viewing spot as we began to travel by fishing villages and between the first of many towering limestone karsts.
Our first stop was at one of the larger floating fish farms. An exciting endeavour for all of us, though we became a little apprehensive as it became apparent that we were to walk around the farm – the walkway consisting of narrow wooden planks which had large cubes of water to either side, complete with a variety of fish. One wobble too much and you could be bobbing in the water with them, hoping they weren’t curious enough to give you a nibble as you tried to ignore your panic and devise a quick and efficient exit plan! Luckily, this vision made it no further than our imaginations and we remained dry from the beginning to the end of the tour.
It was interesting, and encouraging, to discover that large blue plastic barrels were now being used to keep the farm afloat, with an increasing number of fishermen choosing this option over the polystyrene they once used. This is apparently a decision purely based on the inconvenience and extra costs incurred when the polystyrene breaks up and floats away from the farm, rather than for environmental reasons I’d hope they’d consider, but overall the effect was the same (less polystyrene floating out to sea) and for that I am grateful.
During our next stop we were given the opportunity to either jump or climb off the boat into the sea for a bit of a swim. Mum climbed, but I challenged myself to do something I hadn’t done since my first Halong Bay trip four years previously – to jump from the top deck of the boat, something which I unfortunately had to repeat as Ian was not camera ready on my first, and might I say, much smoother effort.
From there we sailed off and on to the next part of our day – kayaking. Mum and Ian in one kayak, while I was partnered with a girl travelling solo in another. Safe to say neither of our two kayaks won the prize for fastest or best navigation team (though performances definitely improved greatly over the time we were on the water), but that didn’t stop us having fun. The members of our little group were taken on a tour around and through different rocky structures. The ‘through’ generally being a little more challenging due to the need to not hit the sides, bottom, or top as you try to glide smoothly to the other side and give the impression you have a vague idea what makes the kayak go left or right. We were shown Monkey Island; an enclosed hidden lagoon; and a bat colony living in the roof of one cave we ‘glided’ through.
The rest of the day was less eventful but no less enjoyable. We were all plied with more food than anyone was able to eat, and the three of us took to some sun loungers on the top deck to relax with a beer and watch the world in all its beauty as we floated our way through the afternoon, returning to shore at around 4pm.
The following day we returned to Hanoi in the same fashion as we’d arrived, and had one final day to enjoy before mum and Ian were to depart. I joined them in an exploration of the Temple of Literature. One of the most interesting parts for me was viewing the different models of the city at different points in history, witnessing the incredible increase in population in a relatively small amount of time. Empty landscape had once surrounded this temple, now it is very much a central part of a sprawling city.
As the day drew to a close I reflected how quickly time seemed to have passed since mum and Ian’s arrival. I felt as though I’d only just greeted them at the bus stop and now it was time to say our goodbyes once again. Yet another shared adventure reaching its end. I am very grateful that they were able to take a glimpse at my life in Vietnam, and how their surprise at many things which I now consider to be normal (such as a whole family riding on one motorbike or the countless electrical wires dangling from poles along the streets) showed me just how much I’d adapted to my surroundings.
