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Published: February 10th 2017
I had heard conflicting stories about Halong Bay but it was definitely on the must do list for Vietnam. As you know, pollution and rubbish are twin anathemas to me so I was not too keen to travel with all the big boats. Our lovely hostel in Hanoi, Old Quarter Hostel, recommended Swan Tours to us. Boats that sailed on the quieter Ba Tu Long Bay seemed appealing and off we went with the irrepressible tour guide Mee keeping us entertained on the journey to the port.
The rest stop, International Tourist Rest Centre, could have been avoided, but maybe not. Maybe this was a government requirement for all the tour buses to stop at this huge megamarket which sold everything from immense marble statues to small packets of green tea. We were dropped off at one end and told that the bus would meet us at the other. The one cup of coffee we bought certainly wouldn't have filled their coffers!
Our cabin was fine on this 12 cabin boat and the company was great. We met two young vivacious couples, one living in Lausanne, Switzerland and one in Munich, all multi-lingual but of course we carried out
most of the conversations in English, a language all could speak. Our mini-dictator, Mee, kept us all shipshape and commands were rung out. 'On the small boat in 30 minutes, 10 minutes to have a shower, come back to the restaurant to hear the itinerary.' The two days, well, 24 hours, were packed with activities and there was very little resting time to enjoy the magnificent scenery except whilst eating as the meals were seven or ten courses and catered for all tastes. Stuffed crabs were delicious but the oysters left a little to be desired. Julian and Genny, who were on a belated honeymoon had a watermelon beautifully carved as her birthday cake as one had proved impossible to source after Tet. Kayaking around we landed on a coral beach and Graeme swam. Water a trifle cold for me I watched as others played ball or took one more shot of the beautiful karst mountains rising from the water. My wishes had been granted, only three boats anchored in the bay, quiet and peaceful, and with hardly any rubbish floating by we enjoyed this pristine part of Halong Bay.
Taking the ferry to Cat Ba island we find
ourselves swallowed by large contingents of Chinese tourists. A dapper businessman eager to practise his English tells me that he is part of a group of 80 who have driven down in 24 of their own cars from Chongching. In the six days over Chinese New Year they will complete a whippet quick tour of Halong Bay, 2 nights and 1 night on Cat Ba island before the long journey home. Among the group are young children and families. One tiny five year old named Cu bubbles over with mischief, curiosity and glee as she fingers Graeme's beard and twitches away my straw hat before running off to play with two other youngsters. Her father bellows and she jerks back, more like a straying dog on a lead before once more laughing at Graeme and removing my hat from the top of the suitcase. We lose sight of her pert little bunches on the crowded ferry as we wait for a latecoming Chinese tour group and other random tourists.
Washed vivid by the early morning rain Cat Ba holds promise. Its usual dusty somewhat unprepossessing air glistened and gleamed. We had arrived to an extrememely welcoming Vietnamese hotelier at
Hua Dong hotel. As she piled us with Tet sweets it certainly seemed promising. One look at the room, however, told us otherwise. A sink so dirty it needed a metal scourer and detergent, bedside table (top of a small fridge) ringed and coffee stained and sheets of uncertain cleanliness told us we should move. Being lazy, we toughed it out for one night and left abruptly in the early morning, smiling hotelier or not and found Mr Victor at Thai Bao who gave us a seaview room for the same price.
Cat Ba island treated us to more mountains, more views and more extraordinary kayaking. This time we took a private boat which gave us more flexibility kayaking where we wished. Taking the opposite direction to the tour groups we spotted monkeys, a langur and a black squirrel which we would never have seen if we remained in close proximity to hallooing Spaniards!
A hike through Cat Ba National Park showed us more of the jungle scenery but we did not spot any animals but did hear both langurs and monkeys calling. Our guide was not very forthcoming and most of the conversation was between Charlotte, a
fellow travel blogger (not this site) and Stefan, a young South African who had come to teach in Hanoi for a year. He was the second 'teacher' we had met who had finished university and needed to say to their father that they had a job! He was already homesick but determined to save up some money to do a postgraduate degree in New York. I marvelled at how lucrative that teaching was and we certainly thought twice about staying in Vietnam to do some conversation classes!
We stayed for six nights in Cat Ba, enjoying two magnificent sunsets, motorbike riding around the island, views from Cannon fort and from the memorial, two days at the clean Cat Co 2 beach, every day telling Mr Victor we would stay one more night.
We found a marvellous restaurant called Vietnam Soul Food around by the old harbour and had the best home cooked meal of our trip so far. We ordered a seafood hotpot and the prawns, squid and oysters were probably the freshest seafood I had ever tasted. We went back another night for her famous fish clay pot and squid and celery. The food was equally delicious
but the experience was a little marred by the time we had to wait! Ms Blue is a victim of her own success and will have to employ more staff to assist her.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Halong Bay
You have given plenty of reasons to visit Halong Bay, Mert. Serenity is top of the list...and I don't object to eating well too!