Cat Ba Island: Day 40 to 42

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After an overnight sleep at Hanoi, I headed to Cat Ba Island.

In Vietnam, one of the most famous places to visit is the Ha Long Bay. People visit for the limestone karsts and the clean waters. But given its popularity, it can get crowded. So I chose Cat Ba (pronounced as Cas Ba), the next door neighbour, much less touristy and the same landscapes.

Cat Ba (means Island of Women) is named after three women from the Trang Dynasty of Vietnam, is a 285 square KM island comprising of the Cat Ba National Park.

It's being developed as a tourist destination, but because it shares the same land and sea as Ha Long Bay, you get to see the same landscapes.

After arriving, I explored the island a bit the first day and rested.

Next day, I took a day long cruise to Lan Ha Bay (with views of Ha Long). These cruises can be crowded but ours was small, 24 people in a 60 people boat.

The day included going on the cruise and seeing the landscapes, kayaking (and we were super lucky to see Langoor monkeys and a baby Langoor, our guide told us that there are only 75 left in the wild in Cat Ba Island), going to a beach and exploring some small caves. We also got to see the floating villages that fishermen families live in, it did look a hard life.

But the thing that struck me about the waters was the pollution - plastic and more, a lot of it. And I hear Ha Long Bay has the same issue. This is a major issue that Vietnam and Cat Ba Island will have to deal with and I hope they do.

These landscapes need to be protected and I hope they are.

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Photos

Lan Ha Bay
Lan Ha Bay, Cat Ba Island

Small beaches in Lan Ha Bay
Small beaches in Lan Ha Bay

Langoor at Lan Ha Bay
Langoors at Lan Ha Bay

Lan Ha Bay
Someone commented that these look like the land of the dragons

Floating villages
Floating villages of fishing communities