The Logistics of Boat Travel is Too Complicated For Us

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We were woken at about 4.00am by a massive bang and we looked out to see a biblical storm going on. Thunder and lightning, which was extremely close and extremely loud. We could see the flashes of light, but not the lightning itself as there were thick, grey clouds and rain was pelting down.

It wasn’t looking good for the rest of the day, particularly as we had been warned that if the lightning got too bad, we would be going back to port and the day would be a right-off.

We went back to sleep and were woken by some more noise at 6.00am, but this time it was our alarm (yes, we are getting up at 6.00am on holiday) as there is Tai Chi on the deck for everyone who gets up in time. There were three of us, although we could see a few more people on another boat doing exactly the same thing - all very calm now thanks to the Tai Chi.

The rain had gone and whilst we were getting our chi into a good place, the clouds dispersed as well. It was looking like it was going to be a nice day.

Again, a woman on a her little overloaded boat (we’re in a completely different location to the time yesterday, so we are not sure if it was the same one or not) came right up to the bathroom window at exactly the wrong time. Note to self, must shut the blind when it gets dark.

Now this is going to get complicated and we were extremely confused about what was going to happen today. All we knew was that we needed to be at the back of the boat at 8.15am. We were even more confused when we were the only ones waiting there. Then the shuttle boat came up almost full with people from other boats. Then it became clear. All those people who appeared yesterday were on their second day and had been off doing what we were about to do. And everyone else was only staying one night.

The shuttle boat then took us to what they called the “day boat”, whilst we watched our cruise boat moving off into the distance. The day boat had a lounge, bar, sun-deck, but no cabins, as you would expect. We had been expecting to spend all day on the shuttle boat, so it was quite a relief.

It’s all very complex, but it kind of makes sense now.

We had a couple of hours to enjoy the stunning views of the bay and all the islands, big and small, natural and man-made (i.e. wooden pontoons and buildings floating in the water). We eventually stopped on the other side of the island and the shuttle boat took us ashore, to what was another part of the large Cat Ba Island that we visited yesterday.

We would be visiting a village about 5km away and we had a choice of cycling or taking the electric bus. We decided to do something that we had not done since Vancouver last year and go for the cycling option, which seemed like madness given the heat and humidity. Now I’m never one to advocate cycling, however it was definitely the right option, despite some hills, as we were able to stop where ever we liked to enjoy the views or take some photos.

The village was little more than a break for some snacks or shopping at a couple of strategically placed market stalls. There was also a little talk about the bay and Cat Ba Island with the help of a large map. Apparently, Cat Ba, which dominates the bay, is the island for women, which was all very funny when she showed us the tiny little island for men.

As we had done the worst hills getting there, we decided to cycle back as well. The breeze, whilst cycling, actually made it quite pleasant, but we did start melting as soon as we stopped back at the little harbour.

We were reasonably sociable (by our standards at least). Interesting news from an Australian on the boat - all the Vietnamese getting on the plane in Sydney also had trolley-loads of shrink-wrapped boxes and he wanted to know what they were full off every bit as much as we did. Other news is that everyone else seems to be going to Hoi An, which isn’t on our itinerary. May be next time?

Next stop was a beach, of which there are several dotted all around the bay. To get to the beach, however, we were going to have to get on some kayaks and row there ourselves. It wasn’t far, but it used muscles we don’t often use and meant sitting in a way that we are not used to.

The swim went down very well, before we were summoned back to the boat for lunch and to head back to where the main boat was waiting. It was an excellent day and my only complaint would be that it was a bit rushed.

Now, however, there was loads of time to chill on the deck of the boat with a beer, watching the scenery go by as the boat moved back to the same place we spent the night last night. This is obviously the over-night destination of choice, for the non-party boats at least.

It was then happy hour and homemade spring rolls again.

We are about to have our 25th wedding anniversary, which we had put on the holiday booking. When we went for the evening meal, the table had been made-up beautifully for and there was a little presentation at the end of the meal. We were not too embarrassed as someone else had had a birthday cake presented before us. It was lovely though.

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Photos

Sailing Halong Bay
All the photos of the bay have the old, traditional boats, but this was about as near as we saw.

Cat Ba Village
Traditional hut on the Lady’s Island.

View Over Cat Ba
One of the many views when cycling.

Halong Bay Beach
The beach that we had to get to via kayak.

Flag
The Vietnamese flag flying from the back of a boat.

Halong Beer
It would be rude not to try the local brew.