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Published: September 12th 2011
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We arrived in Hanoi from Hoi An headed to
Hanoi Backpackers Hostel. This place was recommended to me by several people so we decided to stay there. They were located in downtown Hanoi, old quarter I think. There were motor bikes all around and endless alleys to explore. After we checked into the hostel and booked a Halong Bay party tour, we wandered the streets. Unfortunately my tummy got the best of me and we ended up in a pizza restaurant eating average pizza. Later that night we ended up finding the local food area with people eating mystery kabobs..maybe next time.
A few more random alley ways later we came across a spa that had cheap body massages. We went in and decided to go for it. We both got a lavender full body massage. After listening to the chaos that is Hanoi, it was much needed. I'm glad we decided to do this because it ended up being by far the best massage I've ever had. It even beat every single Thai Massage I've had.
The next day we headed out for Halong Bay. We did a 3 day 2 night tour with the hostel. We stayed on a
boat 1 night and an island the 2nd night. It was a lot of fun, there was wake boarding, tubing, and rock climbing all while enjoying the scenery of Halong Bay.After the party tour departed we hopped a transfer boat to our next adventure Cat Ba.
Cat Ba ended up being a blast. We were there for Vietnamese New Year. There were tons of locals there with their kids fishing for fake fish and riding around the equivalent of bumper cars. It was awesome (minus the bad kids singing blaring through the speakers). We spent a few days there climbing with
Slo Pony. (If anyone reading this is looking for climbing in Cat Ba, go with these people. They are safe, organized and really knowledgeable.) We climbed on Moody Beach, Tiger Beach and went Deep Water Soloing. It took me 1 time of totally freaking out on the rock to get back into DWS, but it was still good times.
We also went Kayaking through a really low cave that opened up on the other side to a lagoon filled with jelly fish. It was a truly magical and unexpected experience like no other. One of the best moments
of the trip so far for sure.
After spending an hour gazing at jelly fish after jelly fish (safely from a kayak) we headed to a little deserted beach to shoot a few shots of Brad and I spinning poi while balancing in a kayak. They are quite funny.
Cat Ba Tips: • Food at Noble House not so good. Try Green Mango, it's better. Or a local Seafood joint.
• The best shakes on the island are at the cafe directly next to Noble House.
• If you need a bus off the island these people are dependable
Hoang Long Asia & the guy owns a hotel too.
• Yes you can go from Cat Ba to Ninh Binh. Take the 7:15 AM bus from Hoang Long Bus company. Arrive in Hai Phong 9:00 AM. At the same Bus terminal pay 90,000 Dong for a ticket to Ninh Binh on local bus. 4 hours later you are there.
• If anyone trys to tell you they can take you climbing cheaper than Slo Pony don't go with them. They don't know what they are doing and aren't insured.
Cat Ba was great, next up for us is
Ninh Binh for some trekking, motorbike riding and home stays.
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