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Every so often when you are international jet-setting (or in my case International Bus Riding) you get caught up in the storm that is the local holiday season. I was in the thick of it here in Vietnam which was a five day, no work, no holds barred, party to celebrate "Reunification" or "Independence" if you will of the North and South of this country. I scrambled to get out of Hanoi and chose to go to Cat Ba Island three hours to the East in the Gulf of Tonkin. Cat Ba Island is a National Protected Park and gateway to the less toursited part of world famous Ha Long Bay. A miscalculation on my part thinking I would escape the madness, but as always things just seem to work out.
Leaving Hanoi I was able to navigate myself through the maze like corridors of the Old Quarter to the Southern Bus Terminal. Here I purchased a bus/boat/bus ticket for Cat Ba Town on Cat Ba Island for $190,000VND, pretty good value. I figured all of the holiday makers would make their way to Ha Long City and the Northern section of Ha Long Bay. I realized this hunch was
far off point when I got to Cat Ba Town and 80% of the many hotels I looked at were fully booked. The remaining 20% wanted around $50USD for the night and after that they had nothing available for 4 days. After hours of searching I came across a reasonable hotelier who had one night availibility for $10. After that I was out of luck. I checked in and left for the town centre immediately to find some options. I wanted to book a two day / one night boat trip through Lan Ha Bay and the UNESCO (they must hand these certifications out like candy) Ha Long Bay. All of the tour operators in town said the same thing. "Full, full". I was set to return in defeat to Hanoi the following morning when I came across a last minute cancellation and I was able to get onto a boat the next day. Sometimes you need a little luck.
I paid more than I wanted to, but I did not really have an option lest I miss out on the world class bays and beauty the limestone provides in this region. The cost was $115 for the two
day / one night including meals. The bonus was that it was not a mass charter tour as their were only four of us (not counting the crew) on board. An Aussie couple traveling Asia for two months, an Englishman working in Australia who got fed up and quit and is returning home in five weeks, and me - world nomad. I get some looks - some of admiration, some of bewilderment, and some of "you are crazy" - when I tell people how long I have been gone (all of which make me uncomfortable) from home and even more looks when I say I left alone. I don't really like to bring it up or talk about it much.
The trip itself was worth what I paid. The boat's quarters and facilities were really nice and the food was top notch. We even got to kayak around the bay and explore various caves and hidden lagoons that are scattered throughout Ha Long Bay. We saw very few other vessels and I really had the feeling that we were on our own sailing through the cragged karsts and narrow waterways. The weather was not the best. We did not
get rain, but we had very little sunshine so everything had a grey hue to it. When the sun did creep out I was able to really appreciate the emerald green waters flowing past our boat.
A superbly wonderful adventure cruising through the bay for a couple of days. Ha Long Bay has been on my radar for a while now and it for sure lived up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful maritime destinations around. On our way back to Cat Ba Island I had a bit of anxiety as I knew all the accommodation was full and I had no where to stay. As luck would have it, as soon as our ship pulled into the harbour the last hydrofoil was leaving for the mainland. I was able to secure a ticket last minute for the ride ($200,000VND) to the city of Haiphong. I realized that I take slow boats for a reason. The hydrofoil was moving at maybe 60mph and I was terrified. One rogue wave and we were done for. We did make it to the mainland without incident and I was able to easily overnight in Haiphong before hopping a bus
($70,000VND) for a second try at Ninh Binh to the South.
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