Cat Ba island and town - Cat Ba, Vietnam
Cat Ba, Vietnam
Once off the ferry, Cat Ba town is at the other end of the island at some 18km distance. All other passengers took the local minibus service which normally waits for the ferry, although scams have been heard that it miraculously departs just before the ferry docs, leaving all passengers stranded at the mercy of the few taxis just waiting to cash in. funny that! Very probable the minibus drivers are in on it. The locals, mostly on scooters have no issues, they pile in twos and threes and away they go.
Clearly having your own transport, our bikes and us getting ready to depart, does not stop the odd driver asking if we want a lift. I think they assume us crazy to bike it if there are so much more comfortable ways of getting around.
We did not delay any longer and started peddling. Within a few moments the first thing that faced us was a hill. Around the first corner, a sign warned us of the imminent 10% incline. Lucky it was only a short one, but it was enough to have us dripping already. This being shortly after 9am the humidity had risen sufficiently to cause us enough discomfort.
The rest of the journey we could not believe how sticky and heavy things felt, it was not quite like riding through treacle but it felt remarkably close. The tyres were definitely sticking to the ground. That was our theory and we’re sticking to it, pardon the pun.
Before leaving home, we reckoned most of our journeys would be on sealed roads and hence our tyre selection, the schwalbe marathon plus, ‘puncture proof’ tourer’s weapon of choice, while size 28, was meant to be a fine balance between grip, speed and riding comfort. All three characteristics we're certainly there but none were tipped in our favour this morning. The best way to describe the feeling was we were pedalling hard and getting no where fast. These things were sinking in the ground!
Of course we were wrong. It was just humid and hot. Nothing wrong with the tyres or our cadence. It was just damn hard work and only on our return journey a few days later did we realise there had been a stiff sea breeze working against us that day, too.
The most remarkable thing however during that shot ride was the sudden realisation of where we were. An island with limited traffic. There were periods when there was no sound to he heard apart from the whirring sprockets and heavy panting, our own contribution to the otherwise still environment. Not a soul, no scooter, no horns and luckily no mad bus or truck drivers muscling you off the road. We looked at each other taking it all in, smiled and carried on. Utter bliss, even though I was still convinced the tyres must be sinking in the ground or we both have a slow puncture. The apparent heavy going was however far outweighed by the serenity of the moment.
Cat Ba is over 80% jungle and a lot of the island is a national park. The actual national park can be entered without a guide for a nominal fee 40.000 dong, but most available treks are to be guided, each destination attracting a different fee. The road we were cycling on to get to Cat Ba town (well the island only has two roads in fact) cuts through the forest and all around you there is nothing but thick green vegetation, the kind you’d imagine David Attenborough describe so vividly.
Riding does allow the mind to wonder sometimes and all I could think was whether ‘Planet Earth’ had visited Cat Ba island? How arbitrary? I guess there are worse things to take hold of your mind. So a few more kms and another few 10% inclines while our tyres were now totally submerged…the voice of David Attenborough in my head finally stopped talking about green lush expanses and we arrived at our destination, Cat Ba town.
As always, wet, hungry and tired (although on this occasion it was not even noon) we needed a room.
Our net search the night before came up with a surprisingly large choice of accommodation types ranging from 10$ to beyond 100$ per night.
Tip. Stating the obvious no doubt, but a little bit of research to get the basic sums right is paramount. If in low season as this is for us, do not book online. Get there and check out the rooms yourself before agreeing to the nightly price. Most times the actual price is lower than what is advertised on the net. Other reasons not to book online, (if the time allows and you can spare 1/2h searching the town) Vietnam is one big construction site. There is always improvements to the road network, telecoms and general building work going on. Last thing you want is for that special ‘cheap’ online deal you got to turn into a nightmare. Or better still the infamous ‘full moon party hotel’ to be next door to yours. Backpackers and hostels are notorious for offering long lasting night parties with happy hours that go on and on. If that is your thing and want to sleep during the day, fair play, these are the places for you, but if you do need a reasonable night’s sleep, then steer clear of the ones that have a downstairs bars offering burgers and chips, advertised as ‘buger and chips’.
That said, the locals have their own way of being raucous.
One other reason to check out your stay in full before parting with the cash is Vietnam loves Karaoke! It is advertised everywhere from small eateries to posh hotels. We heard live samples during the day in Cat Ba. Yes, during the day. These guys don’t wait till nightfall to have a few beers and then get cracking, why wait so long and waste valuable singing exposure? The afternoon will do just fine. We are sadly not talking ‘ Vietnam’s got talent’, we are talking ‘Vietnam does have talent, somewhere, but this ain’t it – I just love to drink, lost a bet and they made me do this’!
The only saviour is that it is not in English, so whatever they sing is clearly lost on the tourist. Perhaps that is just as well.
Our hotel was 10$ a night in the end and amazing good value with no unwanted sound bites, but don’t expect rooms to be made up or plumbing to work at that price. We had a 9th floor room with a balcony and simply stunning views over the bay. The saving made on the hotel was then spent on food. A meal with bia hoi, a local fresh brew, was under 6$ or so. Yes, cheap living does exist but you need to spend a bit of time looking for it and do what the locals do, stay clear of eateries with lots of white faces as they are more expensive. You can get the same food for less at a local place.
Cat Ba activities
It is an Island so water activities are aplenty. Asia Outdoors is a reputable booking agency, run by Americans, so everybody who works there speaks English pretty well which helps. Itis located on the main promenade by the main pier, specialising in water sports like kayaking, sup, rock climbing and trekking tours with local guides. Kit can be rented there and it is good to know that a good part of your fee goes back to the local community and guides. They’re specialism by far is rock climbing.
Cruises are the biggest business by far on the island and surrounding Haiphong and Halong on the mainland. The port is peppered with boats of all shapes and sizes that are ready to take you on cruises where you can spend days ‘sailing’ around the surrounding archipelago. The traditional sailing boats with the ribbed sails that are romanticised and still advertised are sadly long gone. We saw none that actually did sail, in fact we did not see a single boat or ship that had a mast where any sail could be hoisted. Perhaps they were all out at sea or they only come out in high season?
We cannot offer advice on where to get a good deal because we weren’t into floating on water, mainly because Lisa gets very seasick, besides the majority of sites and blogs offer scam warnings and trips that turned out to be a distant representation of what was being advertised.
As with other minor annoyances in Vietnam, even a well rehearsed and fully researched punter cannot avoid getting tangled in the scam net being cast by some very crafty locals. Call it enterprise or downright mis selling but whatever you call it don’t expect a call in 6 odd months ‘we believe you have been mis sold a trip in Ha Long Bay. Don’t worry we can get your money back!’
There is one main reason why the biggest business here, the cruises, are a potential disappointment for some tourist and it has nothing to do with the ingenuity of the local travel bureaus. The reason is simply geographical. Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba island and all other surrounding areas are an end destination for the foreign traveller. A bucket list destination so to speak, visited once and seldom revisited. This is a very well understood principle and repeat visits are simply not expected hence fleecing the unsuspecting westerner occurs. We know this because in fact it was a local that informed us. It is very simple, we were told, any existing bad press has not affected the flow of tourism and there will always be the next customer coming along.
Interesting concept but you have to give it to them, they know what they are talking about.
There is plenty of government money being pumped in as well. The port area will soon be divided in two. Fishing boats one end and tourism ferries and boats the other. Money does not all come at once and many projects take time, sometimes a very long time judging by overgrown concrete slabs piled by the way-side, but improvements are visible through out the island including roads and electricity supply.
If not interested in the resort beach huts for approx 50$ per night (they did look very nice) all the watersports you and your speedos can muster, tasty cheap food and drink and pretty good local night life (we hear), there is always David Attenborough’s jungle that will take your fancy. As mentioned earlier self guided walks are possible but a park entry fee is required. Otherwise a guided tour of varying lengths catering for every ability can be arranged.
Don’t underestimate the heat and humidity! Of course like true beginners, we fell short on our first hike and soon discovered how strenuous simple walking is. This without a pack, just enough water to last us for a few hours. Under the dense canopy, it really is much harder to breath. ‘Coming up for air’ took on a new meaning for us then and there. We could not wait to reach some clearings. This was just a stroll in the local area with little gradient gain. Huhh, just wait till we attempt a peak … the highlight were the butterflies on show, hundreds of them, some immense and very colourful. No surprise to hear the name of the spot we walked through was called butterfly valley.
The island also has many caves, the one we visited was Hospital Cave, a natural cave into which a concrete bunker over three floors was built between 1963-65, locals took shelter here during the American bombings. The cave was deserted in 1973.
TH structure contains 17 rooms including a pharmacy, operating room, wash room, kitchen, meeting room and dorms and a cinema. Up to 100 people lived here sheltering from bomb raids at a time.
As we climbed up to the entrance we were greeted by a young man asking if we’d like a guide, not sure what to expect we said yes. He went ahead and the next thing we know he jumps out at us with a pretend gun, re-enacting what it might have been like entering the cave, bit weird but sweet at the same time. He showed us into the series of empty concrete rooms and said this is the dining room, this is the whatever room… Mhhh with a bit of imagination I think I could have managed that, too. He did explain though how the officers would have escaped from the upper floors by jumping into the water tanks and the more hidden back entrance. It was interesting, the feat of building this huge concrete structure within a mountain cave was quite mind-boggling. I guess two things are easily available in communism, concrete and manpower.
Attempt a peak we did the next day on a local hill top that rewarded us with incredible views of the surrounding jungle and island. We rented a scooter 3$ per day and took off to find this walk. Strenuous 45mins up and about as much down again because it was slippery. That did not stop many others from attempting this in flip flops. Of course it is the default foot attire of a beach resort but there comes a time when common sense should prevail when ‘climbing to a hill top view’. The clue is in the title of the activity, but clearly not considered by nearly 50% of others we spotted on the hike. Each to their own I suppose.
We skipped the mountain biking that was offered to us, although we saw a fit Norwegian group of 60somethings who had just finished their cycle and were about to climb to the view point and earlier in the day had kayaked around the bay. It was only 4pm and was afraid to ask them what they have planned for the evening? I guess there is hope for all of us, although were were gasping for air on the way down as well.
Cat Ba also offers homestays and Eco lodges between 12$ to 50$ per night depending on features and comfort differences. Well equipped and they do look very nice nestled in the middle of the jungle. Some really hard to get to, but then again it would not live up to the Eco name. Interestingly though as we walked past one on our walk it was pumping out Vietnamese techno. Perhaps it is Eco with a local touch?