Cat Ba Island

Day 4-6

After three nights in Hanoi I was ready for a change of pace. I was deciding between a trek in Sa Pa or something along the coast near Halong Bay. A conversation with a traveler outside a cafe the previous day bumped me in the direction of a place called Woodstock Beach Camp on Cat Ba Island.

I think the name does quite a good job of capturing the spirit of the camp. Much like my impression of the original Woodstock in 1969 my experience of getting there was half the adventure.

I took an 8am minibus that departed for Hai Phòng with the intention of catching a ferry to the island. My plan was to track down an internet cafe and see where the ferry departed from, but upon arriving to the city there were no “Free WiFi” signs in sight.

Luckily I had been dropped off directly in front of the library. After an extended conversation with a librarian, I located the ferry station and started walking.

Along the way I stopped for a meal at a food stand. My order of Chao Long seemed to shock the server but she brought it out anyway. It was a few days until I found out I ordered pork intestine porridge.

I managed to sleep through most of the ferry ride. Upon arriving at Cat Ba Island, I set out for a 10 km walk to camp….2 hours later I was there. I convinced myself that it wouldn’t be much different than backpacking, if anything easier because it’d be along a paved trail. But I’d never hiked in tropical conditions, and the motorbikes racing by caused second, third, and fourth thoughts but I had made up my mind so I kept walking.

A good night’s sleep in a bamboo shed with floorboards that moved when people walked was all that I needed to recover from my walk and set out for a scooter ride through the Cat Ba National Park with a group from Woodstock. The first stop was a cell phone access ladder that led to an overlook of Halong Bay.

In the afternoon, we explored Trung Trang Cave and then enjoyed an extended ride back to camp.

The next day I went on a boat tour of Halong Bay. I was expecting this place to be quite touristy based on descriptions I read, but I think I must have been there in the off season. The trip included kayaking, swimming, and climbing through tidally eroded tunnels. I got to flex my geology muscle and share what I remembered about limestone forming from the shells of ancient marine life being cemented together as shallow seas evaporated.

My last day on Cat Ba was spent preparing for a night bus to Ha Giang.