9. Cat Ba Island

Cosmo unhappy in his crate

The next morning we had a great breakfast overlooking Phong Nha River and the driver took us to the airport 50 minutes away for 550k dong (about $22). Cosmo got checked in really easily and the flight to Hanoi was pretty uneventful. At Hanoi, the Australian couple who we met at The Duck Stop (on the same flight) helped us find Cosmo’s cage and figure out where the Grab picks up. I got 2 Grab rides cancelled because I didn’t respond to the info about the airport surcharge. If you get a long pre-written message about surcharges, just respond yes/okay or they will cancel the ride. Then Chase started denying my charges since there were already 2 holds from Grab. Capital One was my backup and kept requiring verification but then not allowing it. In the meantime, the Australian couple found their Grab and left. Luckily Dawne had verified her Grab account and got us a ride to the port in Cat Hai Island where we were to catch the slow ferry to Cat Ba Island. Cosmo was extra quiet on the trip even having to stay in his bag the whole time. I think he thinks he is being punished with the flight under the plane and the backpack, poor little guy.

Cosmo bring wheeled away

Even the airline magazine had a 3-D fold out

Super cool note from the crew from Dong Hoi to Hanoi

Cosmo after I picked him up at Hanoi
airport. photo by Leigh

if you see this grab message,
reply "okay"or they
will cancel your ride

Unfortunately when we got there, he dropped us off and the guy there selling tickets was for 100k not the 12k I had expected for the slow ferry. I thought he was scamming me so I walked over to the gas station and found out the slow ferry had moved to another location. The post I had read was outdated. It's so hard to find good info on how to get there when you can't take the common way, Cat Ba Express with a cat. The new location was 7km away and there was no grab car available. We relented and paid the 100k each ($4). A nice man (Khai) who spoke some English helped us and told us where to go. He was on the same ferry so I guess the "fast ferry" isn't really a scam. Maybe it's the private boat that's a scam. He said we can take the bus into town even with all our stuff (cat carrier, suitcase, backpack, cosmo backpack and Dawne’s small and large backpack). He helped us on and off the ferry and on and off the bus especially when they went by the Love House where they were supposed to drop us. Luckily Dawne spotted their giant sign and the guys all yelled for the driver to stop (he forgot). Khai works as a guide so we said we would try to book a tour with him. His tour is about $5-10 more but it’s totally worth it for all the help he gave us. We were planning to try to get a taxi for $14 which may or may not have been possible since Grab is not on the island.

our room

We carted our stuff 100 meters back to the road we wanted then another 100 meters down that road to the resort/home stay. The home stay is nice though smaller than the last place. Unlike the last place, the shower here dries out really fast (it is one where the shower is in the middle of the bathroom and drains to a back corner). The owners built it themselves and are currently expanding. Again, since we do not ride motorcycles, our best option for exploring was to take a tour of the nearby national park. Our super helpful host told us the weather would be better in 2 days so we should do the boat tour then. She did say that there was four hours hiking, then visiting the original village in the park which is still inhabited, lunch, then riding bikes, a short cruise, and kayak on Lan Ha Bay.

cat ba love house from the road

cat ba love house

bathroom at cat ba love house

their pool

Cosmo wedging between
the bed and wall

Cosmo emerging from
behind the bed

Little girl cat very curious about
Cosmo through the window

the restaurant and pool table

their daughter feeding Cosmo

nice breakfast at homestay.

the start of the trail. not too bad just
yet, just a lot of stairs

However, I didn't realize the 4-hour hike was 7.2 miles up and down 5 different peaks!
My shoes were still wet from Hue (never dried out in the dampness of Phong Nha) so I was wearing my water shoes. I was hoping it wasn't too rocky since the soles are thinner. At one point, I felt a little rock inside my shoe, I stopped to get it out and saw a huge thorn stuck into it. Good thing I got thicker water shoes after my last semester off traveling or I'd really be in trouble! As it was, it stuck all the way through the sole with a bit of the point inside under my arch.

giant tree archway

blurry picture on the hike but you get
the idea of how much climbing was involved

Dawne arriving at the summit

this is the path down from the biggest
peak. took me 25 minutes longer
than the rest of the group

I actually wasn't the slowest in the group, I was about in the middle/front on the ups, but the downs were tougher. The final peak was the highest and from there we went all the way down to the village scrambling over pointy sharp rocks. I took my time on these, cursing my forgetfulness leaving my knee brace at the home stay. The main guide led everyone off down the mountain at breakneck speed with Dawne right behind him. The rear guide stayed with me and the girl from the Netherlands who was actually slower than me. After awhile I was all alone between the two groups, just managing slowly but safely. Much to my relief, Dawne circle back for me and did the last part with me. Then we trouped along hoping to catch up with the rest of the group. We got into the town just as they were leaving the fish foot cleaning place. We stopped and had our feet nibbled on by the fish who seemed to love all my dead skin. Then just as we finished up, the rear guide appeared with the Netherlands girl and we went on towards lunch about 1.5 km away. Our original guide came back for us on a scooter. Dawne declined the ride but the Netherlands girl and I were exhausted and happy to hitch a ride to lunch.

Thorn I felt poking
into my water shoes

The girl from the Netherlands and I are too pooped to walk the last 1 km to lunch so we accept a ride from our guide

Getting my feet cleaned by little fish

The whole group at lunch

In the small village Viet Hai in the national park

Riding clanky bikes

After lunch we had the choice of electric cart up and down some hills to the boat or bicycle. We did the bikes, which were rickety but did the job. I think I had to walk one hill. It was a nice ride through the park and down to the water where we boarded a boat. We cruised around Lan Ha Bay, which is prettier than Ha Long and stopped to kayak by some clam farmers who live on boats. Back on the boat we cruised some more seeing a floating fish village where they raise fish to eat.

Riding bikes out of the village

The bike ride ends at the beautiful Lan Ha Bay

kayaking

this is the life! top deck of the boat

giant shrimp we got in the family dinner

That night our hosts invited us to family dinner! Hot pot. Yum! We had fresh fish and veggies from their garden, along with chicken, rice, and rice wine that I took tiny sips from whenever there was a toast. There was one Czech guy doing a work-abroad there who spoke English but mostly we communicated with google translate. At the end, the wife returned home from shopping and cleaned these gigantic shrimp for us that she cooked in the hot pot. They were such a special treat!

family dinner with all his friends working on the expansion

Next day was the boat tour from the place Khai works at though he wasn't our guide. We got there a bit early so we walked to the bus company that goes to Hanoi to see if they would accept Cosmo, but all four people almost simultaneously gave a very firm NO. I Whatsapped our host and she said she would work out a solution. Our boat tour was good with not too many people, about 20. We went to the fish farm and saw different giant fish, one 120 kilos! They won't eat him, just mate him with other fish. The owner had one that was 150 kilos and was offered some huge amount like US $12,000 (which is a TON of money in Vietnam where the average salary is $330/month) for this fish. The guy wanted to serve it at a huge banquet for his friends. The farmer refused. Even when the fish got cuts on him by mistakes in the netting and was close to death, the guy repeated his offer. Stil the farmer said no because because this large fish was thought to be his "lucky fish" and he thought that all his luck would leave with the fish. When it died he buried the fish in a hidden place on one of the many islands.

the fish raising village on the water

arial view of the fish farm village

kicking back on the deck of the boat

great sunset from the boat

They stopped for swimming and gave people the chance to jump off the top deck into the water. I stayed on the boat. We had a spectacular lunch with amazing seafood! If there weren't other people I would have eaten the entire large bowl of squid by myself. Then we kayaked around and through caves, and into a secret cove that you can't see until you are right by the entrance. It just looks like a dead end. Our guide spotted some Cat Ba langurs on rocks high above us. They are one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world and only live on Cat Ba so it was pretty special. Our guide hasn't seen any for over a month. We cruised some more, and went home seeing one of my top sunsets this trip.

two languars our guide spotted. the first he's seen in a month

going through an arch in the rocks

you can't see it but there is a hidden lagoon around the corner

Dawne buying tangerines

While in town we checked out the market as Dawne had a hankering for oranges. Some were 40k dong/kg while others were 50k/kg. I tried to convince the 50k lady that everyone else was 40k, but she just gave me a sample and waved me away when I offered 40k/kg. Dawne bought 1/2 kg of each and did a blind taste test on me. They are slightly different but I had no real preference. I thought the cheaper one might be the more expensive but it was the other way around so clearly I have cheap taste buds. I also saw an adorable little girl on a scooter with her family and took a selfie with them. In the meantime, our home stay had found an alternate option to take a bus/ferry/bus not to Sapa (which was Khai's suggestion but was 4 hours out of the way) but to Hai Phong where we can catch a Grab. Cat is accepted. One more hurdle sorted out. We had a great dinner at the home stay. Thus ends our pleasant time in Cat Ba.

the streets of cat ba town

cat ba town preparing for new year's

selfie with a really cute family

Cosmo waiting for us to return

our helpful host at cat ba love house

Cosmo walking on the road by the homestay