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'Crap' Ba Island.
We woke up to the sound of boat horns this morning as they departed from around us. When we went up on deck to meet everyone the boats had gone and it was silent in the bay. The mist was so thick around us we could barely see further than five meters out. Every now and then a white boat appeared for only a second before being swallowed up by the fog again. We felt like we were in a pirate movie, it was so eerie. It was obvious the captain was lost, his only navigation were calls from other boats and his two look out crew members on either side of the boat. We were going very slow so it took longer to get to Cat Ba Island. We didn't mind though, we enjoyed drinking hot tea and coffee up on the deck, looking out at the completely silent nothingness.
About an hour later the captain had us on the right course and we were heading towards the island. When we arrived our friendly guide said good bye to us and introduced our new guide. He didn't smile once, he just instructed us to get on the mini bus and said we were going to the National Park before the hotel. He didn't seem as friendly as the other guide.
We sat in the back row and took in the views of the misty mountains. The driver wasn't very good, he kept missing the gear every time he drove up a steep hill which made the bus roll back! I turned to the lady sitting next to me, we were both holding our breaths and clinging to the seats every time it happened.
When we arrived at the National Park our guide still didn't say anything. He started to walk down a long path so we all followed him. There were homes on either side of the path and we saw some deers behind a fence. One of the houses had a home made wheel chair in the front, it was a plastic chair attached to two large wheels!
It looked as though the whole park was closed off except for the path which led us to the bottom of a mountain. Our guide stopped and turned to us. He told us we had the option to climb up steps to the top of the mountain or sit in the restaurant and wait. We decided to wait in the restaurant, it was raining which meant our clothes would get muddy and we were off trekking in Sapa in the next couple of days. Most of the others went up, Helmit and Werner also stayed in the restaurant.
Fourty five minutes later people started to appear again. We took one look at them and were glad we didn't go up. They were all covered with thick brown mud up to their knees, sweating bucket loads and when we spoke to them they said it wasn't worth it as there wasn't a view because it was so misty at the top and it also felt dangerous.
Once everyone cooled down we all walked back to the bus. It had stopped raining and the sun was beginning to get very hot. We all stood outside the bus for ages while we waited for our guide. He didn't tell anyone why we were waiting for at least twenty minutes, then said we were waiting for someone else.
It took half an hour to get to the bay where our hotel was. We passed misty mountains and farm land. When we arrived we were dropped off outside the Sunflower Hotel where the rest of the group were staying. It was a big hotel down a side street so it wasn't really a sea view hotel like the agent told us. We walked onto the road that went from one end of the beach to the other. Our hotel, the Duc Tuan Hotel was near the middle. It was a lot smaller than the Sunflower but did have sea view rooms. We went in and were greeted by the friendly receptionist who showed us to our room. Like a lot of the hotels we have stayed in we were given a room right at the top so had to lug our heavy bags up. We didn't mind this time though, the view was great, well what we could see of it that is. Fog had crept in from the bay, we could just about make out boats in the port. We had a nice bright airy room that was clean and we had a telly. So being the lazy people that we are, we stayed in and watched tv for a few hours.
At lunch time we ate in a cheap plastic restaurant then at dinner we decided to treat our selves to a nicer meal. Maybe sea food in one of the floating restaurants in the port that was blinking its bright lights at us.
At the pier a man offered to take us over to his floating restaurant for free. We asked him if the prices were cheap and he said yes so we went over.
Well, it wasn't cheap! The prices weren't even average! No wonder there weren't any customers in their restaurant. They had fish, eels, a huge cuttlefish and prawns in sepurate net compartments. We asked how much for just one fish to share between us, 350 VND!!!! (£11) The fish wasn't even big! We asked the man to take us back to shore.
As we were leaving, the owners young Alsatian came running over to us. He looked excited to see us but he was very nervous and timid. We managed to gain his trust and fussed him for a moment. His tail was wagging like crazy, he was so friendly! Then as we boarded the boat he run over to his owner. The owner hit the dog straight on the nose for no reason! We watched as the dog cowered and ran back to the edge of the platform to watch us leave. We felt very angry and upset that we couldn't do anything to help the dog.
Back on shore we decided to go back to another restaurant where we ate a curry for only £3 each. As we were walking back to our hotel we passed a couple of bars playing loud music. We reckon it would be a good night out there but we just couldn't be bothered!
We have to meet our guide at the Sunflower hotel tomorrow at 7:45am to be transferred back onto a boat and taken back through Halong Bay. Back in our room now, don't think Cat Ba Island was worth it but oh well.
Charlotte & Chris
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