Halong to Cat Ba?

OKAY, SO WE KNEW it was a booze cruise. With a moniker like “The Rock Hard, Rock Long Tour of Halong Bay”, we would have been naive to expect anything less.

Staring red-eyed at the cabin ceiling at one in the morning, desperately trying to fall asleep, I mumbled profanities at the amped-up college students in the next room. They were unaffected, and continued to chug beers and scream along to Daft Punk. They rocked hard, they rocked long.

Early morning in our cabin on the Jolly Roger.

We were on an overnight float in Halong Bay - off the coast of northern Vietnam - where nearly 2,000 limestone islands jut toward the sky, like alligator teeth. The Ha Long of Halong Bay translates to descending dragon, and according to local legend, the islands were formed when dragons protecting the bay spit out jewels at invaders.

First to rise the following morning, I tiptoed across the polished hardwood floors which creaked with every step. Finding my spot at the stern, I sat in silence as the boat rocked gently in the bay. It was first morning light but the air was already thick and warm. Our three-story junk was dwarfed by the emerald-haired giants, and a noiseless bloom of jellies wafted past in pink puffs.

Emerging tired from his cabin the captain wasn’t sheepish in his long sleep shirt. He had a hard day’s work ahead and wasn’t going to let me get in the way of his morning preparations.

With the rest of the crowd headed for Castaway Island, a 150m stretch of beach that hosts DJs and dancing every night, we paid an extra ten dollars to get lugged to Cat Ba Island, the exclusive home of the Cat Ba Langur - one of the most critically endangered primate species in the world. After the group hopped off, we were on a quiet boat once again. So we laid back, closed our eyes and fell asleep to the hum of the engine.

BEN BEO HARBOR APPEARED in the distance, like a forgotten petri dish. Rich green mounds rising high at the water’s edge. Red flags emblazoned with gold stars flapped and popped on fishing ships and rooftops. We heaved our bags onto our backs, walked the shaky gangplank to the pier, and started the 2km walk to Cat Ba Town.

Lush and hilly, with tiny towns sprouting up, Cat Ba is getting a reputation as an adventure sport hub, with Slo Pony Adventures at the epicenter. We teamed up with Claire and Daniel for a day of climbing in Lien Minh (Butterfly Valley), population twelve. This micro-village is backed by a mammoth cliff face, our jungle gym for the morning. Leading up to it is a rolling, grassy field, pock marked with small pools of water, created by American bombs during the war.

Fernando, Claire and Daniel, the cliff face and scarred Lien Minh.

Daniel, a lanky, soft-spoken German, was an intern with Slo Pony. Claire, the leader of our gang, was a wild American expat, and undeniably bright. Her fluent Vietnamese and close personal relationship with the families in Lien Minh made us feel more like house guests than tourists.

Three successful ascents for me and four for Fernando then we headed back down to the valley for lunch. We stepped over distracted baby chicks and under a low-hanging bamboo roof for a home-cooked meal of chicken and rice with fresh veggies and ice-cold Cokes.

Climb over and bellies full, Claire and Daniel headed back to town leaving us with the patriarch to explore the jungle. He was a small, kind-faced man with three six-inch long hairs, each a different color, sprouting from a mole on his chin.

We hopped carefully over razor-sharp rocks, land crabs and a foot-long centipede. Exotic plants I only see in pots at home were high, low, and everywhere in between. Parched, with my chest heaving, our guide cut a vine with a machete and gave me a drink of the fresh water pouring out.

Eventually our rides arrived, powered by two young local men. Their spurting engines and whining transmissions were our signal to wrap up our adventure and head to the road.

ONE NIGHT BACK IN TOWN, we stopped in for dinner at Mr. Zoom’s Seafood Hotpot, where you choose your meal from live tanks on the sidewalk. We settled on clams and squid.

Picking the tiny, buttery morsels from their shells, we were interrupted by the scene developing at the table next to us. A group of backpackers had ordered the “Seafood Hot Pot”, Mr. Zoom’s nome de plume, which came out from the kitchen alive and wriggling.

Prawn after prawn leaped from the boiling water and into laps, and writhing crabs caused a dirge from the diners.

Looking over Lan Ha Bay and the main drag in Cat Ba Town.

CAT BA IS GROWING - quickly. Construction projects span the main drag and swaths of land are being razed for resorts. People are catching on to this emerald in the bay, and I give it three years before they start showing up in droves. Though I’d give someone 200,000 VND for a chai latte right about now, I’m grateful I got a chance to experience this special place before it gets a Starbucks.

VERDICT: Mostly Harmless - and even less harmless if you’re a decent climber!

———-

LINKS:

Halong Bay: Archipelago in Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin. Halong Bay is made up of more than 1,600 mostly uninhabited islands. UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Castaway Island: For a secluded beach party with young backpackers.

Cat Ba Island: Popular island in Halong Bay, still mostly untouched as it was declared a national park in 1986. Home of the endangered Cat Ba Langur.

Cat Ba Langur: Critically endangered primate, found only on Cat Ba Island.

Ben Beo Harbour: Where most tourist boats dock for visits to Cat Ba Island. About 2km from Cat Ba Town.

Slo Pony Adventures: Now Asia Outdoors. Hub for adrenaline-inducing sports on Cat Ba Island.

Lien Minh Valley: Popular spot for sport climbing. Pock-marked by American bombs.

Mr. Zoom’s Seafood Hotpot: Fun spot for an ‘interactive’ dinner in Cat Ba Town.