“Secret Island”--Catch Me at Cat Ba

Having spent less than ½ a day's sun in the bay of Halong, it was necessary to split my trip and find more time. I resumed the rest of my Bay experience on the island of Cat Ba. I disembarked from the tour after the hour-long ride that snaked us from one side of the island to the other, surpassing Cat Ba's famous National Reserve. I caught glimpses of weathered stilt houses perched on the pinpoint ends of four bamboo stalks, standing precariously in the closest ocean waters like elder flamingos. Back on a tropical island; ahhhhhh (**sigh**).

My Cat Ba town hotel gifted me a killer view of the bay, with panoramic windows lining the front, for the bargain price of $7 a night. A lil food poisoning from cuttlefish in the market saw me “cuttled” up in bed for a day and ½, but not a bad place to get sick. Not a bad place at all.

Feeling better, I joined a day tour back into the Bay, only on this side the waters are called, “Lan Ha Bay”. I was soooo impressed.

Pictures of the finest telescopic lens and highest quality of megapixels couldn't dare touch the awe and richness this land/water has to offer. One can only get as close as cruising the bay like a duck in the water. My kayaking buddy and I were the only ones on these emerald waters...only one (our's) tour boat lurked on the other of the nearest karst. The bay here was less polluted, actually smelling like nature's waters should smell like (it lacked the petrol and sewage combination). Our paddling took us to tiny little coved sandy beaches. We then dipped into the open waters of the south China sea, seeing her motherland in the distance.

To all you dog lovers out there...don't mess with these guys. Every fishing village house has one. And, like their owners, they rarely (if ever) put their paws on solid ground. Henceforth, their turf is their docks, and they are excellent guardians.

Had I have done this trip over, I would have skipped the hoobaloo of Halong, coming straight to Cat Ba. I recommend you do the same.