Posted on Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Captivating though it was, after a week I felt the need to escape the noise and traffic of Hanoi's Old Town.

I perused the colourful photos in the city's numerous travel agents. There was one place they were pedalling more than anywhere else: Ha Long Bay.

Escape from Hanoi

Rather than buying an all-in-one boat trip – which would include a cabin, food and excursions – I opted for a D.I.Y. excursion; I booked a one-way bus/ferry ticket from the Vietnamese capital to the bay.

Cat Ba Island

The largest of Ha Long Bay's islands is Cat Ba, where, upon our arrival at the dock, a minibus was waiting to transport myself and a gaggle of fellow tourists to the island's main town. Like much of Vietnam's countryside, Cat Ba is lush and green, but with the addition of towering limestone karsts.

While D.I.Y trips can give one tremendous freedom, there are some drawbacks: having to find a hotel as night descends was one that arose after I arrived in Cat Ba. Another minus is that you have to work harder to make friends; organised trips usually involve being in close proximity to other tourists, who often become 'ready-made friends'; going it alone is not so easy.

I found a hotel and was shown a gloomy windowless room, which, after my long trip, I accepted right away. On the upside, it was only $6.

The next morning I found a brighter room on the seafront. This cost twice as much, but offered splendid views over Ha Long Bay. Scores of turquoise fishing boats bobbed in the harbour below.

The Selling Dutchman

I took lunch in a seafront restaurant and was approached by a young Dutchman who sat at my table. I soon clocked the salesman's patter; the small talk preamble to something: that something was selling me a day trip around Ha Long Bay.

The Dutchman had been employed by the Vietnamese hotel manager to sweet-talk travellers into buying some sort of excursion. Western tourists respond much better to fellow Westerners, he eventually explained.

I declined the offer, but had a lot in common with the Dutchman, so went back to drink beer and play pool with him in the evening. At some point we both decided to take a trip around Ha Long Bay together; he would get it for free and I would get a good discount.

Early next day we boarded a boat for Ha Long, filled with fellow tourists. The boat had a simple canvas roof in case it rained, but was otherwise open to the warm sea breeze. As I gazed out toward the dramatic, hazy limestone karsts, I understood why the area had been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status; it was stunning.

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay

We stopped at one of these karsts and were given the chance to go kayaking. Myself and the Dutchman took a big yellow kayak and paddled under limestone archways and around spellbinding lagoons. We tied our kayak up and leapt from the rocks into the warm blue-green water.

Row of Kayaks, Cat Ba, Vietnam (topten22photo/Bigstock.com)

After an hour or so we paddled back and enjoyed lunch on-board the boat; there was plenty of tasty vegetarian-friendly food for me – salad, eggs, rice.

After an active day under the hot sun, the boat chugged back to Cat Ba Island, where the sun bathed the harbour in a warm reddish hue.

The Endangered Langur

The next day I hired a motorbike and rode around Cat Ba Island. I took a walk up to the National Park area, where the critically endangered Cat Ba Langur is found – or rather not found; there are fewer than 70 langur left on the planet.

Hospital Cave and the Beach

Later I visited Hospital Cave – a huge cave that functioned as a medical station during the Vietnam War. It was last used in 1975, when North Vietnam invaded the South, concluding hostilities. This was a fascinating, spooky place. Used ampules of morphine, medical instruments and even human remains lay outside the cave.

By late afternoon I was in the mood for something less doom-laden, and headed for a small beach not far from the Cat Ba town. Here I bumped into a girl I had met in Cambodia and soon found myself sipping cocktails with her on the white sand. The sun turned red once more, before slipping behind the mighty karsts.

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