We were off to the east of Hanoi to a place called Cat Ba island today. Cat Ba is just west of the famed Ha Long Bay.
We had a private car drive us to the port city of Hai Long - a kind of funny, calm 90km drive that took 2.5 hours because of the snail like speeds they drive.
The 45 minute hydrofoil ferry was fine at the start, but when we got into the open sea, some of the passengers were getting sick which did not impress Abby. Beth and Robin were downstairs inside (Robin had taken Gravol and I heard later she thought the ride was an awesome roller coaster ride... Beth not so much) and Abby and I were outside at the back. It was a little nasty but we survived :-).
Cat Ba town is a mix between a backpacker haven and a Vietnamese Niagara Falls. A little cheesy. As soon as we checked into our hotel (which is mediocre but fine) we were off to a beach.
The beaches here are all in coves surrounded by rocky cliffs. We got to a small beach and got in the water - im guessing it was 94 Fahrenheit - soupy! The conditions were wavier than usual - conditions Abby and Robin were very comfortable with but not conditions the "lifeguards" were comfortable with. They were kind of hillarious blowing their whistles and waving their flags hearding everyone into a tight pack.
Oddly, when we arrived at the beach at about 3pm, there were only a few people there, but within an hour, there were thousands of local families on the beach and in the water. Turns out this is a popular summmer destination for locals and we are at the start of summer. Who knew?
The plan for tomorrow is a day trip to Ha Long Bay with swimming, kayaking and lunch so we are looking forward to that!
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