Cliffs of Cat Ba Island and Lan Ha Bay

We left Hanoi to head to the famous Ha Long Bay area, home to beautiful sandstone cliffs that shoot straight out of the sea. We opted for the do it yourself method, rather than the pre-set boat tour packages that most tourist take and traveled to Cat Ba Island, one of the few inhabited islands in the area, to set up base camp and then take day trips from there into the lesser known, but arguably more beautiful Lan Ha bay.

To get to Cat Ba on your own you have to take a Bus, mini bus, boat and then another mini bus. During one of the many transfers we spotted this guy. Full couch, plus love seat. He had to hop up every once in a while to see where he was going. Moving? Call this guy.

Lan Ha bay and Cat Ba town to the left.

The view from our 3rd story seaside hotel room. Pretty hard to complain for $8 (total) a night.

Sunset over the bay.

Cat Ba town is actually an immensly popular destination for Vietnamese tourists. During the peak season (which we just missed) the Karaoke doesn't stop belting all night from the many floating restaurants.

We took a boat trip out into Lan Ha Bay see the cliffs and do some kayaking. It was breathtaking views 360 degrees for about 7 hours....took quite a few pics.

A nice Danish couple with dry bag offered to be our photographers.

When you see a cave you have to explore.

When a boat has a roof, you have to jump off.

Pockets of floating fishing villages dotted the never ending coves of the bay. The tiny floating houses had these bamboo dock like structures supported by huge blocks of Styrofoam, below the water baskets of rocks weighed down fish traps and hooks. 

Chopstick Island.

The next day we rented a scooter to explore the island's national park and two roads. On the way back through town we managed to drive past the school just as it was getting out,which was the only time we saw crazy Vietnamese traffic on the island. Graham got a first hand experience of weaving a scooter through the mess, which was especially intense with all the tiny children dashing about.   

The trail up to the lookout in the national park. Super muddy, slippery and full of sharp rocks.

The view from the top of the look out, some very dense jungle dotted by lots of steep mountains.

The weather on the second day didn't quite cooperate, so no beach time, but the area was one of most uniquely beautiful we've seen so far and a very peaceful respite from the incessant noise of Hanoi.