Cat Ba Island/Ha Long Bay (+ Ninh Binh)
My next stop was Ninh Binh, but due to what I think was some kind of energy sapping virus (although no cold symptoms, so hard to say for sure) taking out Carla and I, we didn’t get to see much of it. Our first day there, Carla decided to stay in bed and rest and I headed out on my own and pushed through, really enjoying some cycling around the beautiful countryside there. By that evening it had caught up with me too though, and I too spent most of the next day in bed, not feeling too awful, but completely drained of energy. As a result, I missed most of what Ninh Binh had to offer, but I’ve been pretty lucky with illness on this trip so far, so I’m not too sad about it.
Ha Long Bay on the other hand is not somewhere to be missed. One of Vietnam’s most beautiful spots, and one of the world’s most beautiful bays, it was a real must see on my Vietnam itinerary. The downside though, is in order to see it, it would appear you have to stay somewhere rubbish. Nearby Ha Long City I’ve heard is particularly drab, so we opted for the other possibility - slightly quieter Cat Ba Island. Don’t be fooled by the name, they’re currently ripping up the entire bay and building what is basically a new town out in to the ocean where the sand and sea used to be. It’s a mammoth project and there are cranes and diggers everywhere, really destroying what must have once been a quiet place with a stunning view. It’s such a shame. The only reason to be in either is to see the famous bay, but it’s so worth it.
Carla and I headed out on a day-long boat tour of Lan Ha bay and neighbouring Ha Long bay. I don’t generally enjoy seeing nature on touristy tours, but given there was no other way to see the bays I leaned in to it and had a great time. After a boat trip through the endless mazy limestone islands jutting vertically from the sea, we headed for a group swim between a few hidden beaches, including a crawl through a tiny cave leading to a beach on the other side of that island. We also kayaked into serene lagoons only accessible by sea tunnels where we found the real highlight of the tour - Cat Ba langurs.
The Cat Ba langur is a species of monkey only found here, and it is highly endangered - there are only around 90 left in the wild. How incredibly lucky were we then, to see a group of 6 up close - four adults, mostly black with little blonde Mohawks, and two incredibly cute ginger babies. The rest of our tour group left to have a look around the lagoon, but Carla and I decided to stay and just sit with the langurs for a while. I felt so lucky just to be near them, a silent visitor in their world. They sometimes looked at us with curiosity, but seemed unfazed by us sitting in our kayak close to their tree, watching them as they groomed and played with each other. They are unique for having developed a near superpower in the natural world - the ability to drink and hydrate themselves with seawater. What beautiful, fascinating creatures. Only 90 in the world and we saw 6 of them. Incredible.