2011-11-08
Shrouded in mist, nearly 2,000 limestone islands litter the bay and surround Cat Ba island. The islands are really more like jagged limestone pillars springing forth from the ocean. A more dramatic sight I have rarely seen. I had viewed pictures of the area beforehand, but I hadn't realized just how many islands there were and how far their reach extended. We spent the first night on the boat after being taken to a large cave, one of the many caves in the area. This particular one had apparently only been discovered 20 years ago, but that was long enough for the Vietnamese to put in a bunch of unnatural colored lights and turn it into a tourist trap. The traffic jam of boats trying to get in and out of the cave's harbor was quite comical to watch. The boat operators were all yelling at each other and narrowly avoiding collisions.
After spending a night on the boat, we were dropped off on Cat Ba island and did a short hike in the national park there. The view wasn't bad, but I was hoping to be able to see some of the bay rather than just the interior of the island. Our second and last day on the island, we played beach volleyball with some Czech vacationers and then rented a sea kayak and paddled around the nearby islands. The beaches and waters were nearly deserted. Our entire time kayaking, we only encountered one other boat. The closest we came to company on land was a rotting pig carcass on one of the beaches. Kayaking was definitely the highlight of my time in oh-so beautiful Halong Bay. Halong more than lived up to my lofty expectations.