Rob and I led our procession out of Hanoi since we had the phone mount for the bike. Since the old quarter is on the east side of Hanoi and we were continuing east, we didn’t have very much trouble getting out of the main city. The first problem arose when we missed a turn on to Highway 1 because the entrance was unclear on google. Then before we could turn around, our road turned into a traffic disaster where Rob was walking our bike through merging traffic that was barely moving. To make matters worse, Alex’s throttle cable broke. The guys went to get it fixed and we made a u-turn and got back on Highway 1.
Unlike Highway 1 in the south, this incarnation of Highway 1 was like a nice freeway in the States – two lanes each direction plus a full shoulder for motorbikes, with a median and guardrails. It was the easiest driving of the trip except for the expressway into Da lat that we’d mistakenly taken. From Highway 1, we got on Highway 18 east toward Halong City. This route was the typical 2 lane highway with a decent number of trucks. The traffic flowed well and the road was in decent condition. The google maps directions took us right to the dock and when we arrived around 3:15pm, a number of other backpackers were already there.
This ferry is clearly the cheapest way to tour Halong Bay. It only cost 70,000 vnd (<$3.5) for a person and 90,000 vnd for a person with motorbike. In the low season there are only 2 ferries, one in the morning that departs at 8 am for Cat Ba then returns at 9am and one in the afternoon that leaves Tuan Chau at 3 pm for Cat Ba and returns at 4 pm. The ferry ride goes through Halong bay passing the spot where many of the overnight cruises anchor for the night. Our captain had to honk repeatedly at all the kayakers hanging out in the ship channel.
This lady drove a motorbike with a basket full of chickens on to the boat, but it tipped over while loading letting chickens out. She spent part of the journey repacking them.
Arriving on Cat Ba Island, we had a ~25 km scenic drive across the Island to Cat Ba town where the majority of the lodging is located. The island is gorgeous in its own right and has a national park and a number of caves. It’s also a launching point for the less visited Lan Ha Bay. In town, we stayed with the Mr. Zoom Backpacker Hostel, which not only had dorm beds for $3, but also has two associated hotels with fan-cooled double rooms for $6 – an amazing deal. This turned out to be our cheapest lodging in Vietnam.
The next day, Rob and I went on a kayaking day trip with Asia Outdoors. For a few dollars more than the standard $16 bundle tour, we spent a full day on the bay with about 5 hours of kayaking. We chose this over just renting a kayak because the company shuttles you out of the more scenic parts of the bay to explore. Our group visited a few floating villages and got a closer look at the aquaculture they practice. Some of the floating platforms are pearl farms with strings of oysters hanging down into the water. Other platforms are nets where shellfish harvested from around the bay is grown to a larger size before selling. We saw smaller boats out in the bay with scuba dive set ups for the shellfish harvesters.
Hanging out in a hidden lagoon. We had to navigate a shallow, rock-lined channel to get in.
That night, we had an amazing veggie meal at the surprisingly reasonable Buddha Belly. The small rice plate of the day was only $1.50 and was massive. The mushroom noodle soup I had for the same price was also great. Afterwards, we joined the Seattle guys at a local Bia Hoi place with some other folks. When we went to pay, the bill was under $10 for 37 beers.
Rob with his small veggie meal at Buddha Belly in Cat Ba. He’s giving me his “hurry up a take a photo so I can start eating” face.
The next morning, we decided to do a climbing trip. I’ve never been outdoor climbing and neither Rob nor I is very good at gym climbing, but Cat Ba has deep water free solo climbing for a reasonable price ($30/each), so we gave it a try. Rob did very well, but I got on the rock and freaked out about jumping into the water. Regardless of whether I thought I could climb higher, I definitely did not want to jump from any higher. In the end, Rob got some climbing in and I worked on my fear of jumping from heights.
Rob’s second route.
My second attempt.
Jumping off!
With only the two of us, we were done climbing pretty quickly, so our guide took us on a long cruise around the bay with a spot at Monkey Island for a short hike and some beach time. Even on a cloudy day, the bay was still gorgeous. The island had a nice beach and the added entertainment of the monkeys harassing some of the other tourists.
Our last evening on the island was spent on a forgettable fish dinner (Rob didn’t want to go back for more veg) and another few rounds of Bia Hoi. The next day we planned to catch the 8 am ferry back to the mainland and head northeast toward Lang Son.
intandemwetravel 
Wish we could have climbed as well. The water was quite cold when we were there in February/March! We loved motorbiking around the island and enjoyed food at Buddha Belly as well.
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