Day 10-Goodbye Cat Ba! Hello Hanoi!

The wake up call awoke me, and I quickly packed my things and prepared to head to the port to catch the boat that would take me across Halong Bay to catch the bus back to Hanoi with the rest of the Hanoi Backpacker Tour Group. (It is a really popular hostel here and they speak english and organize tours- 2 thumbs up).

I was disappointed when I looked into the dining room and saw there was no breakfast buffet! I didn't have time anyway, but that buffet was the only thing motivating me to to wake up at 6 am. I sadly checked out of the hotel and paid the $55 for the 3 nights Robyn and I had stayed. "Why was there no breakfast?" I uttered, just as a large blue bag filled with goodies was handed to me. It was filled with containers of omelette's and fresh fruit. Baguettes and a half finished jar of jam, along with some sort of twinky like snack were additional extras that were the icing on the cake! I was overjoyed that they had taken the time to make me a to go breakfast. It made it just that much harder to want to leave Cat Ba.....

I hopped on the back of a motorbike and gave the driver 10,000 dong (about .50 cents US) to drive me to the port where I got on a white transport boat that took me to Castaway Island to pick up the group of tourists that had just finished up their Halong Bay tour.

A few familiar faces appeared~ Mark and Stu who work there but got 2 days off to head back to Hanoi and the famous castaway Jenny who had been on the island for days when I first had gone there, but went back to Hanoi and decided to go back to Castaway Island because she had a budding romance with Stu.

The rest of the passengers loaded the boat tired and hungover recalling the wild drunken moments of the night before. It definitely never changes on Castaway Island! Every day is a new tour group who go through the same situations the group before had.... drunken romances, feet cut from the coral, starving from the small meals... always the same!

Everyone transferred to another boat, "The Junk" chinese inspired style, and slowly moved along Halong Bay. We sat on the top deck and I met quite a few interesting people, of course none of them were Americans. I have found that traveling SE Asia, very few people I meet are from the USA. Most are European or Australian. I was attempting to study my Korean and many people were curious to what I was doing, so I explained that I taught English in S Korea and told about my life over there. I listened to the stories of an Irish boy who worked as a security guard on the set of a movie because he couldn't get work civil engineering, and a British girl told about how awesome her experience diving in the Great Barrier Reef was.

Even though I have only been traveling for 10 days, I am really learning so much about myself and the world around me. I am starting to feel a calm sense of independence that I think I had lacked before.

After we arrived at the dock, we boarded the worlds most uncomfortable buses and headed to Hanoi. We got back to the Hanoi Backpackers hostel and I met Robyn and her friend that she had traveled through Cambodia with.

I luckily was able to then go purchase my bus ticket to Laos for the night bus which I will take on December 12th, Saturday at 5pm. I got the last ticket there was and felt super lucky b/c it only leaves on Saturdays and Tuesdays and my friend from Korea will be there so I will meet up with him. So, for $35 US I got the ticket from Hanoi to Vientiane, but it should be a long ride....24 hours!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I had my favorite part of the day- a fantastic jog around the beautiful lake Hoan Kiem which is in the center of the Old District. It is truly amazing at night because it has a temple with a bridge and a wonderful statue that are lit up. Along the way, I got distracted and succumbed to my urge to buy heels and a cute dress! I tried the whole "backpacker" thing, but I need to dress up and wear heels to feel normal. Walking around in sweats and flip flops for too many days will drive me to insanity, so now I am the owner of a fabulous black dress that is easy to pack and can be dressed up or down w/ accessories.

After my run, I went back and got ready and had soon drinks with Robyn, Jenny, Mark, Stu and Andy. We had disgustingly strong Hanoi Vodka and juice cocktails before we headed out to a bar called Hair of the Dog. It was quite funny b/c everything appears to close at 11 but really it is just a joke b/c Vietnam has a curfew. The bars to the bar rose and in we went. It was a normal evening except for a drunk Russian man in a Santa suit got too wasted from his bottle of tequila he was drinking and threw his bottle and made a scene!

But we all made it out ok and went home safely! Good night Hanoi!

Day 9-Life on Cat Ba

Today I slept in and woke up alone here at Prince Hotel since Robyn had left early for Hanoi. I wanted to take it easy and enjoy my time with a leisurely run instead of pushing myself to exhaustion w/ a trekk or another wild motorbike ride with my hair salon owner/ motor bike tour guide friend.
(But he is wonderful and if you want to meet him his name is Khan and his mobile number is 0914.618308 -0169.30787768 or you can email him at khancatba@hotmail.com)

So anyway after I finally woke up I lounged around for awhile and studied some of my korean books and then made my way out of the comfortable hotel for a lunch at the restaurant/hotel down the street. I sat alone and gazed at the sea while reviewing my korean and waited for the delicious food to arrive. I ordered my favorite dishes (Vege Pho and Stir Fried Veggies) and chatted with the waitress. Soon we became best friends and she and I were taking photos next to the Santa Claus decoration and we were drawing pictures and trying to communicate our life stories. From what I got from hershe is 21 and her name is Hong. She drew some sketches in my travel journal and then laughed at everything I said. We had a good time and she enjoyed looking through my camera and was fascinated that I was studying korean. She taught me how to say a couple new phrases too

Beautiful- Dep Gai

Handsome- Dep Jai

After my nice lunch experience I went back to the hotel and watched music videos for a few hours. My hotel has about 3 channels and they are all strange. MTV only plays bizarre techno songs I have only heard in southeast asia..... although I am starting to love them. The other 2 are terrible movie channels, so I end up catching up on the 3 years I haven't watched MTV for. Finally, at about 5 I decided I had to get out and see something before it got dark.

I set out for a run and went in a new direction than I had been before. I ran along side the limestone cliffs that curved along the bay of Cat Ba. I was surprized when I turned the bath on the cliff because what I saw was truly amazing! It was a beautiful private resort enclosed in hte limestone cliffs!!! I thought that this town was more of just a small fishing port with meager places to stay, but little did I know that there was beautiful, lavish resorts and private beaches! So much for backpacking I thought! I wish I had known about this private resort earlier! hahhahah Anyway, I ran along the beach and wandered over to the road where I kept running and saw signs for another beach. Once again there was another inlet and another AMAZING resort enclosed in the limestone hills of Cat Ba!

Do I really have to leave? I thought as the sun was setting on the island. I could picture myself jogging along the boardwalk daily and then suntanning at the resorts when I was bored. I already have friends (Khan and Hong), so I feel like it is silly for me to leave!

After my jog, I went back to Prince Hotel for a nice HOT HOT HOT shower (which can be a rarity in SE asia). I got ready and did my best to mask the fact that I am a backpacker. What I mean by that is that most backpackers can be identified by some obvious things-backpack, fisherman pants, flip flops, multiple rainbow colored string bracelets, teva sandals... etc. I do LOVE backpacking but to be honest I wish I had packed my high heels because I just am not cool with the 100% flip flop time and baggy non sexy clothing.

So once I got ready, I headed out for dinner, shopping, and finally internet time. As I walked on the street I decided to pick up some gifts for people. I would say what I bought but since the people they are for will probably read this blog I will have to explain what I bought at Halong Bay in a later blog entry! ANYWAY, after that I head to my FAVORITE restaurant on Cat Ba- Greeen Mango. I ordered the Green Mango Mojito and was in serious heaven! It was a mojito with fresh coconut shaving on top and was to die for! Also, I got some thai soup and a side of rice which was absolutely perfect. This restaurant felt like something I would go to in Seattle in a posh neighborhood, but it was literally 1/4 of the price! For my meal and drink I ended up paying under $10 and sat in a completely beautiful atmosphere of dark lights, red walls, asian inspired paintings, and a newly assembled Christmas tree decorated in a blue light theme.

The waiter came and asked me if I was a student and when I responded that I actually was a teacher he was shocked! That was all I needed to be happy today... a compliment from a 21 year old Vietnamese waiter trying to get some... hahahahh Nice try buddy

Tomorrow I leave for Hanoi and I am sad to leave my life on Cat Ba..... I want to stay! All good things come to an end and I know tomorrow will bring new possibilities as well.... Like hopefully a hair salon that can put some fresh blond highlights in this ruddy mess I have going on!

Day 8- A wonderful day in Cat Ba

Today was my second day here on Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay, Vietnam. I woke up bright and early ready to eat the Vietnam style buffet breakfast. I was really impressed because it was more food and a nicer set up than I expected. It was on the 8th floor of the Prince Hotel and as I entered into the dining room I was greeted by a man serving up the Pho Chicken soup to my left and the coffee and tea station to the left. Directly in front of me was a wall of windows displaying the fantastic view of Halong Bay and all the "Junks" floating peacefully in the morning mist.

I went and woke up Robyn, who was planning on sleeping through breakfast, and insisted it would be worth her time. We ate peacefully and then Robyn went back to nap while I grabbed my Korean study book and headed to a cafe to study for a while to keep up on my korean. I got through 4 grammar concepts in the cute open front cafe as I watched the people cruising by on their moterbikes and women in the Vietnamese traditional hats pushing fruit through the streets.

When I returned to the hotel we decided that we were ready to head out and do some sightseeing on the island. We walked down to this shop to drop of my laundry to get cleaned and asked the man if he knew where we could get scooters to transport us around the island. He was quite helpful, and he actually decided that him and his friend could give us a 3 hour motorbike tour around the island themselves. We had no idea what we were in for!

We hopped on the bikes and away we went! The countryside of Cat Ba was breathtaking with the mountains jutting into the sky covered with trees, vines, and palms in all shapes and sizes. The ground was equally as beautiful with picturesque scenes around every corner consisting of rice fields and woman and men working their farms just like I had seen in a National Geographic when I was young.

Suddenly, the bike turned the corner and into a driveway we pulled. "This is my brothers house,"said the driver of my motorbike. We laughed and politely greeted the surprized brother who looked like he had just crawled out of bed. "He is King of the Island,"said the driver as he showed us his brother's shiny new motorbike that had only been driven 59km.... not 60 he wanted us to notice! :) We sat down inside of his brothers house and were served some sort of special "health" tea in glasses that were not meeting in sort of health standards. As we drank it, I was surprized at how great it tasted but at that moment the driver said, "You can take picture while my brother smokes" and out came a strange sort of pipe that his brother"King of the Island" began smoking from. Robyn asked him what it was and he replied something in a quick Vietnamese accent that made us both feel very uncomfortable. We weren't quite sure what he was smoking, but at that moment it made us question what was in the special "health tea" we were drinking.

Fortunately, we got back on our journey and kept heading along the Vietnamese countryside. We stopped again to take pictures of farmers in fields, cliffs and valleys, and a few stops at some more of his friends houses to say hello. We got back into the city of Cat Ba around 5 and then went to dinner before we went back to the motorbike owners shop for pedicures, manicures, back massages, and head massages. The entire day of touring followed up by our night of beauty and relaxation only set us back 350,000 dong which equivalates to about $18 US dollars. You really can't beat that!

Now, I am just trying to figure out what to do for my last day in Cat Ba. Climbing, jogging, trekking, renting a motorbike, drinking at a waterfront cafe, kayaking.... I have so many options and I am loving every moment! All I know for sure is that I will get to eat another delicious meal of Pho and tofu and veggies and relax here and enjoy myself. I will have the day to myself to just enjoy this beautiful, wonderful place!

Day 7- Escape seclusion and head to Cat Ba Island

I awoke on day 7 of my trip with the worst hangover I have had in ages. I felt like my head was going to explode and my stomach was in knots combined with hunger pains. The previous night we had drank more than any person should ever drink and so we were preparing to leave the little secluded island and head on a journey to semi sobriety and a different island with internet access called Cat Ba.

All of the other tourists from the night before packed up their bags and jumped onto the boat and headed for their journey back to Hanoi. Robyn and I were lucky enough to get to sleep in for an extra hour and a half and take our own boat to Catba. Henry, one of the friendly 21 year old workers who was at the island for our stay had already left the island, so it was just us and the other 21 year old british boy named Mark. It felt like it was time to leave our little deserted paradise because the rain was falling softly on the bunglows and everythings seemed gray and tired. The sombreros that had been worn the night before in our drunken party were strew about and it seemed weird thinking of the mayhem that was happening only a mere 10 hours prior.

Robyn and I packed up our things and made our way as the lone tourists onto the boat to Cat Ba. It would have been a magnificent trip, but I felt like the waves combined with my hangover were going to cause me to throw up, so it was actually quite a challenge just to handle the boat ride. Finally, we made it into the quiet island surrounding by houseboats and fisherman and got off the boat to to jump on the back of motorbikes that took us over the mountan to our hotel.

Prince Hotel on Cat Ba Island felt like an oasis to me! Only a mere $20 and we had hot showers, beds, tvs, 24/7 electricity! I didn't realize how happy I would become but I felt like I had won the lottery. Robyn and I raced next door to a restaurant where I ordered 2 different dishes (Vegetable Pho and Tofu and veggies) and gorged myself with the wonderful food. Unfortunately, my stomach was not ready for that andn I had to race to the bathroom and puke because my hangover was still kicking strong. After that, I felt fine though and we spent our afternoon in a local internet cafe checking our emails and I spent it updating my travel blog.

About 5 pm, I went for an amazing jog around the city and decided I want to live here. The streets are clean and the view is spectacular. Cat Ba is full of lush green mountains that meet the beautiful boat filled sea. Restaurants line the boardwalk of the city and are spilling into the streets with outdoor seating. The people seem to be more layed back and kind than the hustlers and bustlers of Hanoi. I am in loving Cat Ba... maybe it is because it has the word Cat in it... hahahahhah I don't know but this beautiful place is somewhere I don't want to leave!

Day 6- Deserted Island for Life

I can't believe I have been living here with no internet, phone, or TV for 3 days. I am becoming accustomed to waiting for the ring of the bell to signal time to me. I have found life here to be quite simple but I don't know if I enjoy the simplicity or not. I am ready to check my email as I am sure I probably makeing my mom, boyfriend and friends worry because I have not contacted anyone in over 5 days now.

I woke up early today and had a sad goodbye to the chipper, life of the party Helen who had to leave to get back to Hanoi. Robyn had met Helen along the way and she had been quite an upbeat and entertaining girl to travel with. Helen left the island because she was on a time crunch and wanted to get some time in to do trekking up in the hills of Vietnam in an area called Sapa.

The new boat of people arrived and new fun faces filled the island. I sat on the beach and chatted with a girl named Kar-men from Singapore and then went to our bungalow and napped with Robyn. We munched on the island snack of Pringles and Oreos and dozed in and out of sleep as all the new tourists were running around participating in the water sports and playing volleyball and ping-pong.

Although we were tired Robyn and I rallied our energy and spent the last night playing drinking games and joining in on the island traditions. The game of Kings turned out to be quite interesting when Robyn had to give a lap dance to a random stranger. She was extremely opposed to the idea but when 20 other people are following the rules of the game it was hard for her to get out of it. Limbo and the One Foot Stand Off were new additions to the games of the evening and I actually even won the One Foot Stand Off and recieved a free Red Bull and Vodka as my prize. We ended up drinking too much per usual and fell asleep to the crashing waves and the sounds of rainfall in our last night in our beach bungalow.

Day 5- Saturday Living on the Deserted Island

This was a beautiful, unbeatable day to wake up at Halong Bay. Everyone else in our tour group had decided to go back to Hanoi and end the tour but Helen, Robyn, and I didn't want to leave. We paid $20 and stayed on the island for an extra day.

It was the perfect day to tan and relax on the beach! I took a long nap, and Helen went tubing while Robyn relaxed for the afternoon. At about 5, Robyn woke me up and we went out wakeboarding with Mark, Henry and the new tour guide that had arrived that day named Stu. The boys that work on the island were all very funny because they had never even wakeboarded until they had started this job. They were actually pretty good but everything they could do was self taught.

We ate dinner after we got back to our island with the new group of tourists and at this point we were starting to feel like we worked there. I was extremely tired and decided that I needed another nap.... I awoke to the sounds of laughter and music coming from the dinner area. It was another night of drinking games. The job the boys do is to entertain the guests so everynight is a repeat of the day before. Same games, new faces playing. I had started to learn the way they play there on the island- Ring of Fire aka Kings, Pyramid, Long Bus... and maybe some variation of those.

The off to bed I went about 11:30, so I wouldn't be completely worthless again!

Day 4- Friday- Arrive on the Island

We woke up early, at about 8:30, and crawled from our rooms in the ship to transfer to the other boat. It took us to the little deserted island in Halong Bay. We arrived about 11 am and found our beds which were in these cute beach bungalows with no walls. They were just a roof over our heads, mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets. Despite sounding quite minimal, they were extremely cute and wondefully comfortable!

We threw on our bikinis and suntanned and had drinks while relaxing for the day. Robyn and I chatted with our new German friend Annika and then had help from Rob who was our photographer for our island photo shoot with Robyns new Cannon SLR camera.

In the evening, we went wakeboarding in Halong Bay with 2 of the workers Henry and Mark. Then we showered and by then it was time for dinner. The bell sounded and everyone on the island rushed to the common area for the daily feast of rice, cabbage, fried pot stickers, hot dogs, chicken, beef, and french fries. I was exhausted and fell asleep after dinner but I awoke about 1030 to Robyn and Mark coaxing me out of bed with a vodka and diet coke. I went back over and watched the tail end of a giant 20+ person game of kinds and then talked Rob into another dance off. Helen, Annika, Rob, and Semi (a new friend who lives in Sydney) and I all danced the night away to songs like "Just Like a Prayer" and "Sweet Home Alabama".....

Day 3- Riding the "Junk" to Halong Bay

Thursday morning Helen, Robyn and I had to check out of our hotel and head to Hanoi Backpackers to get there by 8 am to leave for our tour. We were super tired and a bit rushed b/c we had woken up late and had to rush. We almost left our passports at the front desk!

Luckily, we got our passports and jumped in a taxi to head across Hanoi to the hostel where our tour group was meeting to go to Halong Bay. Right when we were close Robyn opened her taxi door and a motorbike hit right into her door! The guy fell off of the bike and looked around puzzeled and then fortunately got back on his bike and drove away. Helen went to Hanoi Backpackers to tell them to wait for us. The driver wouldn't let Robyn go, so she wanted me to go get a translator. I got a translator and Helen and as they were going to meet Robyn they saw her running toward the hostel looked completely shooken up. The driver had not let her go and has almost got violent with her. Luckily, Vietnamese people in the street had stepped in and helped her.

So after she calmed down and recovered fro that she was ok and we didn't have much time before we had to load on the buses to take us to Halong Bay to board the ship. The bus ride was interesting b/c a fellow named Rob from England decided we should have a cheesy music contest along the way which he named "The Cheese Off"---> Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys and songs I had never heard became the soundtrack to the trip to Halong Bay. We did make a pit stop at a pottery village and they had a mini mart there where we managed to purchase 3 bottles of vodka to supply us for the trip!

Once on board the boat which they called "Junks" we sat on top of the deck and started the party with mango and vodka cocktails. The ride took us through the bay which was absolutely breathtaking! There were small beautiful islands that had limestone cliffs jutting out all around us. The sight took me breath away as we we enjoyed the view aboard the three level huge wooden "Junk".

We finally anchored out in the bay for the night and more than half the people in our tour group jumped from the top of the deck. I jumped off twice and Robyn jumped off once, and we tried to make a video but were unsuccessful with my waterproof camera. Everyone hopped into kayaks and we kayaked around the beautiful Halong Bay before we showered and got ready for dinner.

The night continued to be just as good as the day filled with dancing and drinking aboard our junk in Halong Bay!

Day 3, 4, 5, 6~~~~ Time flew away at Halong Bay

Wow- So Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Halong Bay have flown by! I am sitting on the beach of a deserted island trying to piece together what has happened along my trip. It hasn't even been a week but the past few days here make me feel as though I have entered a different world. I don't have a watch and rarely know what time it is. I know that they ring the bell for lunch at 12:00 and dinner is 7:00.
Anyway, let me go back in time and try to piece together what has happened over the last few days...