Halong Bay: Day 2

Breakfast was served at 6:30 in the morning. We were told this the night before, but Last-Night Aaron and Anna were fine with making that Next-Morning Aaron and Anna’s problem. Those guys can be some real jerks. The reason for our early rise was that we were trying to beat the crowds to the most popular grotto of the bay: Sung Sot, or Surprising Cave. This plan worked; we arrived early enough that we only shared the cave with one other small group. This cave was significantly larger than the other ones we had visited in Vietnam, but not as large as Tham Lot in Thailand. It was lit by colored bulbs, giving it a gimmicky glamour. As with all previous cave tours, our guide (this time, Binh) once again told us very little about the cave, and instead pointed to different formations and told us what they looked like: a woman washing her hair, an elephant, a monkey clinging to a tree. This was made all the more comical by the fact that the other tour group’s guide was giving a full-on lecture on the history and geology of the cave, while Binh… well, Binh was pointing to a rock and telling us it looked like a dick. That’s right–a dick. To be fair, he wasn’t wrong. The cave led to an impressive overlook that gave an expansive view of the islet’s natural harbor. We stopped here briefly for photos, then returned to the pontoon. 

A while later, we were pulling up to the docks of Titov Island. Now, by this point, Aaron was falling asleep on me during the boat ride. He was miserable. I had gone to bed at a late, but reasonable-ish hour the night before–not so with Aaron. He just wanted to lie down on the beach of Titov and take a nap. But everyone was insisting that we climb to the top of the island’s steep hill to reach the panorama at it’s summit. We climbed, stopping everyone on their way down to ask if it was worth it. “Totally!” they all said, “but the view is better from the balcony at three-quarters of the way up.” Aaron and I agreed that three-quarters of the way up was good enough, especially if the top wasn’t all that nice anyways. We did get a long view of the different bays from up there, but we were both happy to go back down without having conquered the mountain. We spent the rest of the time lazing around on beach towels. 

We transferred boats, because of some confusing maritime laws, to get to Cat Ba Island. Everyone picked out a bike at the dock’s rental shop, while I secretly pouted about how I wasn’t going to get to go on the super fun cycling tour because I never learned to ride a bike (are you reading this, Mom? Why didn’t you teach me to ride a bike?). Instead, I was getting a scooter ride to the next stop. I never caught the man’s name who drove me, but he was very kind. He only spoke a few words of English, but we quickly developed a rapport with hand gestures and simple phrases. We left my tour group in the dust, and I stuck my tongue out at them for having the gall to do something fun that I couldn’t join. Then, we made a game of wishing everyone we passed a happy Lunar New Year. “Chuc mung nam moi!” I would yell at passersby, and they would look at us confused. And my driver would laugh his head off at this white lady mangling his language. If you know anything about Vietnamese, you may have noticed that I left the diacritics off that phrase. This was intentional. I didn’t pronounce these words like they had diacritics and I might as well be honest about the fact that I suck at tones.

I arrived at our meeting place only fifteen minutes before the others. Once we’d re-grouped in Viet Hai village, we set off on our jungle trek. We walked through the well-maintained trails of Cat Ba National Park until we came upon yet another small cave. Bat Cave was inaccurately named, but served as a gateway to another beautiful vista. Our trek then led us to a rock scramble. Binh warned us it was 30% dangerous. After, once we’d all survived, our Australian friends joked that if that was 30%, they’d hate to see 60%. It was heart-racing, and only partly because of the athleticism. There were a couple of points where I thought, “Cool, hope my ankle doesn’t give out like it has a bajillion times in my life, or I’ll be a mangled mess on those sharp limestone crags below.” You know, fun thoughts like that. But as scary as it was, it was also enjoyable and rewarding. I could see myself getting into rock scrambles. 

I got another scooter ride back to the docks. My driver told his daughter to tell me it was nice to meet me and then asked for a picture. I’m guessing it was so he could make fun of my inability to ride a bike or pronounce simple words with all his friends. 

All of this–Surprising Cave, the hike up Titov, relaxing on the beach, the scooter ride, the jungle trek, and the rock scramble– all of it took place before lunch. It was genuinely a wonder we didn’t resort to cannibalism. This lunch was probably the closest we ever came to actually finishing off the food we were given. 

But we weren’t done. We spent lunch docked at a floating pier with an adorable dog (also, she had just whelped some equally adorable puppies–awww). Now we disembarked onto that pier and got into our second kayak of the trip. Binh led the way again, taking us past fishing villages, under a natural arch in the limestone, into a small, still, sound. We rested here long enough to appreciate its peace, then paddled past a floating homestay. A shirtless dude called out to us as we passed, “Party here at dusk! You’re all invited!” I don’t think any of us made it, but if you ever read this, shirtless stranger, I hope it was a rager. 

After our kayaking outing, our boat took us to a pristine piece of the bay for swimming. Our Swiss friend kicked it off by jumping from the second-level balcony of the boat. Aaron and the Aussies soon followed. I just climbed down the ladder on the side. I’ve jumped off tall things into water before, and it was mostly an exercise in getting a swim wedgie and some saltwater up your nose. The water was crystal clear and cool. Some might say too cool, but to them I say, “you get used to it after a little bit!” 

Finally, and somewhat tragically, it was time to part ways with some of our group. Half of us were going to a hotel on Cat Ba Island for the evening, and the other half, which included Aaron and me, were transferring to a luxury cruise ship for one night. We said our goodbyes and promised to Facebook, then boarded the shuttling pontoon. This cruise ship was much larger than our last one, and also much more lavish. The floor was polished granite. Our room had wide, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the bay. There were bottles in the shower labelled “men’s shampoo” and “women’s shampoo”–that’s how fancy this ship was. 

Aaron and I napped until happy hour, then went to the upper decks to watch the scenery float by, while sipping white wine and talking about music with our Swiss companions. Before dinner, there was another cooking demonstration, this time with fried spring rolls. Our instructor went by the nickname Qua-Qua, and he was the biggest ham we’ve met in Southeast Asia. He pretended to be an MTV VJ the entire time, holding up a napkin like a microphone. It was endlessly charming, to tell the truth. Once again, it came out that Aaron and I were on honeymoon, and of course, that got incorporated into his whole routine. 

Dinner was a barbecue buffet that was basically the same quality as the food we had on the last ship. We got to try the spring rolls we made, though, and they were scrumptious. The rest of the night was spent chatting with our boat-friends, but we were wise enough to know when to quit this time. Every now and then, Last-Night Aaron and Anna look out for Next-Morning Aaron and Anna.