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Vietnam offers many opportunities to dive in one of the most beautiful bay of the world. Swimming in the China Sea is now on our international swimming list. A few days after our arrival on the grounds of the Dragoon of Asia, referring to the shape of the country, we headed to North-East of the country and its famous bay.
Cat Ba was our destination for our seaside trip. The island is the entry gate of the Halong bay and its 120 kilometres of coast. In the middle of this part of the China Sea, there are 1969 karstic islands. The sea was turquoise and the islands were full of a tropical vegetation. We went discovering this natural scenery with a junk and other tourists.
By midday, after sailing between the islands of the bay, the junk stopped in a little cove. The scenery was breathtaking and perfect for a little swim. The captain offered us to dive in the sea from the rail. Aurélien was the first volunteer. Without a second thought, I went just after him. But it was actually pretty high and it made me hesitate. My toes were holding the sort of diving board. Unlike the game played by pirates, there were no crocodiles in the sea but a beautiful blue sea attracting myself. The feeling of vertigo disappeared and after counting up to three, I jumped. The free fall last less than half of a second before to arrive in this huge pool. Once under the water, I watched the sky with the sunshine going through. Once my head was out of the water, I enjoyed looking the beautiful cliffs of this karstic rocks with an unusual shape.
Julien and Florian met me and we swam up to the beach of the little island next to us. Isolated, this little piece of ground would have everything to become a little corner of paradise. But the captain called us to go back. It was time to sail again.
A hundred of kilometres further down, we continued to discover the coast of the China Sea, in Hoi An. After leaving this nice charming city by scooters and crossing the small island of Tra Que, we arrived on the Cam An peninsula. Between the beaches of An Bang and Cua Daj, we turned on the left in a random street. Tens of metres further, the asphalt was replaced by sand.
We left our scooter against a barrier. This beach was looking like an usual beach in French Brittany. A small wooden path before to reach a wide beach by the ocean. The fine sandy beach was going as much as we can see, from North to South, surrounded by beautiful coconut trees towards West and the warm waters of the China Sea by East. At the end of the afternoon, the beach was almost deserted compared to the buzzing city life. The red sky was highlighting the lines of the Cu Lao Cham island further away.
Without a second thought, we run in the water. The temperature was close to the 25°C. A warm temperature reminding us the Caribbean Sea, six months ago. There were perfect little waves for a bodysurf session with Emilie. Watching the horizon to choose the good wave. Analysing the trajectory and running. Then, choosing the good position where the wave will break. Getting ready with the foot in the sand before to give the perfect impulsion to slide on the water as far as wan see. We did a little competition between both of us. During tens of minutes, like kids, we enjoyed sliding on the waves before to go back on our towels with the rest of the team, and to go back to Hoi An and its lanterns.
