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To reach Ninh Binh, the gates of the terrestrial Halong Bay, we opted for the train. Quite cheap and popular, it matched perfectly with the spirit of our travel. The adventure started from our entry at the central train station in Hanoï. Early in the morning, it was already full of people. We finally managed to reach the good platform and find our train. We took a seat in this old vehicle of the Vietnam Railways company. Once sat down, it was time for my favourite hobby in trains: looking through the window and letting my mind goes… This means of transport was quiet compared to our adventures in bus in Laos. We even enjoyed a breakfast with some biscuits and fruit juices. The journey was only of an hour with a few stops. First we stopped in the small stations around the capital before to stop in the ones lost in the countryside.
We arrived in the station of Ninh Binh, the place was empty. We lost the buzzing atmosphere of Hanoï. We called a “Grab”, a taxi, to reach the small city of Tam Coc. Just a few kilometres further, this is the heart of the terrestrial Halong Bay. This glorious scenery holds its name from the Halong Bay which the scenery is similar but the rice fields are replaced by the sea. Huge rocks are between the rice fields over a length of 40 kilometres. This scenery was the one of famous Hollywood movies including the famous King Kong.
After getting our strengths back by enjoying delicious dishes spiced with coriander; we started a small walk in the middle of the rice fields, up to the bottom of the limestone peak where there is the Mua cave. Objectively, this one doesn’t have a massive interest compared to the 500 steps to reach the top of the Mua Peak. At the end of this ascension, we met the guardian of this place, a giant dragon statue. We had to go underneath the scales of the dragon to discover an amazing view on the terrestrial Halong Bay with the pitons in the middle of the rice fields.
The following morning was dedicated to a boat ride on one of the several streams of the terrestrial Halong Bay. The rowers have an unusual technic there. Their boat move forwards by pushing the oars with their feet. With our guide using this technic, we went between the rocks before to cross three caves. This place is very appreciated by the tourists. The river was highly frequented with many tourist traps to encourage spending money. Sadly, this removed some poetry during our stroll.
At noon, we met a friend of Florian and Elodie, Aurélien, at the hostel. He was travelling in the South-Eastern part of Asia from a few months. He joined the team for our trip in Vietnam. For our last afternoon in Tam Coc, we rent seven scooters to explore a little bit more this unusual areal. We rode without a specific itinerary and just followed our feelings. We arrived at the bottom of the karstic peaks, we crossed picturesque villages and adventures on small paths between the rice fields. Arrived at the gates of this historic site of Hoa Lu, we decided to stop. There was not that much left of this ancient Vietnamese capital. Only two temples which have been refurbished recently. At dusk, we went back to Tam Coc. Our front beams were reflecting in the rice fields and the streams. The quietness of the countryside was disturbed, just an instant, by the noise of our mopeds.
After enjoying the terrestrial Halong Bay, we reached by bus the Cát Bà island, located on the South part of the Halong Bay. To reach it we crossed a strait, separating the island and the Hai Phong city, on an old rusty ferry. We went between the old container ships and the mining boats waiting, in the anchorage area, to go back on duty. The cloudy and grey sky was adding a sad touch to this industrial scenery.
However on Cát Bà island, it was a day of celebration. On the main avenue going along the sea, the red political flags were raised, the flowers were cut nicely and a wide stage was set up. There were dancers and singers wearing spangled and colourful costumes. For our lunch, we enjoyed a Banh Mi in front of the port. Under our eyes, there was a race of traditional pirogues. The members of each team wore a costume with the colours of their pirogue. There were five competitors, each one were representing a local community. After the signal of departure, the oars were going through the water at the same rhythm. The competition consisted of three return trips between two buoys. From the seawall at the port, the shape of the pirogues were looking like huge snakes on the water. The colourful show was a delight for the spectators supporting their favourite team.
The afternoon was dedicated to a stroll along the coastal path to reach the beaches located on the other side of the rock. Named Cat Co 1 and Cat Co 2, these wide sandy beaches were hidden under huge karstic rocks. Sadly, the Cat Co 3 beach was not anymore reachable since the launch of a construction site for a massive hotel. After a quick swim in this emerald water of the Chinese sea, a German backpacker offered us to play volleyball on the beach with her. This session evolved in a quick improvised “set”, once the line of the field were drawn, the rules have been adapted because of the lack of net. We went back to the city at dusk. We enjoyed the heat from the port which was full of life during the evening. A beer on a terrace before to have a fried rice for diner in a small Vietnamese canteen. A fireworks ended this day of celebration.
In spite of being very touristic, the Halong Bay is still one of these unique places on earth. We discovered the glorious surroundings of the Lan Ha Bay and Halong Bay on a huge wooden boat. The ship was sailing between the rocks. In spite of the grey sky in the morning, the small islands were already magic. We did a stop in a small sheltered bay. The captain invited us to go on kayaks to reach the small spaces between the rocks, unreachable with the ship. During two hours, we wanted to move further away from the rest of the group, just to be on our own and to enjoy the strength of this mythic place. We went through a cave to reach a lagoon with clear waters with a touch of emerald colour.
The junk went in another cove of the Halong Bay, the time for us to dive from the upper deck. The next visit was the “Monkey Island”. We climbed on the rocks to be again isolated enough from the other tourists. This climb gave us a great panorama over the bay. We got the visit of a family of monkeys who were very interested by the Gopro. When we went back to the beach, we were sadden by the numerous tourists feeding the monkeys with chocolate bars, crisps and plastic packaging…
Before coming back to the harbor, we went through the floating village of Bon Beo where lives around a thousand of people. We crossed the fish farms connected by wooden pontoons haphazardly made. The overall was fixed by barrels floating on the water surface. This floating city doesn’t have a waste collect, everything goes to the ocean. The day ended again by a beer tasting and a delicious diner enjoyed on the rooftop of the Mona restaurant with guitar music notes and the voice of a young Scottish backpacker.
We rent scooters for our last day in Cát Bà. Only a few kilometres were necessary to feel the gap between the buzzing atmosphere of the port and the simple life of the small villages in the heart of the island. By following the inside road, we crossed glorious landscapes between palm tree forests and chalky rocks. On this winding road, the rice fields were replaced by the sea. After a last steep hill and a nice slope over several kilometres, we reached by midday the pier of Tuan Chay at the opposite side of the island. At the tip of a fjord, there was a wooden footbridge to reach a small Buddhist altar. We had lunch in a local place, just by the road, before to go back alongside the coast. Once arrived at the hotel, we returned our scooters before to go in the sleeping bus leading us to Sapa, a mountainous area at the North-West of the country.
OUR FAVOURITE PLACE |
| Where to eat?
Mona Restaurant We are not here in an authentic address, but more in a backpacker place. The ambiance is quite good and the rooftop offers a great view over the Cát Bà harbor. After sitting cross-legged around small tables, we enjoyed the dishes we ordered. Only a negative note, the price was higher than our usual canteens. |
