Day 3 & 4 - Halong Bay

HALONG BAY

Cat Ba Island (2 days, 1 night)

After 1 day of exploration of Hanoi city, we headed for Halong Bay via the junkboat. Our destination was on Cat Ba Island where we stayed for the night. It was also there that we ventured onto 'Monkey' Island - not to be deceived; there was only 4 monkeys sighted. The exhilirating part of this journey was the motorbike ride to the ferry terminal to board the boat to 'Monkey' Island. Felt like I was part of a short scene of a James Bond movie (pillion with Pierce Brosnan!). Will never forget the cold draft blowing against my face and just riding up and down the slopes!

Cat Ba Island is a very quiet & tranquail place. Little activity especially at night. Wanted to catch the morning activities at the fishing wharf opposite our hotel but could not wake up in time. Nonetheless, managed to capture some snippets of what goes on at the bay.

Waiting patiently to board the boat.

Snapped this on board the boat. Not a vietnamese but felt quite good to have been able to caught the flag flying high and pretty gracefully :)

Kodak moment! So profesionally taken by me that I am considering sending it for some photography competition. Then again, I need to have a good subject. Was so candid and I figured for future shots, I should target to capture individuals at their most natural state!

1 of the many magnificent sights I sailed past.

At some point, I stopped being trigger happy and just stopped to admire and take in the sights. As I watched the beautiful sceneries go by, I just felt humbled and was just thankful to have this privilege to be a part of nature.

1st meal on board. It was insufficient for the 6 of us. Even the starter of peanuts was polished.

Our 1st trek in Vietnam! It was a 2hrs climb and it reminded me of MacRitchie Reservoir. Anyhow, I enjoyed myself tremendously as it brought back many fond memories of my trekking days when I was in JC. So missed those times.

When we reached the summit after almost 1hr plus of ascension. See the satisfaction on our faces?

Quite abit of time was wasted as it was packed with other tourists. Had to manuver around a small space which was rather precarious. 1 wrong move and someone could possibly roll off the peak!

At lunch at Anam hotel (our lodging for the night at Cat Ba), I spotted this language error which was pretty amusing. Turned out that I was to spot more of such funny statements on menus in Vietnam! Useful tool for El lessons in future!

Monkey Island. White sand, clear & freezing cold waters. Still we went for a dip and it was SHIOK! Jeff & Fairuz have the honor of being the last 2 to jump in. The only 2 gals actually went in faster than them! Tsk tsk...

Reuben hates this shot but doesn't it capture their enjoyment!???

Managed to catch the sunset as we left 'Monkey' Island. Simply awesome.

Dinner at Cat Ba Island. Not too bad a fare but mostly vegetables! Craved for some meat.

That orangy colored liquid is PUMPKIN & CARROT soup, which only Reuben loved!

The above 3 shots were taken of the fishing wharf opposite our hotel. By the time I was there, all the hustle and bustle was over. Missed out on the exciting actions but nonetheless satisfied that I could have caught a glimpse of the lifestyle of these fishermen and women.

We were about to disembark after our stay on Cat Ba Island. This shot would serve to really remind all of us that once a upon a time, we were onboard a junk boat in Vietnam!