Booked a little boat trip Halong Bay and Cat Ba island from my hostel and what a trip. Sun, sea, amazing limstone karsts, swimming, kayaking, starfish, coral, monkeys, sea kites, black storks and the highlight for me - rock climbing!!
After a 3 hour bus ride we arrived at Halong city and jumped on board a boat to head to halong bay. We were a party of around 15 or so and bar the crew, i was the oldest person on the boat - not that that was a problem. Thankfully they were all a great bunch and we had a great larf together. After lunch on the boat we had an afternoon of kayaking in a secluded bay where there were hardly any other tourists. The water was a luscious clear bluey green colour and the temperature was just perfect on a cloudless day. A few went for a swim but i dithered too long and by the time i decided to go for a dip the water was too shallow and the coral too near and i didnt fancy getting my feet lacerated on the coral as some of the others did as it takes longer to heal. Made up for it then next day as we all went for an early morning dip by diving off the top tier of our 3 tier boat - it was just awesome and so much fun.
After our morning dip the group split as there were a handful booked for rock climbing. i decided to join them at the last minute having not pre-booked the climbing. I was quite apprehensive as i havent climbed before (not properly) and i wasnt quite sure what to expect but i had the best time ever to the extent that i would say it was probably one of the hightlights of my time so far in Vietnam. We started on an beginners climb in the morning (a 4b for those that climb) up the face of a limestone peak on a private beach. The 3 climbs gradually became harder and more challenging and i was glad for the lunch break to rest my sore hands and grazed legs. Luckily my knees were ok as i knew enough about climbing to know not to use your knees as the power comes through the legs.
In the afternoon we joined the boat where the kayakers were no sun bathing and headed to another private beach. The final climb was a 5b and i have to say at times it was very difficult not knowing where to put my hands or feet to get a good hand or foothold. At one stage i couldnt see anyway foward and thought I would have to stop as i was getting quite scared being so high up (around 25 meters) but then i remembered Tiger Leaping Gorge in China and how bad i felt when i gave up on that peak and gritted my teeth and willed myself to carry on. I took a bit longer than the young uns and felt a bit bad keeping them waiting but they were all superb shouting encouragement from below when they could see i was struggling. I will upload some pictures soon and needless to say they are not flattering at all but hey ho - i had a ball and the view from the top once i finally got there was just wonderful as the sun was setting across the calm blue bay.
Later we all stayed at Cat Ba Island and unfortunately we didnt have time to see much of the island or the national park there. I was going to stay and extra night there while the rest of the group went back but the weather wasnt looking too good and now hear i am in Hanoi.
Tomorrow i head to Sapa on 3 day and 4 night trip and so may not be in contact for that time - in contrast to Halong Bay looks like i will have to take some winter clothing as its quite cold up there! Burrrrrrr....
The only downer on the trip so far is the news that England lost at the rugby a few times (thanks LH for the update!!) pan*s!!!
