Nestled on the periphery of Vietnam's fabulous Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba Island is big -- over 350 square kilometres, but most tourists see but a sliver of it.
Put ashore during their various Ha Long Bay excursions, tourists spend
most of their time in a small area on and around Cat Ba Harbour --
that's where just about all the accommodation is, and across the harbour
road, there's a long promenade skirting the water -- in the evenings it
becomes a make-shift beer garden, with dozens of places vying for customers to sit at plastic tables and tip a glass or two of bia hoi.
The bay provides a
pleasant view, dotted with fishing boats and
floating restaurants, and hosting it's share of smouldering sunsets on
the western horizon. In addition to hotels and restaurants, the harbour
road also features a handful of 'massage parlours' in front of which,
would-be 'masseuses' hang out in the evenings, aggressively soliciting
male customers as they pass by. A local has informed us that one of
these places actually offers real massages. But we won't tell you which
one.
An overnight on Cat Ba is
de rigueur for many of the 3-day tours of Ha Long Bay,
assuring a steady trickle of tourists, even in the off season. In the
summer, it's a premier spot for Hanoians to take a quick summer vacation
-- most people only get about three days off from work each year.
Cat Ba is also a good launching point for kayaking trips to
explore some of the nearby tunnel caves, and there's Hospital Cave on
the main island which played it's part in the war with America, and is
worth a peak, especially for war buffs.
Probably the best way to see the island is by
motorbike --
there's a 100 km circuit running along the bay and into the interior,
through incredibly beautiful country-side, and small villages where life
in Cat Ba has gone on, largely untainted by the decade-long boom in tourism.
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