Having caught a bus from Ninh Binh to Hai Phong, then a lot of haggling with a taxi driver to take us to the ferry, then working out which ferry to catch, we did eventually make it to Cat Ba Island.
The ferry was a hydrofoil, which travelled at 75km/h, only taking 45 mins to reach the island...an experience. Although Cat Ba Island is 285Km2, all the accommodation and restaurants are in the main Cat Ba town. Cat Ba Island is known, and home to, the highly endangered Cat Ba Langurs.
We stayed at 'Alibaba's' guesthouse, which for some reason was cheaper for us to stay in a room for three, than for two. So we had plenty of space, and a nice big window overlooking the bay. We grabbed a beer whilst the sun went down, then walked along the front looking at menu's.
We decided on a Tripadvisor recommendation, 'Green Mango', which served great food but at a slightly higher price. Chris had a spicy seafood noodle broth, and I had fish and chips! On our way back we couldn't resist a massage, especially since we were yet to experience one in Vietnam. We opted for a full body massage, and before we knew it, we were led up three flights of stairs, and shown into a room with two double beds and an en suite. We thought we had walked into some kind of brothel! Thankfully it was just the full body massage, but not sure we left feeling relaxed...more like battered and bruised!

We booked a days boat trip with our guesthouse owner, who's brother had a boat. There were about 20 people on the trip, and just before we left we met a lovely couple from Austria, Annika and Alex, who had coincidentally met Lynzie and Gary on a nightbus.
As we left the island we cruised slowly through a floating fishing village. It was fascinating to see such a large village, dogs and everything, living out on the water. As we reached the end, our view turned into endless amounts of islets - incredible.
About half an hour later we reached Monkey Island...the name says it all...lots of monkeys! We hiked and rock climbed to a view point, passing by many greedy and over friendly monkeys. One even took a leap at me and ended up on the back of my rucksack! It seems monkeys have a thing me, after my encounter in Siem Reap as well! The views were spectacular, looking out into the bay filled with hundreds of islets, all shapes and sizes.
A good hour sailing, passing by 'Chopstick Island' - an islet long and thin apparently resembling a chopstick, and we reached a spot in Halong Bay, where we got into kayaks in twos. Led by Mr Ba, we paddled around Halong Bay, for an hour and a half, through caves, and into 'Quiet Lake'.
Mr Ba took Chris and Alex rock climbing again to a view point overlooking the lake - the pictures are beautiful, showing how blue the water was. Randomly we began to hear various animal noises echoing around the bay...Mr Ba, Alex, and Chris started off the echoes, followed by others down in the bay. Dogs/Cats/Chickens/Cows etc....Very strange!
In our competitive nature, we raced Mr Ba and his partner back to the boat, only just losing out (remembering he does this trip most days!).
The 'crew' (two people) had cooked up a feast for lunch. Fresh fish and shrimps, cabbage, tofu in tomato sauce, the most delicious spring rolls, and of course plenty of rice.
Around an hours sail, to let our food digest, before we stopped off at a 'snorkelling' sight - too cold for most, but of course not for Chris! Him and Alex jumped off the boat and swam over to a tiny beach, whilst myself and Annika soaked up some sun and enjoyed a beer back on board.
Another 45 mins sailing and we docked up next to a 15m cliff jump. But not only that, you first had to rock climb the sheer 15m rock face to the top. Mr Ba showed us how it was done, but only just! This was enough to put most people off due to the danger of the climb and huge risk of falling. However, Alex, with some rock climbing experience, was keen to give it a go. An anxious Annika waited with the camera on board, and we all eagerly watched as he slowly, and carefully made the climb. Thankfully he made it to the top, covered in scratches, and bleeding cuts, then jumped the 15m into the sea. Phew!
That evening we met up with the group from the trip for drinks, endless games of pool, and tried laughing gas. As the bars shut around midnight we needed some food to help absorb the alcohol, so were led the way to find the recommended 'Vietnamese Cake' by some locals we ended up talking with. It sounded great, and since there was no cheesy chips around, it would have to do. But this was not cake as we know it...it was pork soup with fresh rice pancakes with shrimp paste! It was really tastey though and filled a hole.

A well overdue lazy morning, followed by coffee, omelet, and a banana and chocolate pancake - yum! We hired a moped, met with Alex and Annika, and went off exploring the island for the day. It was fun riding around in convoy, however we had managed to hire a very dodgy bike, which had water in the petrol, causing it to continuously backfire, and scare the living day lights out of me! It sounded like gun fire, and according to Alex and Annika, who were crying with laughter watching us, was blazing huge fires and black smoke! I was reassured by Chris that it was "nothing to worry about".
Our first stop off around Cat Ba Island was at the 'Hospital caves'. Exactly what it says, it was a cave used as a hospital during the war. Then onto the National Park, where we hiked the 1.5km uphill to a view point. Absolutely stunning views over the national park. We sat and took in the silence...but not for too long as Alex and Chris decided to (again!) make loud animal impressions and noises to echo around the mountains. I think the most echoes was Chris' wolf whistle which hit six valleys.
We then took a long ride to the far north of the island to a harbour, where we had some chicken noodle soup for lunch. Then we spent the last few hours of daylight riding around, taking in the countryside, enjoying the animals and waving at villagers. We stopped to watch an interesting encounter with a heard of goats, cars, bikes, and a bus, on a sharp mountain road bend. Luckily everyone was ok.

Next stop...Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.