After a brief stop in Hanoi we decided to travel with Tony and Phil to Ha Long Bay as their visas ran out before ours. We thought it would be more fun to go with a couple of others we got on with and then see the sites of Hanoi just before we leave for Laos. Most tourists book 3 day tours in Hanoi for Ha Long Bay but we decided to travel to Cat Ba island, a surrounding island with easy links to the wild scenery around the bay. It turned out to be a great decision because despite the dodgy journey to the island (a bus that couldn't scale the mountainous hills) once we got there we could explore at our leisure. We found some cheap and friendly accommodation overlooking the magnificent Cat Ba harbour and we used this as a base to do all the activities on the island.

First full day we rented mopeds and began cruising around the deserted roads of the island. The scenery was stunning with limestone karst sticking up everywhere and roads weaving in between them. We came across 'Hospital cave' which was a mass of rooms built within a large cave which housed the injured during the American war. We then proceeded to ride around the whole island which never lost its enjoyment. The next day we booked a boat tour around Ha Long Bay itself. As well as the four of us there were also a couple of Canadians and Germans. We all got on well and despite some choppy waters it was a beautiful journey in and out of the karsts which are even more extraordinary when close up. We sailed to another huge cave that was lit up in coloured lights and after lunch started a 2 hour kayaking session. We went out in two-man boats (I was in the 'Boro boat' with fellow fan Tony!) and paddled for ages stopping now and then at the very small beaches by the karsts and admiring the floating villages. After returning to the harbour we ate at what became our local restaurant on the island, the Bamboo Cafe. It served up fantastic local seafood dishes and very cheap local beer.

The next day Tony and Phil left for Hanoi but Dan and I decided to stay for a few more days. We chilled out near one of the beaches before renting mopeds again the following day and riding to the Cat Ba National Park. The park is on the east side of the island and we set out on a 2 hour trek to find the peak. It was tough going in some areas as the rocks and tree roots were difficult to navigate but it was worth it when we made it to the top. The highest point had a rusty tower which was a bit rickety and not for the faint-hearted but the view from the top was outstanding. The panoramic view showed nearly all of the island including small villages and we spent a fair while taking it all in and taking lots of photos. We then wasted the rest of the petrol in our tanks crusising round the island before returning to Cat Ba town.

After another day of soaking up the islands beauty we left the day after via another bus-boat-bus combination and returned to Hanoi. We now have about a week to waste in and around the capital before we move on to Luang Prabang, our first stop in Laos.