Cat Ba island is part of Halong Bay. Halong Bay is where all the tourist go to reenact their version of MTV Spring Break: Party boats. Barf. On a cool pop culture tip, Halong Bay is where Godzilla was filmed. We chose Cat Ba, though, specifically to avoid masses of drunken tourist who are actin a fool. Les go to Cat Ba!
Gettin there and checkin the weather
Ok. Most of the time I’m not an idiot. I checked the weather beforehand to know what to pack for but, I didn’t realize 70 degrees was cold on an island. Right. An my little weather app showed rain. But, in my defense my app says it’s raining every got damn day in Hanoi and it never is. So, did I pack for chilly, rainy weather? Nope!
I literally packed like I was going to Bali or some shit. I had those little cute, deceptively scandalous open side flowy Asian pants (If you’ve been to South East Asia you know what I’m talkin about). I had to buy leggings off the side of the road. It was real. On a good note, the way to Cat Ba was so easy. We took the Cat Ba Express. I feel asleep ( I am a master sleeper. It’s an art) and I woke up three hours later in Cat Ba!
This was the view from our Cat Ba Mountain View hostel. The hostel was dope with private mini cottages to single bed cottages. It also had a mountain-top bar and pool which was empty and quiet! I still reminisce on the extremely firm Vietnamese mattress there. It was the best sleep of my life.
Kayaking and Monkey Island
You know, science is something else. Though it was balls freezing the water was luke warm. We went in October(ish) so the water was still warm from the summer. It was so pleasant!
I can’t even muster up a smile because my teeth were chattering.
Monkey Island. I always feel some type of way when it comes to animals as a tourist attraction. I usually avoid them like the plague. Wildlife should not be tampered with just for the enjoyment of mere humans.
So, when we were on our way to Monkey Island I was definitely nervous. My experiences in Costa Rica taught me to never feed monkeys and the tourists and locals there (for the most part) respected this.
Ya’ll, the mother suckin monkeys on Monkey Island were real. They roll deep and will steal all your shit.
I was eating a banana (I know, how cliche) and this lil G literally hopped on my table to take it. I panicked. I threw the banana at him.
Please, for the love of Yeezus, stop feeding the damn monkeys. We’ve gotta do better. Here’s why: Stop feedin the damn monkeys.
Cat Ba is great escape from Hanoi. I probably wouldn’t go during peak season because excessive drinking on party boats is not my scene. But hey, do you, boo! This amazing group of limestone mountainous islands is special. Next time I just hope the weather is better . Or… I’ll actually believe the weather app.
Les Go... 