Bright and early.
Day two of our tour began bright and early with a hike before breakfast. We docked at Titop Beach Island to climb the 340 steps to a lookout on the top of the rocks. It’s not too difficult of a climb if you go slowly but it’s up, up, up!
From the top you get a nice view of the water and boats below.
Mike staged a falling photo but after actually looking at the railing, that was probably a bad idea.
After the hike we ate breakfast and separated into two groups. Those who booked a two day tour and those who booked a three day tour. Our group, the three day tour, was much smaller. We were joined by an older Dutch couple who were very friendly and jovial. The two day group returned to the mainland while we ventured on.
First, we biked through Cat Ba National Park to a few villages. We stopped to quickly look at few local buildings but I was distracted a bit by the cute dogs and cats. Then we took an easy trek through the forest to a “cave of bat” according to the itinerary. During the hike we were able to talk to our guide about the American/Vietnam War. He reassured the group (well, me) that the Vietnamese don’t feel bitter towards American tourists, even though there are plenty of consequences from the war still lingering. It was fascinating to listen to the Dutch couple’s perspective being from a country that has also been occupied.
After hiking we climbed back on our bikes and returned to the boat for lunch.
xo, jill
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