Archives for February 2012

Cuc Phuong fail.

Mike had three things on his list that he was really looking forward to on this trip:
1. Surfing at China Beach… didn’t happen due to weather.
2. Riding motorbikes… finally achieved on Cat Ba.
3. Visit the rainforest… yet to happen.

We went to Ninh Binh as a jumping off point to enter Cuc Phuong National Park. We were finally getting to the rainforest! Ninh Binh doesn’t have too much to offer but our hotel room was nice and comfortable. Mike went out for a walk and captured a bit of the city.

Photo by Mike

What we found out when we got to Ninh Binh was that it wasn’t really the best way to access the park. We took an expensive taxi (about 45 minutes) to the park entrance. We weren’t dropped off in the proper spot so it took a bit of looking around to find the visitor center. Judging by the name of the place, you’d think they’d expect visitors… but no. The woman helping us seemed really confused as to why we were there. It was the opposite of welcoming.

After getting a route sorted we headed over to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center. This is what I was really looking forward to seeing. You are required to have a guide with you for your visit. No problem, I wanted to learn about their mission and progress. Um, unfortunately our guide only told us the names of the primates as he walked us down the path of cages. Then he took a phone call and abruptly stopped talking to us. It was awkward. We weren’t sure if we had offended him in some way. We passed by another group with a much more talkative and informative guide which made us even more confused. We eventually just walked right back out the gate because we didn’t know what to do. Our guide just trailed after us and eventually said, “Thank you.” Weird.

On our way back we stopped into the Visitor Center again to ask a question. That same woman seemed really surprised to see Mike again. She couldn’t believe that our trip to the rescue center had been so brief. We were baffled too.

Finally, we set off on a long and torturous bike ride. We needed to bike a total of 20km out to a giant tree and back. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was not going to happen… at least without a good deal of pain. My bum was already sore from biking the day before, but this was something much worse. Without going into too much detail… the bike seat was pointing upwards and pushing against a very sensitive area. I was nearly in tears because it was so uncomfortable and on top of that I felt like a loser who couldn’t ride a bike. When Mike saw I was so upset he offered to switch bikes so we could continue our ride. Turns out I’m not just a wimp who can’t ride a bike. The bike seat was properly jacked up. Mike had a difficult time with the seat as well so we decided to turn around and inquire about a motorbike rental.

Again, the woman at the Visitor Center seemed surprised to see us (this time with reason). The motorbike price wasn’t reasonable so we decided to cut our losses and just head back to Hanoi. Of course, this involved another expensive taxi ride to a nearby bus station.

We bought our tickets from a stern faced woman and went in search of food. We took about two steps before the woman started screaming at us to sit down. Feeling confused and hating confrontation, I sat down immediately. Mike defied her orders and went after food anyway. About 5 minutes later he came running back, telling me to hustle because our bus is leaving. We raced across the street and jumped on the bus. Keep in mind we are the only tourists in this town and people are staring. Once we sit down the attendant checks our tickets and we are shooed off the bus. People are still staring. As we walk back the bus station Mike explains that he was walking down the street looking for food and a group of men started yelling “Hanoi!” and telling him to get on the bus. That would have been okay except our tickets were actually for the bus departing 20 minutes later.

So now we are back in the bus station and the woman’s scowl is that much deeper. We still need food so Mike steps next door to buy a few baguettes. At this point the proper bus comes and the woman wildly gestures me out the door. Now I’m hanging out of the bus yelling for Mike to come. He’s mid-transaction with an elderly woman for the baguettes. My advice is to “Leave the baguettes!” so he does which annoys the old lady. Then I realize the bus driver is ok to wait for Mike so I shout for him to get the baguettes after all. Poor Mike. He’s running back and forth at this point. Finally, he grabs the baguettes and makes it on the bus. We pull out of the station and come to a stop about 15 feet from the gate. We wait. And wait. Apparently, there wasn’t really a rush after all. After about 15 minutes we take off and Mike and I are so happy to get out of there we take a celebratory picture. Turns out, we only did a lap around the neighborhood and came right back to the same exact spot. We had more waiting to do.

The infamous baguettes.

Premature celebratory picture

Distance from where we originally caught the bus to where we stopped across the street.

Eventually we really do leave and head back to Hanoi accompanied by a Vietnamese comedy program playing at full blast. I turned my ipod as loud as possible but that didn’t do much to drown out the video. I was still able to catch Vietnamese “Love Potion #9” every time it played.

So Mike didn’t get much of a rainforest experience on this trip but I think he was just as happy as I was to get out of there.

xo, jill

And Day 3.

After eating lunch on the boat we had our second opportunity to kayak. This time it was just us and the guide. We (mostly Mike) paddled out to a nice private beach. If only the weather was warmer! It would have been a nice place to for swimming and sun bathing.

Haha, Mike’s face.

In the late afternoon we reached Cat Ba Island, our home for the evening. We checked into our hotel (which we later noticed had a funny name) and had the rest of the evening free.

Mike had been eager to rent a motorbike on this trip and we finally had the chance. We found a man nearby our hotel and set off on the bike. We cruised around the main streets and a bit outside the city until darkness and chilly weather forced us to stop.

The next day, (Day 3), we ate breakfast at the hotel and noticed something funny at the bar. Apparently, this concoction of lizards, testicles, and various other disgusting things is consumed by elderly men to improve their virility. Good luck.

At this point we boarded the boat, cruised back to the mainland, and hopped in the van headed toward Hanoi.

xo, jill

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

As long as it floats.

After getting settled on the boat, eating lunch, and visiting the cave, we had the chance to kayak. The weather was a bit chilly so not everyone took the opportunity. There was no doubt for Mike and me, even when we saw the equipment. We were by far the shabbiest looking kayak crew, but as long as it floats!

We kayaked through a cave (more like a tunnel) into a calm and wide lagoon. Monkeys sometimes play here but they had better things to do on this day.

At dinner later that evening we were able to get to know our fellow travelers a bit better. I’m happy to report that everyone on our tour was lovely.

xo, jill

A big decision.

Booking our Halong Bay tour was probably the most daunting decision making of our entire trip. We knew we wanted to take a tour. I knew I wanted to sleep on the boat. But we didn’t know which of the many companies to trust. Our heads were spinning.

After doing a lot of internet research* and inquiring at a few tour agents, we decided to book with Vega Travel. We could have paid less for our tour but decided to take the advice of most travelers: Do not skimp on your Halong Bay experience.

We chose a 3 day, 2 Night (1 boat, 1 hotel) tour that included opportunities to kayak, bike, cave, and hike. (You’ll notice that most of the tours are the same with only slight variations.)

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Hertiage Site and was recently voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Halong Bay is famous for the thousands of limestone karsts that stick up out of the water. The misty fog that often covers the bay contributes to the very mystical and mysterious atmosphere. It’s easy to see why visiting the bay is on nearly every tourist and traveler’s list.

Ok, so the tour began when we were picked up at our hotel. We drove out to Halong Bay and began cruising on the water.

We saw the iconic Fighting Cock islet and took in the scenery.

After lunch we visited Hang Sung Sot (Surprising Cave). The cave was large and did indeed hold a surprise…but I think I’ll let you see for yourself if you ever visit.

After the cave we kayaked but I think I’ll save that for another post.

xo, jill

*There are horrifying stories out there. Like not being fed enough food, rats on the boats, and coming back with a broken nose! I found this article really helpful. In the end we chose a company that was listed in Lonely Planet, had a recent good review on Thorn Tree, and whose office we had already seen in town.