We were woken up at Stupid o'clock for breakfast as we had to transfer to another boat to get to Cat Ba Island, our next destination. Luckily, there were two other couples going too, an English Couple from Frome (small world) and the German Girls. I say luckily, because when we eventually got to Cat Ba after an Hour or so, the 6 of us were dumped by our 'tour guides' and sent onto a minibus, away from the scores of other people arriving at Cat Ba. We then drove for about 20 mins before arriving at Cat Ba National Park.
We were made to follow another group after they arrived at the park (after having to wait 15 mins ourselves, armed with an info guide to the park) into the park,passing into the 'Garden of Eternal Happiness'...I didn't see one smile the entire time I was there. When we walked the 500 yards or so,wecame to the start of a massive hill/mountain (it was bigger than what I'd call a hill, but not as big as what I'd call a mountain...) where there was a cafe/bar and a 'happy room' (this is what they called the toilet... which meant I didn't really want to go in there, if it was full of Vietnamese getting 'Happy').
It was here that the tour got interesting - I use the word tour here very loosely, you'll see why in a minute. Once all the groups had arrived (possibly about 30 people or more) our tour guides explained the itinerary - I kid you not,this is what happened to the word - "You go on the walk now to the firetower, good views. 1 hour there. Go right then Left, left is slippy" and then promptly F####d off! 30 of us left trek up a step hill, which was muddy and slippery, armed only with the knowledge to go Right then left, and then just up. Half the group didn't even know we were going on a walk, let alone mountaineering. The poor English girl on our 'tour' was wearing only flip flops! That walk was horrible. Wet and muddy, slippery, no one knowing where to go. How no one died on this trip I'll never know. Everyone got covered in mud, cuts and bruises all over.Near the top, there path included broken ladders and a cliffside which couldn't fit more than one person at a time...not good when you've got groups passing up and down. And for what? The view wasn't even that good! Cos of the fog and drizzle, you could only see the hills around us, which you could see at the bottom! It wasn'teven like it wasa nice walk with wildlife and pretty trees or anything like that, just mud and rock, numerous death traps and 'endangered trees', though they'd planted so many I doubt that a lot! It's never a good sign when the tour guides don't go on the walk with the tour! What happened to the pleasant walk we were promised in our brochure?
It took us 2 hours round trip. This was still in the morning. It exhausted all of us, so much effort and concentration went into climbing it and not dying that we just wanted to flop. Think we had that luxury? We were frogmarched pretty quickly by everyone elses tour guides back to the bus, where again us 6 were ostracized from the others. We were driven to our hotel in Cat Ba Town, right at the bottom of the island, about another 30 min drive. Luckily, this hotel was actually quite nice, otherwise the Shit was gonna hit the fan! As nice as the receptionist was, he allowed us only 10 minutes before we had to be down for lunch. He could clearly see we were all knackered and covered in mud, but he couldn't possibly budge from the itinerary could he?! This is despite the fact that we were clearly the only buggers in the hotel! (I've noticed in Vietnam...and Thailand come to think of it, that if they're late, they really couldn't care less and make effort to catch up lost time; but God forbid you ever be late! You get the Evil stare). Well wasn't in the mood for eating lunch covered in Vietnam's finest mud, so I showered...and took my time (what a rebel I've become) before lunch, which wasn't ready anyway. A Vietnamese buffet Lunch, it was quite nice, though getting a bit samey after having similar for dinner the night before on the boat (and again for dinner that night...and lunch on the boat the next day).
After Lunch (or rather half way through lunch when we were given the info), we were given just 20 mins before we could leave for Monkey Island. The name sold it to me. We were taken to another little harbour and got on another little taxi boat and taken to Monkey Island, about 15 mins away. We were not left disappointed. The 25 other people promptly followed the 'tour guides' adivice and wandered into the wood (not that you could see it for the trees) and up small hill,on the promise of Monkeys. Us 4 (being Lucy and I and the Fromers, as I have decided to call them) stayed at the beachside bar and had a drink, thinking that monkeys would run away from a noisy, big group,so though it best to go later when everyone else returned. Our plan worked, though not according to plan exactly. A family of monkeys descended onto the bar and started playing and exploring,which was awesome to watch. We then continued to watch one as it got a bit braver and came towards us...and stole Lucy's Fanta! It was hilarious! She hadn't even drank any! We watched it drink it...then watched a local give it a beer! What fun! This provided the entertainment for the next hour, especially when the others came back and started feeding and drinking them too! Monkeys are so cool! Though I admit the entire hour I was singing Baby Monkey, sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud. (If you don't know what Baby Monkey is, then you should hang your head in Shame! Though I will help you out...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_sfnQDr1-o
Anyways, we eventually left island, which was really pretty but again spoiled by the weather and returned to our hotel. At the harbour we were all given a leaflet for a bar which was round the corner from our hotel, so we decided as a four to check it our after dinner. The bar itself was nice, but we were the only 4 in there. and they made us sit at the bar,so we couldn't even chat! After a couple of (weak) cocktails (which the barman had to read the recipes for as he was making them, which made me chuckle) and watching Catwalk TV (which was put on just after we got there, turning over from football, stupid people) we left early, knowing we had to be up early the next day for our return to Hanoi.
The return trip was largely unevenful (though the boat did play a Michael Jackson Greatest Hits DVD with all his videos, so I loved it). At the harbour were passed from tour guide to tour guide like a friend at party that no one wants to be with (We all know someone like that and if you don't, it's probably you). Eventually we found one that got us on the mini bus back (we fought our way onto the bus first for decent seats, result) and funnily enough the views were exactly the same going back, so nothing new to report there.
And then Back to Hanoi!
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