Cat Ba Island.

Off the bat I have to declare two things. Cat Ba is amazingly beautiful. All of Halong Bay is dotted with Karsk formation islands, spears of ancient sea beds forced skyward and perpendicular to how they were laid down, now covered with thick, lush jungle. Cat Ba is the largest island in the bay and most of it's area is Karsk peaks rising from the jungle.

The second thing I have to declare is that it was FUCKING FREEZING when we visited. We didn't pack for the kind of weather we experienced here, but we toughed it out and had a good time.

Cat Ba and the surrounding area is, like Clayquot Sound, a specially recognized and protected bio zone, home to the world's only population of Golden Lemers and other species. About half the island is national park and the rest has little development - though this is changing with a massive resort hotel under construction on the south of the island. 

Our rooms were exceptional, large with two queen sized beds, great shower and stunning views over the harbour, all for $12 a night. One drawback is that there is no heat in any hotel on the island, though there was a duvet on each of the beds. As long as we stayed under the covers, we were golden.

We stayed for two nights and during our full day on island we got the full meal deal. We rented a scooter and first visited the "hospital cave". This is an amazing thing. One of the features of most Karsk formations is that they are made up of rock of widely varying hardnesses. As a result, erosion has created many caves within these structures. Inside this particular small mountain is a very large cave, large enough that the Viet Cong were able to construct out of concrete a three story hospital to treat wounded solders within the mountain.

We also stopped a the Cat Ba National Park and climbed a small Karsk mountain. The trail goes nearly virtical up the side of the Karsk. We went down every road on the island and arrived back in town whole. We finished the day with an hour and a half tour of the harbour in a small boat, though it really was too cold for it.

It's too bad the weather sort of chased us to warmer climes - I feel like it would be really worthwhile to explore Cat Ba more.

As I write we are on a sleeper (not) bus to Hue. 21 hours of travel from Cat Ba. Arg.