Breakfast was served at 7am as we had a pretty full day planned for us on the boat. Our first stop as at an oyster and pearl farm. This was somewhat interesting but seemed like more of a ploy to try and sell pearls to tourists. We were soon back on the small tender boat and headed across the small inlet where we were given kayaks for about 45 minutes to venture around in. This was relaxing and timed nicely before the heat of the day. Getting up close to the limestone cliffs was worth every paddle stroke. We returned to the boat and headed to Lan Ha Bay. At Lan Ha Bay we transferred to a smaller vessel which would take us for the rest of the day. We had lunch on this boat as we made our way toward Monkey Island. Monkey Island was a fun couple of hours as we relaxed on the beach and watched as the monkeys attempted to and successfully stole fruit and drinks from unsuspecting tourists.
After this exciting and entertaining experience the boat took us over to one side of Cat Ba Island. We disembarked and were taken on a 6km bicycle ride through a national park to a village that is set in a valley on the island. A couple refreshments were had in the shade, we stuck our feet into a natural stream that was full of feet nibbling fish and then we were back on the bikes to return to the boat.
The boat took us into the town of Cat Ba which happened to pass many floating fishing villages and floating fish farms. Some of these places looked relatively sophisticated others were put together with whatever folks could find. We arrived around 3pm and decided to walk around the small town. A couple snacks were had on the walk prior to returning to our hotel rooftop for the sunset. The view was beautiful over the bay as the sun set while neon lights in the city lit up.
Dinner was provided in the hotel and we went out for a wander with a few folks from the boat after dark. We made our way to a beach that was promised to have bioluminescent plankton but unfortunately that failed to be the case. The walk over did take us through an alley and we took in a candid view of how some of the folks in Cat Ba live. Some houses were small and untidy, others were immaculate with large screen tvs and modern furniture. Even with the more upscale living it was apparent that most folks live with multiple generations in one residence.
A couple drinks were had at a rooftop bar followed by one of the floating restaurants. A relaxing end to a memorable day.
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