Cat Ba Island

"Majestic and mysterious, inspiring and imperious: words alone cannot do justice to the natural wonder that is Halong Bay. Imagine 3000 or more incredible islands rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of breathtaking beauty. Halong Bay is pure art, a priceless collection of unfinished sculptures hewn from the hand of nature."

So reads the first paragraph of Lonely Planet on the topic of the Halong Bay and will serve as my introduction to this world heritage as I can't seem to find words rich enough to describe the beauty which lay there. As we traded in our Lonely Planet Vietnam for a Thailand version in Bangkok, I now rely on online reference; but while waiting for our junk (coolness) at the dock I read a portion about the legend of the Halong Bay which read a little like this:

"Halong Bay is the stuff of myths and naturally the Vietnamese have concocted one.Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’. Legend has it that the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon that lived in the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible."

HOW COULD I NOT BE PEEING EXCITEMENT AFTER READING SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!? =p DRAGON!!!!!!

We boarded a junk (coolness) headed for Cat Ba Island; one of the largest of the 3000 islands in the Halong Bay and supposedly still quite untouched by tourism. Although we did not opt to sleep on board the junk (coolness) most of the other passengers did, the trip itself was a feast for the eyes, sharp cliffs with tufts of green, emerald waters, eagles, floating villages, floating village dogs (coolness). There was even a chance to get down from the junk and paddle a tiny rickety canoe through a cave where a JAMES BOND scene was once filmed. The Halong Bay is also famous for its many caves which would in itself take a whole trip to explore one by one, we were brought to rough translation: "The Cave of Heaven and Hell". Sounded pretty cheesy to me at first, for what cave could possibly mimic heaven or what more hell? Oh... but if Michelangelo could have seen this cave! Be prepared to let out more than 1 unconscious sigh as you experience this cave, such textures i just wanted to touch everything! And true to it's name were two not at all cheesy sites: at one part of the cave, light streamed in from the outside; a light bright and pure, accentuated further by the darkness of the cave that as one stood under that pool of light you almost glow; this they nicknamed heaven. The second part just further down from the first was a deep dark pit, imagine a cave is already by nature dark, and you have an even deeper pit so dark black almost doesn't describe it anymore; we were warned to watch our steps as this nicknamed hell. Well i guess the highlight of the ride for me was chewing on sugar cane shoots atop the sailing junk cutting through green waters and at sunset we finally saw it on the horizon: Cat Ba Island.

We arrived just in time for the last mini van from dock to town, perfect timing for the airy bumpy swerving cliff-hanging ride because the sun was setting making everything glow. Cat Ba Island was just full of great stuff: most worthwhile room I have ever heard of (RM15 for two people, the size of a master bedroom, aircond, water heater, tv, ASTRO, and the nicest friendliest receptionist/motorbike renter/laundry man/ tour guide/all in one ever!)

I have only one complaint: DOGS. So many of them. Everywhere.

We even heard a story from one of the other passengers on the junk who had been to Cat Ba before that he was bit in the calf by a dog! But can't put all the blame on the dog la maybe that tourist got on its nerve, cos he sure did get on mine a few times =p

Cat Ba was also the first place I tried dipping "ya cha kua" into my beef noodles soup!!! Saw a few locals doing this before and OMG it became an addiction because it was soooo good! We finished up the shop owners "ya cha kua" and she had to buy some from her neighbour =p DELICIOUS!!!! We also met some pretty weird people during our dinners there, but that's another story. Another discovery: rice pancakes. Little did we expect rice pancakes to be made of real sticky rice when we made and order that morning. But it was well worth discovering, a real comfort food; thicky, heavy, sticky, savory, with sweet caramelized apples! Who needs bland instant pancake batter when you have stuff like this! As some famous people would say: SYIOK.

A certain someone *ahem* also displayed his more macho side on the Cat Ba Island acting all gung ho about driving around on a rented motorbike, WITHOUT A LICENSE! We took a few test drives up and down the main street (because there are no main roads, its a small Island) and I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared for both our lives. But macho man lived up to his name and off we went! With no map, no GPS, and no sense of direction just occasional sign boards and super friendly locals. It wasn't too hard because the Island is like one huge rock, and we were simply encircling or cutting through it so either way it was a circle.

Haih...how am I going to properly describe this particular motorbike ride? IT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE TRIP FOR ME =p

The sun was up, but the air cool. The trees passed in a green blur, the waters clear and blue. The snaking around the island in mighty curves and dead straight lines. The mighty karsts rose above out heads, and we plunged down steep hills. Awesome. I just kept reminding myself to remember and never never never forget: how amazing this ride was.

Sometime in midday we found the "Cave hospital" by accident. It was a cave converted into an underground hospital when the Vietnamese were at war. The genius of it all makes we even more at awe at these people and their resilience. It was planned out in such detail that they had an operation theater, wards, meeting rooms, and escape passages. They were never discovered even as their enemies circled them from the air.

Travel guides boast about the clear, turquoise waters and white powdery sand of the Cat Cove 1& 2 and while it wasn't really love at first sight or very turquoise nor white for that matter, it was very very very clear. And cold. We were still in north Vietnam where the weather is cool to cold, so jumping into a large body of water sounded pretty Brrrrrr... But by some science/hokuspokus/logic/smartass reasoning, macho man says when the air is cold, the water is warm ergo YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR BUM IN THE WATER TO KEEP WARM. I slowly warmed up to the idea, and gosh was the water clear that day. I could see all the way to my toes. As I still cannot swim, I mostly waddled and sat there while macho man showed his macho-ness. And as I sat there immersed from bum to chin, the water was almost still and there was tranquility....then in the middle of the Halong Bay.... I let out a historic, momentous....pee.

On the night before we were to leave the island, we sat on a bench facing a small dock crowded with boats. Some were for fishing, some leisure, some restaurants. Their white sails turned orange then crimson then indigo; and then the stars came out. The next morning we saw the same transition but in reverse, over two bags of warm sticky rice with chicken floss.

Then it was off to the little town of Ninh Binh.

**P/s: 1am and I'm really missing the food now. My lists of top food priority in descending order: Sticky rice with fatty pork and liver patte, "ya cha kua" dipped in beef/chicken noodle soup, Banh Minh, lala soup, and LOTSA LOTSA BIA HOI! Actually don't need that descending order thingy la, i want them all equally as bad. Sigh~ hungry and sad now.... gardenia bread sounds so boring next to rice pancakes.

**P/s: My blood tests last week showed what I have long suspected: hyperlipidaemia. Looking back maybe Vietnam was the start of my undoing. =p