Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [298]
Vo So Located in the Sunrise Resort, with surprisingly reasonable prices given the opulent surroundings. Salads, soups and pasta dishes are offered as well as the Vietnamese regulars, and some of the desserts are simply irresistible.
Ha Long Bay and the northern seaboard | Cat Ba Island | Cat Ba Town |
Drinking and nightlife
In the evenings, locals and visitors stroll along the harbour front, stopping to enjoy a beer or juice at the drink stalls. Most fun-seekers gravitate to the Good Bar above the Noble House, which gets pretty wild whenever there’s a crowd. For a cosier atmosphere, try the Kiwi-run Flightless Bird Bar (known to locals as the “Penguin Bar”, there being no word for Kiwi in Vietnamese), further down towards the market. Another good option is the locally-owned Blue Note, which lives up to its name with blues music, low lighting and a laidback vibe.
Ha Long Bay and the northern seaboard | Cat Ba Island |
Cat Ba National Park
One of Cat Ba’s main draws is its rugged unspoilt scenery. A recommended outing is to rent a motorbike or a car for the day and explore the island’s few paved roads and its isolated beaches. The main cross-island road climbs sharply out of Cat Ba Town, giving views over distant islands and glimpses of secluded coves, and then follows a series of high valleys. After 8km look out on the right for the distinctive Quan Y Cave (15,000đ), a gaping mouth embellished with concrete, not far from the road. During the American War the cave became an army hospital big enough to treat 150 patients at a time.
Eight kilometres further on you reach the gates of Cat Ba National Park (15,000đ), established in 1986. Its most famous inhabitant is a sub-species of the critically endangered golden-headed langur, a monkey found only on Cat Ba and now probably numbering fewer than sixty individuals. Considerably more visible will be the rich diversity of plant species, including some 350 of medicinal value, as well as birds, snakes and plenty of mosquitoes. Alongside repellent, remember to take lots of water, good boots and a hat if you plan to do any walks in the park. A compass wouldn’t come amiss either, as people have got seriously lost.
There are two main trails through the park. The “short trek” (2–3hr from the gates of the park) takes you to a viewpoint at the top of Yen Ngua peak. The path is easy enough to follow, but it’s a steep climb, scrambling over tree roots and rocks in places, and extremely slippery in wet weather. Not everyone agrees that the views merit the effort. If you’ve got the time and energy, the “long trek” (4–5hr) is a more rewarding experience, especially if you finish up with a boat ride back to Cat Ba Town. It involves a strenuous eighteen-kilometre hike via Frog Lake (Ao Ech), over a steep ridge for a classic view over countless karst towers, then dropping down to Viet Hai village where you can buy basic foodstuffs. From there it’s about an hour’s walk through lush scenery to the jetty. The easiest way to tackle this walk is on an organized tour arranged by agents in Cat Ba (See "Cat Ba Town"). If you want to do it yourself, you’ll need to take a guide from the national park headquarters and arrange for a boat to meet you at the end. A xe om from Cat Ba to the park headquarters should cost under 50,000đ one way.
Cat Ba Harbour
Ha Long Bay and the northern seaboard |
Ha Long City
In 1994 Hong Gai and Bai Chay, two towns on the north shore of Ha Long Bay, were amalgamated to create a new provincial capital called HA LONG CITY. For the moment, locals still use the old names – as do ferry services, buses and so on – as a useful way to distinguish between the two towns, each with its own distinct character, lying either side of the narrow Cua Luc channel and linked by a bridge. The epicentre of tourist activity is Bai Chay, a rather unattractive beach resort which offers an enormous choice of accommodation and is also the main departure point for boat tours. For those in search of more local colour, or who are put off by Bai Chay’s overwhelming