Special Route: Halong - Cat Ba Island - Lan Ha Bay - Bai Tu Long Bay - Halong Bay
Cat Ba Island
Nestled on the periphery of Vietnam's fabulous Ha Long Bay, Cat Ba Island is big -- over 350 square kilometres, but most tourists see but a sliver of it.
Put ashore during their various Ha Long Bay excursions, tourists spend most of their time in a small area on and around Cat Ba Harbour -- that's where just about all the accommodation is, and across the harbour road, there's a long promenade skirting the water -- in the evenings it becomes a make-shift beer garden, with dozens of places vying for customers to sit at plastic tables and tip a glass or two of bia hoi.
The bay provides a pleasant view, dotted with fishing boats and floating restaurants, and hosting it's share of smouldering sunsets on the western horizon. In addition to hotels and restaurants, the harbour road also features a handful of 'massage parlours' in front of which, would-be 'masseuses' hang out in the evenings, aggressively soliciting male customers as they pass by. A local has informed us that one of these places actually offers real massages. But we won't tell you which one.
An overnight on Cat Ba is de rigueur for many of the 3-day tours of Ha Long Bay, assuring a steady trickle of tourists, even in the off season. In the summer, it's a premier spot for Hanoians to take a quick summer vacation -- most people only get about three days off from work each year.
Even for the independent traveller, a trip to Cat Ba makes sense -- there are three beaches nearby -- hardly world class, but they'll do for a quick swim and some baking on the sand -- and there's a national park here -- again, nothing sensational, but a good place for a close-to-nature trek among the mangroves and fresh-water lakes.
Cat Ba is also a good launching point for kayaking trips to explore some of the nearby tunnel caves, and there's Hospital Cave on the main island which played it's part in the war with America, and is worth a peak, especially for war buffs.
Probably the best way to see the island is by motorbike -- there's a 100 km circuit running along the bay and into the interior, through incredibly beautiful country-side, and small villages where life in Cat Ba has gone on, largely untainted by the decade-long boom in tourism.
Lan Ha Bay
Located to the east of Cat Ba Island, Lan Ha Bay covers an area of more than 7,000 ha of which 5,400 ha is under the management of Cat Ba National Park.
Lan Ha Bay - just the exquisite name alone has been pulling a large number of travelers from near and far. In reality, regardless of the administrative boundary, Lan Ha Bay is part of the complex of Ha Long Bay with around 400 islets. But unlike its famous neighbour, Lan Ha Bay has long been famed for its exclusive scenery with an intense concentration of pristine limestone mountains by which the sea surface is partitioned into smaller bays and gulfs. The Bay is home to hundreds of mounts of which forms and beauty are completely different depending on travelers' imagination: Guoc islet (Wooden Shoe islet), Doi islet (Bat grotto), etc.
The bay has 139 beautiful, small and pristine sandy beaches, many of which lie between two stone mountains. Just imagine that after a day long exploration of caves and grottoes, you will feel entirely relaxed bathing the azure-blue water of the beach or lying on the white sandy beach.
At night, you will be lured by the magnificent and splendid scenery of the bay and it will be an unforgettable experience to overnight in the Bay with a gentle breeze and the slightly salty air from the forest on the stone mount.
Lan Ha Bay has become an indispensable destination thanks to its unspoiled and magnificent natural beauty. Just 30 minutes on boat from Cat Ba Island, you will be charmed by the breath taking view of the bay and soon you will forget all the stresses of your busy life. Wandering on the azure-blue beach, breathing in the ocean breeze and enjoying the tropical sunlight, along with a kayaking trip and maybe even some fishing, your trip to Lan Ha Bay will surely be a long lasting memory.
Bai Tu Long Bay
There's more to northeastern Vietnam than Halong Bay. The sinking limestone plateau, which gave birth to the bay's spectacular islands, continues for some 100km to the Chinese border. The area immediately northeast of Halong Bay is known as Bai Tu Long Bay. With long and smooth sand banks and clear water waves, Bai Tu Long Bay is associated with the graceful and sweet beauty of a teen-aged girl. The bay also attracts a growing number of domestic and foreign visitors to its historical and cultural sites, rare and precious specialties, and the archipelago's unspoiled beauty.
There is a legend about the archipelago that in the old days when the Vietnam was attacked by foreign invaders, the God sent a mother dragon and its babies to support the Vietnamese people. The dragons immediately blew out myriad pearls and gems that turned into grand rock mountains as a solid citadel to protect the Vietnam. After the foreign invaders were pushed away, the mother dragon and its babies did not return to the heaven but stayed in the lower world. The land where the mother dragon landed was then called Ha Long, and where the baby dragons landed called Bai Tu Long. The area where the dragon tails lashed was called Long Vi, nowadays Tra Co Peninsula, which consists of many long and smooth sand banks.
There are hundreds of islets rising from the water and many quirkily shaped rock mountains on Bai Tu Long Bay's site. Touring Bai Tu Long Bay, a day is not enough for visitors to discover these mysterious islets. Bai Tu Long National Park can also bring great surprises, and is one of the most desirable stopovers for visitors making a trip to Bai Tu Long Bay.
The Bai Tu Long National Park was formerly the 20km long and 1.5km wide Ba Mun Island. That island is part of Van Don District, some 60km away from Bai Chay Beach. The long island serves as a solid breakwater, preserving peaceful life for the whole region. The island is in fact a thick primitive forest consisting of two vegetation layers. The primeval layer consists of rare and precious woods like ironwood, teakwood, and canary-wood, while the second layer includes valuable herbs like araliaceous bark and rhubarb plant.
The Ba Mun primitive forest is the habitat of a variety of fauna. Spotted deer with their smooth fur are the most famous species. After showers when the weather turns fine, spotted deer often go to the forest edge to pick fresh buds that were washed by rainwater. The view from afar is excellent. Visitors can reach the Bai Tu Long National Park by road from Bai Chay Beach or more romantically by speedboat. After tours, visitors can relax at stilt-houses near the water offering a wide range of food and drink.
Visitors can also call on a fishing village at Minh Chau Island or drop in on Cai Lang, the oldest village in the island with its clear-water Nang Tien (Fairy) Well. People once said that the girls' hair would grow longer and blacker if they used water from the well to wash it.
Taking advantage of Bai Tu Long Bay's attractions, many domestic travel companies both at home and abroad offer tours to the site. One of the best-selling tours brings visitors to the Bai Tu Long National Park, a fishing village at Minh Chau Island, Cai Lang, Thong Thien Cave, Phat Co Island, and finally returns to the shore to call at Cua Ong Temple and Van Hoa Port. Visitors can also go through thick forests to reach the habitat of ethnic minority groups (Dao Do, Tay, and San Diu minorities) and enjoy authentic local dishes.
Bai Tu Long Bay is every bit as beautiful as its famous neighbour. Indeed, in some ways it's more beautiful, since it has scarcely seen any tourist development. This has its positives and negatives. The bay is unpolluted and undeveloped, but there's little tourism infrastructure. It's pretty hard travelling around and staying here, and unless you speak Vietnamese, it's difficult to get information.
Halong Bay
Halong Bay is undoubtedly Asia’s most enchanting destination, defined by a myriad of limestone island formations rising out of the emerald waters.
Hạ Long is also home to great biodiversity with typical eco-systems like mangrove forest, coral and tropical forest. It is also home to thousands of plants and animals of numerous species, for example shrimp, fish and squid. Some species are particularly rare and can be found no where else.
With such special values, at the 18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of World Heritage held on 17 December 1994 in Thailand, Hạ Long Bay was officially placed on the list of the World Natural Heritage. In 2000, UNESCO recognized it as the World Heritage for the second time for its geographical and geomorphologic values. This confirms the global premier value of Hạ Long Bay.
Wherever you come from, whosoever you are and however old you are, you will certainly experience the same emotion and feeling when admiring this wonder of stone and water. And great experiences will always remain even when you leave the place. The legend of Mother Dragon and Child Dragons sending out pearls to form thousands of stone islands to stop invaders still serve as the soul of this invaluable heritage of the world.
