Hurry Up and Wait

All of the other passengers on our cruise had booked only a 1 night cruise. We were disappointed to lose our group with whom we had had so much fun, but we looked forward to meeting a new group of fun people. At breakfast we were advised that we would be moving to the other Dolphin Cruise boat because there weren't enough passengers to warrant 2 boats that night. We were not thrilled, but packed our bags, which would be brought to the other boat, and did as we were instructed. We'd discuss the matter with the hotel owner who booked our cruise. After breakfast we said our good-byes to our fellow dancers and, with our tour guide, took the tender to Cat Ba Island. TripAdvisor reviews had stated that Cat Ba was the only resort island in Ha Long Bay.




Our sweetheart tour guide.

 The fog burned off by about 10:00 AM and we were disappointed that we were not sailing through the Karsts in the beautiful sunshine. This was the first sunny day we had experienced in almost a week. In a nutshell, the day was a total waste and the activities made us cranky. If we had known what awaited us on Cat Ba Island, we would have gladly stayed on the deck of the boat and enjoyed the scenery while we dropped off one group and picked up the next.

The abbreviated version of the day goes like this: Accompanied by our guide, who we really liked, we rushed off our boat and onto a tender which deposited us at Cat Ba Port. We then sat, for 30 minutes, at Cat Ba Port, a concrete pad with a few benches and a disgusting, concrete bathroom containing a hole in the ground. While we waited we were accosted by vendors selling cookies and drinks. We then rode a very crowded bus for 1 hour to the national park to trek up a mountain that we ended up not trekking because the trail was so slippery, Phyl was worried about injuring her already hurting knee. After sitting for an hour waiting for those that did hike the mountain, we were corralled back onto the bus where we sat waiting for a tardy few. After 15 minutes of sweating and waiting, the smokers decided the nicotine withdrawals were too much and they all got off the bus and lit up. The tardy few entered the bus, but then we waited for the smokers to finish their cancer sticks.

The bus drove for another hour, through the interior of the island, dropping off passengers at different hotels. Finally we reached the primary resort area where we enjoyed a very tasty lunch, then waited for another 45 minutes for a bus to pick us up and take us back to the port. At the port we waited for 20 minutes for a boat to pick us up and take us back to our boat.

P- This is why we hate tours!! Today we did not do a single thing that we wanted to do.

G- I completely agree. This was the first day that we have seen the sun in over a week and we wanted nothing more than to sit on the top of our boat and cruise through the karsts. Instead, we have spent the day being herded on and off every form of conveyance available doing nothing of value.

P- Dammit! I wish we had known that Cat Ba Island was going to suck and we would have stayed on the boat. (We later polled people who had been to Cat Ba and every single person we spoke to felt, as did we, that it was a complete waste of time.)

G- Well, I guess every once in a while we have to do a tour thing to confirm that we hate tours. Confirmation received!

Back on the water, headed to our boat, the aggravation of the day melted away as the breeze caressed our faces and the tranquility of Ha Long Bay once again descended upon us. The highlight of the day was watching the beautiful sunset. We had been told that this boat was newer and nicer than the one we had been on yesterday, but we did not like it as much and our new room was absolutely not as large or as nice as yesterday's boat.






We washed and changed and went to the dining room where we met a new group of people consisting of: a Parisian couple just a little older than us, an Irishman (Eamonn) who was Gina's age, a 20 something couple from London, a couple from Singapore about Phyl's age, a 20 something girl from Boston and one from Australia. Of course the Parisians drank wine with us and we, the Parisians, and Eamonn had a spirited conversation about the one thing we all have in common, crazy politicians. The crew attempted to cajole us into karaoke, but no one would hear of it, so after singing a few songs themselves, put the machine away. The kids fished off the back of the boat, with little success. The evening was dramatically different than the previous night, but very enjoyable nonetheless.