August 22nd, 2019
Our day started at 2am when we had to get up for our very early flight to Hanoi. My Grandad was stationed here during the war at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base. I looked it up to find it is now the civilian international airport here in Saigon. I took a picture although I am sure it is totally unrecognizable to what it was before. Brendan’s step-dad Dan was also here in Vietnam but in a couple other areas outside of Saigon that we unfortunately did not get to see. I am so grateful that we were here under such different circumstances than our family and so many other Americans during that time.
Our flight to Hanoi was uneventful and we arrived so early in the morning we were able to get right on a bus to Cat Ba Island. Cat Ba Island is the largest island in Halong Bay and has restaurants, hotels, guest houses, and several things to do. Halong Bay is a UNESCO world heritage site and a natural wonder of Vietnam. It is sometimes referred to as “an 8th wonder of the world” which makes us smile because we have now been to quite a few of these “8th wonders”. Halong Bay and neighboring Lan Ha Bay feature thousands of limestone islands and it is really quite spectacular. Our bus from Hanoi to Cat Ba was a few hours. To reach Cat Ba we also took a quick 10-minute speed boat ride to the island.
Ca Ba is also a world biosphere reserve and home to an endangered primate called the white-headed langur. In order to better preserve the island, they are in the process of building the world’s longest cable car from the mainland to the island. Once this is complete you will no longer be able to get to the island via bus and boat, only by cable car.
We arrived on the island and I immediately fell in love. It was so beautiful with mountains and lush jungle. Beautiful views of the water and other limestone cliffs and islands that make up Halong Bay. I thought the little town was super cute and such a nice change of pace from the big city. I no longer had to worry about crossing the street on foot with thousands of motorbikes. This whole place was just relaxed, peaceful and extremely beautiful. I was surprised that some of my favorite travel bloggers who I follow did not say much about Cat Ba. I read about it more from these no-name bloggers and think it is a total treasure. I am so glad we included it on our trip to Halong Bay!
We got checked into our hotel which was in the main strip of town. We were so tired from getting up at 2am we rested a bit and then went out walking. We explored the little town and found a great spot for a pho dinner. Not all pho is created equal which I knew to be true from back home, and it’s especially the case here in Vietnam. Tonight’s pho was really good though and we each had a bowl and an appetizer of spring rolls for $5 total.
That is so touching that you went to where Grandad was stationed. For you to love the area says a lot, since you’ve seen so many places! Really interesting “floating restaurants.” Amazing too that you can get such a dinner for $5!