At the dock, we all got off and onto some rented bikes. We needed to ride to a village, where there was a path leading up into the mountains. Alex and I had small pink kiddie bikes and my parents had adult bikes. Halfway into the ride, we discovered that Alex’s brakes were broken, which would be a problem. So, we switched. I had been pedaling with my knees next to my ears, the bike was WAY too small, so I took my mom’s bike. She took my dad’s bike, my dad took Alex’s broken bike, and Alex took my old bike- which was her size thankfully.
The ride wasn’t too long, and super beautiful. We were on a nice paved path next to the mountains, with only a few hills. We even got to ride through a small tunnel. It was super funny to see my dad riding the little pink bike! :)
When we got to the Việt Hải village, we dropped our stuff off at a restaurant. A local bike store took Alex's old bike and replaced it with an adult bike for my dad. We rode a little bit more out of the town to the bottom of the trail, and parked our bikes. Then, we started climbing.
Now, you might be picturing a nice, smooth trail in the jungle, with minimal obstacles and no hills. If you were, you would be very, VERY, wrong. (no offense) The trail was barely a trail at all, but more of a steep rock cliff-y thing that we had to rock-climb up. As my mom put it, it was less like hiking and more like bouldering. It was hard, and tiring, and there were many times when I thought my legs would fall off… We carried on this way for about an hour with short breaks for water and to adjust to the altitude.
Thankfully, the view at the top was so beautiful, I almost forgot how sore I was! Really though, the scenic vista at the top of the mountain was wonderful and definitely worth it. We took some amazing photos, and I was only mildly terrified of falling. :) W also got a nice long rest and met some other tourists.
After the hike, we rode our bikes back into the town for local lunch. We rode through the rice fields on a narrow path. We got very close to some water buffalo! The lunch at the restaurant was very good. Mong learned that we don’t love seafood, so there were other options. One of the most surprising, and delicious was the purple peanuts covered in sugar!
After lunch, we went for a little wander and stopped at a park to use work-out equipment. We noticed a lot of these outdoor workout stations all around Vietnam, but very few playgrounds for kids. After some time wandering, we rode our bikes back to the docks, and took a water-taxi back to Cat Ba island for our last night on our mini-trip.
We stayed in two small cabins overlooking a little lagoon and some mountains. The place had a golden retriever named Ginger, which is an odd breed to see here - though there are lots of street dogs. The place also had three little kitties that wandered freely. Alex and I played with them and begged for one, but the parents said no. :(
One cabin was more house-like and the other was a triangular structure. We took a divided approach. Mom and Alex in one, dad and I in the other. Across the lagoon, there were roosters, which woke up at 5 in the morning and did not let us go back to sleep. They were very loud, and I was tired! When I woke up I told my dad about the wolves I heard the night before. They weren’t wolves, just roosters! :)
On the last day of our adventure, we went hiking, again. This time at a national park. We were all really sore from the hike the day before, but our guide said this hike would be easier. And we believed him. Ha. The hike was the same length as the previous one, but was supposedly easier because the whole thing was stone stairs. We climbed up for about an hour, taking breaks to swing on vines and have water. Thankfully, we were only mostly sore. :)
When we reached the top, there was a two-story gazebo where people were taking pictures and admiring the view. The gazebo wasn’t quite at the top, so we kept hiking. The last 50 meters were completely vertical!! At the top, the view was breathtaking. We could see some planes, which during the rainy season would be full fo water. Wen another group came to the top, we headed back to the gazebo.
The way back down, seemed shorter, but we were glad to see the trail leading to the end. The hike was over, but our adventure wasn’t.
We hopped in the car and drove a few minutes to a cave. It is the biggest cave on Cat Ba island. It took us about 20 minutes to walk through the whole cave, and it was really pretty. We learned that a long time ago, during monsoon season, people would come here to take shelter, and sometimes in the summer when it was really hot.
One cabin was more house-like and the other was a triangular structure. We took a divided approach. Mom and Alex in one, dad and I in the other. Across the lagoon, there were roosters, which woke up at 5 in the morning and did not let us go back to sleep. They were very loud, and I was tired! When I woke up I told my dad about the wolves I heard the night before. They weren’t wolves, just roosters! :)
On the last day of our adventure, we went hiking, again. This time at a national park. We were all really sore from the hike the day before, but our guide said this hike would be easier. And we believed him. Ha. The hike was the same length as the previous one, but was supposedly easier because the whole thing was stone stairs. We climbed up for about an hour, taking breaks to swing on vines and have water. Thankfully, we were only mostly sore. :)
When we reached the top, there was a two-story gazebo where people were taking pictures and admiring the view. The gazebo wasn’t quite at the top, so we kept hiking. The last 50 meters were completely vertical!! At the top, the view was breathtaking. We could see some planes, which during the rainy season would be full fo water. Wen another group came to the top, we headed back to the gazebo.
The way back down, seemed shorter, but we were glad to see the trail leading to the end. The hike was over, but our adventure wasn’t.
We hopped in the car and drove a few minutes to a cave. It is the biggest cave on Cat Ba island. It took us about 20 minutes to walk through the whole cave, and it was really pretty. We learned that a long time ago, during monsoon season, people would come here to take shelter, and sometimes in the summer when it was really hot.
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