Tray Hotel Hai Phong

Islands shapes

by SirRichard

After a while the landscapes turns out to be erather monotonous, as the shapes of the islands are very similar.
Just once in a while you would find a rather different island, like this one that had a little pagoda on top...

Swimming

by SirRichard

Take your swim suit with you. There are not many beaches around (just the one of the pic) but you will have chances to swim.
The boat did stop once in the afternoon and once the following day, so we could swimm a bit. The water is warm and still, so you can dive, swim and enjoy the wonderful landscape from below...

The second day it was raining, but the temperature was perfect, so we went swimming anyway. It was a nice sensation, swimming while the water was falling delicately on you :-)))

Platform to Cat Ba and Halong Bay

by akikonomu

Haiphong (pronounced exactly like "sea wind" in Chinese) is a small town about 2.5 hours bus ride from Hanoi.

Most people wouldn't hang around town long enough for the next boat to Halong Bay or Cat Ba island.

Despite any thorough planning, you may find yourself stuck in Haiphong with no connections to Cat Ba island.

Left with no choice, we passed the lazy afternoon at Do Son, a beach situated on the tip of the peninsular (about 45 minutes away from Haiphong).

In the evening, we strolled around the plaza in front of Le Chan (a statue of some famous Vietnamese?) If you tell any cyclo or xe-om driver to stop at Le Chan, they would know.

There is a 24 hour flower market there and at night the fountains are lit with multicoloured lights. Many locals and tourists alike will hang around the fountains for respite from the heat or to stare at the fountains dancing.

First thing next morning, we were on our way to Cat Ba.