The Wenzel’s Big Adventure

We left the mainland after two weeks to go to the island of Cat Ba. The trip to the island consisted of a 5-hour bus ride, a 30-minute ferry ride, and a 30-minute minibus ride. The driver whipped the bus around the winding roads as if on an F1 racing track. There were a few instances when rounding a seaside corner on two wheels; we thought this was it and were going over.  Surprisingly, Jack was the only clan member to puke.  He and Hadley inherited Corey’s motion sickness gene, so we must keep a healthy supply of plastic bags, Zofran and chocolate. Chocolate because Jack doesn’t like the mint taste of the Zofran, but when it’s mixed with a bit of chocolate, no problem.  

The island of Cat Ba is located off Vietnam’s east coast near Ha Long and Lan Ha Bays. A staggering 367 islands surround it! Visitors can either take a ferry/car ferry or cable car to the island.  The island is quiet and beautiful, with a manageable amount of resort development. Unfortunately, that is set to change over the next 5-10 years. A local we spoke with said there are plans to extend the cable car system from the island’s north side to the south through the National Forest (which covers half the island). The corporations responsible for the “resortification” of Phu Quoc have set their eyes on and claws into Cat Ba. On the one hand, the development is good for their economy, but it is sad because of the effects of over-tourism. 

We stayed in a hotel in the town center, about a 5-minute walk from everything. The place had terrific staff, a delicious breakfast, and a decent vegetarian restaurant. However, it did not have a pool, and the twins were not happy about this; they’d become accustomed to having one. The hotel also had a cat that would saunter around during breakfast time. The kids wanted to touch it, but we had strict rules for not petting cats and dogs in Southeast Asia; we didn’t want them to get bit, scratched, or worms. 

Unfortunately, the rainy season had finally caught up to us, and the forecast for our time on Cat Ba was wet; it rained 3 out of the 4 days we were there. Each day’s temperature was above 30, but it was accompanied by rains that turned the street into raging rivers.  We realized there would be a good chance we’d get wet at whatever activity we decided, but we weren’t worried; we had rain jackets.  Well, most of us did.  I brought a coat I thought was waterproof, but it turned out to be water-resistant; these are not the same things as I found out on our first scooter ride. 

On our first day, we rented scooters from our hotel. The staff informed us that it was supposed to rain all day, but we referenced our super-reliable weather app and found that we should have a break in the rain, allowing us to explore the island. Like most rentals (bike or car), they were given to us with about a tablespoon of fuel in the tank: just enough to get you to a petrol station.  After a few wrong turns, we located one and arrived at it just a bit damp (mostly, I was wet- this is where I figured out my coat was useless in the rain).  The attendant filling our bikes pointed to the sky and said, “Today it rains; not a good day for riding scooters.” You’d think we would have heeded their advice and that of our hotel staff, but no, we were determined.  As Corey put it, “A little rain never hurt anyone.” 

We planned to drive to Hospital Cave, around 30 minutes from the townsite and then continue into the National Forest. The trees in that forest would offer us cover from the rain if need be. We made it about 10 minutes from town, and the heavens decided to open up. We found a grove of trees near a building to shelter under.  The rain passed, and we continued up the road, heading towards a pass through the mountains.  Halfway up the pass, I pulled out on a turnout to check on the team.  The areas protected by Hadly, Jack and Corey’s coats were still dry, but their legs and hands were pretty wet. And I was completely soaked.  My bike was also starting to act up, so we admitted defeat and headed back to the hotel. 

Arriving at our hotel, looking like drowned rats, brought smiles to our hotel staff’s faces. “Lots of rain today,” they said as we tracked water through the lobby. Back in the room, we changed and hung our clothes to dry. Even though it was 30 degrees outside, it was 100% humidity, and our clothes never fully dried—first-world problems when on an island. 

We were still determined to make it to our destination. The staff and our weather app agreed there would be a break in the rain. We made our second attempt after a quick meal, a bike change (for me), and our newly purchased single-use plastic ponchos. Our persistence paid off, and we made it to the Hospital Cave. We encountered a few more “small showers,” but nothing that could slow us down. 

Quan Y Cave, also known as Hospital Cave, was the location of a bomb-proof hospital and safe house for leaders of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. The three-story structure inside the cave included 17 rooms, one of which was an operating room, another a large training area for approximately 200 soldiers and even a swimming pool. We could walk through and view the first two levels, but the upper level (level 3) was off-limits to visitors. Some rooms had very realistic-looking mannequins (so realistic they were borderline creepy). The tunnel had two entrances, and both were up fairly steep paths. Getting an injured individual up one would have been quite tricky. 

Sadly, we didn’t make it any further into the National Forest. It was getting late in the day, and we didn’t want to get caught out in the park in the rain. We returned to town, stopped at a small market to walk around, and finally returned to the hotel. 

The next day, we didn’t make it too far. We explored the town and stopped at a high-rise hotel with a rooftop pool. Corey and I had a couple of beers and spring rolls while the kids tormented people in the pool. The tallest building in Cat Ba provided a beautiful view of the city and Lan Ha Bay. 

Our last day on Cat Ba was fantastic. We went on a boat trip around Lan Ha and Ha Long Bays with around 25 other tourists. Typically, we’re not big on group functions, but this one was quite fun. The tour operator who had been putting this tour on for 15 years was a native of the island but could not swim. His partner, Joe, a gent from Great Britain, had been with him for seven years and could swim. He enjoyed giving the kids a hard time, and they loved him for it and gave it right back. 

At our first stop, Corey and I displayed our superb swimming skills; given the chance, we’d give Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky a run for their money.  We slapped some lifejackets on the kids and then swam with them in tow 500m from our boat to a small island. On the island, Hadley and I crawled through a small tunnel where I almost got my big, burly shoulders stuck. The guide then had us swim another couple hundred meters to a secret beach on the other side of the island before returning to the boat. On the second swim, the kids started trying to swim independently.  The slightly oversized lifejackets held them back, that and being five and trying to swim against an ocean current.  Even still, they swam better than other adults on the tour.  

After the swim, we were taken to a floating village and separated into kayaks; Hadley was with Corey, and I was with Jack.  Interestingly, Corey was our family’s only member with previous kayak experience.  The route Joe took us through was amazing.  We went alongside towering rock formations islands, through caves to hidden lagoons full of Fire Jellyfish, and while we were heading back, we saw a family of monkeys playing in the trees alongside the water.  Jack and I had the pleasure of being behind a pair of men who operated a kayak as well as they swam, which was poorly.  In the first cave pass, they kept running into us, even though it was 25’ wide, and at one point pushed us into a stalactite because the back guy was filming the front guy (who could not figure out which end of his paddles to put in the water).  I politely reminded them that they were not the only ones going through the cave and asked them to go behind us if they needed to do some filming.  They apologized and chose instead to speed up and try to get to the front of the group.  For most in the group, entrance to the next cave was delayed because these two superstars had somehow got themselves going backwards and couldn’t figure out how to turn around. I must note that these guys were not drunk; they could not do watersports.  Joe eventually turned them around and ushered everyone into the hidden lagoon.  

Before loading the boat for lunch, we stopped on the floating village to witness people feeding a 300lb grouper fish. It was a sight to see; if you weren’t careful, it would bite your whole arm off.  Naturally, Jack wanted to feed this fish, but I felt it would have eaten him if he fell in and let him know he couldn’t. At first, he was sad, but then he saw the ferocity of the fish when it came up for a snack, and he quickly agreed with me.  The fish lives in a cage under the village and is a sign of good luck. In 2020, the cage that holds the fish broke, allowing it to escape; despite this, it chose to stay. 

At lunch, we sat with a gentleman and his two sons.  The father was originally from Israel but had moved to Scotland many years ago.  His eldest son had just finished a year of university studies abroad in Singapore, and his youngest had just graduated high school.  They were charming, and we enjoyed dining with them.  The father and oldest son were vegetarians, and when the chef brought out the first meal, they asked if the dishes were vegetarian-friendly. The chef smiled and said, “Sure”. Tasting a few of the dishes, they quickly realized that they had been cooked in fish sauce and tomato paste, which anchovies are a main ingredient in Vietnam (and possibly other places).  They didn’t fuss about it and still ate the veggie dishes provided. 

Once lunch was finished, we headed back to the open waters.  Floating along, belly full and soaking in the odd ray of sunshine poking through the clouds, we had achieved the optimal criteria for enjoying a beer.  Unfortunately, we were boating amateurs and did not bring enough cash.  Dehydrated after our big morning swim, we had rehydrated with a beer, unknowingly depleting our cash stores.  As there was no interact/tap available on our boat, this ended up being our one and only boat beer, a sad moment. 

The last stop activity of the day was another swim stop.  The boat parked another 400-500m from an island with a small beach and about 1km from an island called Monkey Island. Joe mentioned that tourists are not supposed to visit the island and can get fined if found on it. A bunch of us chose to stick and swim around the boat.  The two super-kayakers I mentioned earlier argued with Joe, saying they wanted to come, but he would not let them.  He reminded them that they were still using life jackets (because they were not strong swimmers) and could not keep up with the group that was going.  Admitting defeat, they stayed at the boat with the rest of us.  

The highlight of Jack’s day was at this stop.  There were three options for entering the water from the boat: going down the stairs at the back, jumping off the front, which was an 8’ drop or jumping off the upper deck, which was a 16’ drop.  Jack worked up the nerve to jump off the front and eventually off the top; he absolutely loved it!!  He had a lifejacket on, and either Corey or I would be in the water where he was jumping. He and a couple of us were the only ones that would go off the top.  I’m sure parents out there would chastise us for letting him do it, but I was so proud of how fearless he was. Hadley also jumped off the boat, but she stuck to the front.  As most know, she’s pretty accident-prone, so we weren’t upset when she said she didn’t want to go off the top.  The crew that swam to Monkey Island eventually returned, and we started returning to Ca Ba Island.  On the way, Joe gave us a bit of a backstory on Monkey Island. 

Before Covid, people would visit and stay at a single resort on the island.  While there, they would feed the monkeys, which resulted in them relying on the humans for food. We saw this practice at lots of our other stops.  For obvious reasons, the monkeys became a problem and destroyed the resort while it was closed during COVID.  The government felt this was a problem and exterminated most of the older monkeys, leaving the younger ones to figure out how to live in the wild; once again, human interaction with wildlife is such a careless act. The resort never reopened, and tourists are not allowed on the island.  Anyone found there can get in big trouble.  

On the way back to Cat Ba, we floated through the floating village of Cai Beo.  The entire village floats on pontoons and styrofoam blocks.  Walkways act as sidewalks, physically connecting each dwelling and providing a space for dogs to run up and down.  The village operates as any other, but they have large fish cages instead of a front lawn.  You can even stay in the village.  I saw options for it when researching places to stay on the island. Joe told us that the kids are transported to the mainland for school daily, and some people always remain in the village.  If they are on the mainland for too long, they will get “land sickness” as their bodies need the motion of the ocean.