Cat Ba Island

So its been a while since the last post but hey, thats the way it goes when you're hanging out on an island. 
Lannie and I got such a lovely tour of Hai Phong in the sense that Hai Phong either means Labrynth in Vietnamese or Elaborate Time Warp Black Hole and good luck trying to find anything especially your way to the ferry terminal.   It may be the latter.  I dont think that there was much that we didnt see in Hai Phong.  Some of which included some nice workers in orange jumpsuits which until we deduced they were workers thought that it was nice that the inmates got some time to have some Pho together.  Also saw some more fantastic uses of bikes ie carrying couches, furniture, twenty foot bamboo poles, stereo equipment etc etc etc.  Four panniers is childs play to the folk over here.  We got to see the world pass by as we sipped whiskey at 11:00 in the morning, compliments of the "Men's Table" in the place that we ate at, as we enjoyed our Pho.   It seemed simple enough to get to the ferry terminal but it so happened that it took around six hours to get there:  total km's for the day = 60.  relevant km's to move in the right direction = 10.  Needless to say we were a little frustrated as most men that we asked for directions from seemed to contradict the last ones given.  We ended up having a drink and taking a break and met some nice folk who practiced their english.  From here on in it can be assumed that by folk we mean "genuinely nice and friendly people who smile regardless of their situation". 
So once we finished our tea we headed into town en masse.  There must have been thousands of people on their scooters heading into town and the two white dudes were in the middle trying not to get run over, or run over anyone and try to find the ferry terminal.  After heading across two bridges in the wrong direction we turned around and headed back to the main area and moreso just happened to find the only Cathedral in the area that served as a good landmark as it was about five minutes from the ferry terminal.   We found our way to the ferry terminal with ten minutes to spare and were accosted by two women dressed in sweet business garb and wanted to sell us tickets for the ferry.  The were charging 400,000 Vietnam Dong, about $20 each which seemed a little pricey but we were pretty intent on getting onto the boat and getting to Cat Ba Island.  After some haggling and humming and hawing we agreed.  We handed the money and looking back on it, if we'd listened closely we may have heard "Cha-ching.  Sucka's".  We got on the boat and when we started to leave the captain asked us for some money for the bikes.  I said in english, "We already paid"  and he shook his head and left; to go steer the boat I guess.  About thirty minutes later he came back again and asked for 60,000 VD for the bikes.  Lannie and I in our fantastic Vietnamese explained that we'd already paid.  This led to a Vietnamese standoff.  I surmised that something was up and started envisioning watching my bike float down the water.  We figured out that we were taken advantage of and didnt need to pay the extra 200,000 VD.  We wrote down that we'd paid already and the captain seemed to understand.  He shook our hands as if to say "sorry guys" and patted us on the shoulders.  It was a crappy feeling but once we got to Cat Ba we realized after talking to other travellers that regardless of which port you go to to get to Cat Ba someone is looking to screw you.  So it goes.  At least there was some honesty and understanding with the captain which seems to be the norm with most Vietnamese people.  I'm sure the woman who took the extra money from us crashed her bike into the ass-end of a water buffalo on her way back................................well thats what I'll tell myself anyway.
The boat got to Cat Ba in fifty five minutes and once we were there it was Island Life for the next three days.  We found some accomodation at a hotel owned by two brother's and paid $6 a night.  They were both fantastic and friendly and seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing as we were with life on Cat Ba island.  On a side note; the lights go out on Cat Ba at 11:00 so that people arent on the streets which is a novel idea.  On the last night when we were drinking some Bia Hoi, or local beer which is bottled in discarded water bottles, a female traveller from California asked Thuy a question about the past.  Thuy said in some broken but understandable english "We no talk about the past, only present.  Now is only what matter".  Fitting words I think.  And the "now" with him and his brother seemed to be a good recipe for re-establishing the benevolence of the Vietnamese. 
On our second day on Cat Ba Lannie and I signed up for a boat tour of the island which included some kayaking, swimming at a beach, lunch aboard the boat comprised of fresh fish, shrimp and veggies, some caves to explore and Monkey Island.  The captain himself was a bit of a character and either pulled a short straw for being the driver or got his license in the mail the day before.  At most places where we docked he seemed to overshoot or underestimate how close he was to these fragile house boats which were essentially docks tied together with nets to hold fish in their pens, and hit them with his 30 foot boat.  His steering left little to be desired but we made it back to Cat Ba Town safely.  The day was fantastic as the sun eventually came out and we'd figured it was the first time we'd seen the sun since we left our respective places of departure.  We spent the day meandering at a slow pace between the Frasks[?] or islands whilse sitting ontop of the boat soaking up the glorious sun; not a bad way to spend a day really.  On the last pass before heading back to town we stopped at Monkey Island, although the tide was now low so couldnt actually dock close to the island.  This led to the option of seeing the island if you wanted to swim to it.  Most were tired and a little cold but Lannie and a Kiwi, Andrew, decided that they'd head over to see the monkeys, although they couldnt be seen from the boat.  They swam for about four minutes to get to the beach and once on the beach some of us joked that it was now indeed monkey island, albeit hairless monkey island.  THe guided suggested that the monkeys would come out once people were on the beach.  We waited, then waited then watied some more but alas no monkeys.  Andrew and Lannie wandered around but to no avail.  They swam back to the boat and said that they'd seen the monkeys in the trees.  Andrew showed me his picture of the leaves and indeed if I looked hard enough and used my imagination I could see the monkeys............................right beside the Yeti and Casper. 
Cat Ba island was a nice place to chill out for a while and relax before the next leg of the trip.  We're heading down to Hue {Whey} which should take between 4-6 days depending.  But we feel recharged and excited to head further south and see what else lies ahead.