During the first day in Cat Ba, we became instant regulars at the Dolphin Cafe and huge fans of any dish made with chili and lemongrass. We also started the Star Wars saga with hopes to catch the 7th movie three weeks later in Thailand (where they don't censor and edit their movies).

We also tried to rock climb in Cat Ba, but gear and guides are sold at western prices. I'm sure the experience would have been stellar, but we couldn't start dropping bills on this trip quite yet (still can't).

The next two days were filled with trekking. The first day we walked the whole town and found our way to the top the highest peak on the island for stellar views mixed with the usual shenanigans.

On the second day of trekking, we crossed the island from edge to edge. We spotted a collection of new birds, giant black tree squirrels, and a Taiwan habu pit viper. Danielle almost put her hand right next to it. It's was deadly and beautiful. The trail let out in a little village, and the only way back was by riding a little boat back to town that snakes through the karsts of Holong Bay.

I also got a haircut that day and let me say, that was leagues scarier than the snake encounter.

Thanks for reading!

Grant and Danielle

P.S. When in Vietnam, look for vegetables. When you're surrounded by all the food local food, you don't realize you've stopped eating proper vegetables. Not a huge deal, but a healthy regular body needs fiber, if you know what I mean.

The post Cat Ba Island, Ho Long Bay – Ocean Landscapes and Beautiful Trails appeared first on Quarter Life Excursion.

Let's start with the good.

Phong Nha is a awesome park that has some of the largest caves on the planet hidden underneath it. It has an great hostel called Easy Tiger that has good live music and there are a few nice restaurants on the main drag. The town is nestled in a little canyon surrounded by shear cliffs and karsts on one side and river on the other.

Amusingly, Phong Nha has been finding a new biggest cave every couple years for the last 8 years, and now hosts the largest known cave on the planet. One of the ex-biggest caves, Paradise cave, has been rigged and lit by the park service and anyone can visit, no guide needed. It goes back over 7km, I think (The biggest goes back something like 35km). When we dropped by, it was nothing short of awesome, and our photos will do it little justice.

We also rode to a trail for Gio Waterfall and some monkey spotting. Success.

Despite the thin mist and light rain that I'm almost use to by now, our motor bike ride was gorgeous. We rode through farm land, over canyon bridges, amongst huge karsts and through cow herds.

What an awesome place.

Now, the bad, the worst accommodation I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing…

Remember that we were showing up to the national park sick with body ache and a cold. We were aiming for a private room and a days rest with pho and tea. The night we arrive, we quickly find a room, but we are next to a bar with karaoke and rest doesn't come easily. To boot, the next morning we are greeted to hammers and saws.

Fair enough, this is the life of travel, so we hiked down the road and found a place away from the noise. Unfortunately, we end up finding the worst accommodation cesspool in the history of accommodations.

The pain comes on slow. We show up and they take us to a room in the back corner of the hotel. It has one window that opens to a brick wall with a pile of trash beneath it. All good though, the bed looks clean and it's quiet. A place to recover.

But then we smelled cigarettes, and then we found cigarettes, and then the kids started yelling and stomping and crying, and then the hammers started, then the saws, and then we switched rooms and the staff are jaded and apathetic to our condition, and then Christmas music, then toddlers music, all at full volume, then random children were barging into our room and doors slamming…As it drew cold, I went down to ask for real blankets (apparently not included) and recieved nothing but glances from the staff/family as they ate dinner in the other room. I looked around and found both of our passports sitting out in the open, not in a safe, ready to be stolen, so I stole them back.

Eventually it dies down just in time for bed and we think our awful hard spring beds were the end of it… How wrong we were….

…I woke up at 3am covered in hives. HIVES. When was the last time these sheets were washed? I slipped into my silk liner for protection, and try to go back to sleep, but just to add insult to injury, at 4am, I'm greeted to Christmas carols on full blast from a loud speaker downstairs. (Who listens to Chistm- it doesn't matter.) We luckily didn't catch anything permanent from that cesspool, but Danielle came out with 40 bed bug bites and turned into an itchy mess for the next two days. Hammers, trash, bed bugs, hives, Christmas carols… I hope that place burns to the ground. I hate that hotel with passion.

Fin.

Phong Nha was still awesome and I still recommend it, just be careful where you stay.

See you in Hanoi!

Grant and Danielle

P.S. As a reminder, our full res photos are in Dropbox. Find the link through either of our Facebooks.

The post Phong Nha – The Highs and Lows appeared first on Quarter Life Excursion.