Christmas on Cat Ba Island

We had booked to spend Christmas itself in a resort on Cat Ba Island.  We had chosen it because of its private beach, the gorgeous pool and the balcony with the seaview where we could enjoy a drink as we watched the sun go down.  The resort had all of these things and more – it was a fantastic place – but our enjoyment of it was somewhat limited by the chilly temperature!  Don’t get me wrong, we had a lovely Christmas, but being in such a beautiful place and not being able to take advantage of the facilities was really disappointing!

The gingerbread church

I’ve already described our journey to Cat Ba through Halong Bay here.  We arrived later than anticipated on Christmas Eve feeling cold and frustrated at being delayed, but soon felt better as the friendly staff welcomed us and gave us delicious cups of warming ginger tea spiked with fresh lime and sweetened with local honey.  We just had time for a quick change before the ‘Gala Dinner’ in the hotel restaurant. The whole hotel was looking really festive, particularly the restaurant with a large Christmas tree, candles on every table and a huge, highly detailed model of a church made out of gingerbread biscuits.  The food was amazing and meant that we didn’t venture outside of the resort for any meals during our few days on the island!  To round off a lovely evening, I, who never normally wins anything, won first prize in the ticket draw – a smart phone!!  (A particularly pleasant surprise as, making my way to the stage, I was convinced the announcer had said my prize was a ‘spa foam’!!)

Cliff walk

We spent our time going for long walks and then returning to the hotel to get warm!  Cat Ba Town is not the most attractive place, but there are loads of reasonably priced bars and restaurants.  There is also plenty to see in the bay, with a colourful fishing fleet and many boats which are used as permanent homes for local residents.

Walking the other way from our resort, we were able to follow a coastal path which afforded spectacular views out to sea. 

Cat Ba’s fishing fleet

We didn’t venture inland to the national park – one, because of the weather and two, because there were few tourists around and the cost of a trip was unusually high.  Perhaps on our next trip to Cat Ba?

We made the return journey to the mainland by high-speed ferry to Haiphong, a dreary-looking industrial city with few redeeming features (at least, that’s how it appeared through the coach windows!).

You can see some more photos of Cat Ba Town here.