Day 50-52 4-6th September Halong Bay - Mong Cai
Well arriving in Halong Bay was not all it was cracked up to be. I arrived after the last ferry had left to Cat Ba island so I stayed in Halong City for the night and planned to get on the ferry the next morning. That night I picked up some great food at the local market, some spring rolls, some warm potato dish and some bread. There was not a lot to do in the town so I relaxed and then went for a run(first one in about two months). I have been walking a lot but the fitness is really different, I kept going as I wanted to run over a huge bridge, which included jogging about 12 stories of stairs to get to the top (now that was tiring). By the time I was back at the hotel sopping it was a great feeling 
The next day I caught the ferry to Cat Ba along the way we stopped at some caves and a floating village. The bay is amazing with hundreds of limestone islands rising sharply out of the water. The water is also an amazing emerald green colour and it truly is a great sight. The Islands (almost all of them) are not inhabited as they are too small and inhospitable. Cat Ba is the largest island at about 17km long. On arrival the Cat Ba town i found a hotel (with an awesome view over the harbour and a balcony) and proceeded to have a snooze. This was a welcome siesta and well worth the time. Since arrival I had a strange feeling that there was absolutely nothing to do on Cat Ba Island, and I was soon to be proved right. Don’t get me wrong there are a few attractions and they are beautiful but they are hard to get to unless you are on a tour.
That night I met a few people from Spain and Belgium and had a few drinks which was a welcome change from the towns pace of which there was none. The next day I decided to go to China, I was so close and had a visa so why not. I caught a local ferry to a town called Hai Phong (2 hours), then a bus 6 hours to a town called Mong Cai which is on the border with China. I arrived there at about 10pm and found a hotel which was good. I did not find anyone who speaks English all night and then went to bed watching some average movie. Mong Cai is an interesting place. The town is literally split in two halves China half Vietnam, obviously different names. Every shop is full of useless shit and heaps of it. Apparently lots of Chinese bring over all their goods to sell and a good profit to Vietnamese.
This brings me to a point of contention that I can usually deal with but it is starting to get to me Dual Pricing. When I boarded the ferry I saw the lady holding a ticket book and she reached in her bad to get another ticket book, I said I wanted the original ticket book and she said no you have to use this one. It was either 30000 Dong or 70000 Dong(Westerner). I can understand this at national monuments or points of interest for a moderate tax on tourism but transport is ridiculous. It is getting a little bit old. Can you imagine if in Australia we charged people with Blue eyes double for everything. So you go to buy a coke and they say $5, there would be absolute mayhem. Maybe it is me being tired or whatever but they really need to respect tourists more and not just treat them all as rich westerners especially when we are travelling on a budget!
Tags>> Halong Bay Mong Cai Vietnam
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