"Karst" is a fancy word describing a limestone outcropping. After Phong Na, which I'll describe as cave-riddled karsts on land, I headed to Nim Binh to see karsts by swamp (rice field). With 2 Dutch women, Josephine and Annouck, and Martin, a Brit living in China, we joined mainly Vietnamese tourists in boating through submerged fields amidst the towering monoliths. We rounded out the day pedaling our local bikes (my favorite :P) through misty weather past idyllic Vietnam rice field scenery, and in the evening tried unsuccessfully to find any place showing the winter Olympics.
After Nim Binh the karst tour progressed to karst by sea via the UNESCO site Halong Bay. We traveled to Cat Ba island, heralded as the "untouristy" Halong bay, where we met Charlotte and George, and Lino and Matt. Yes, 8 is a crowd, and a great number to have when you are staying on an otherwise freezing and deserted island!
As Cat Ba was empty, it met my requirement for renting a moto: no one else is on the road! Together we motoed around the national park, taking in a cave used as a hospital during the war and a hike to a vista teeming with, you guessed it, karsts! We decided to thaw out after the moto ride home with drinks and shisha at the only bumping bar in town, which turned out to be a great night. Travel buddies definitely make things more fun.
The next day we hired our own private boat (yay party of 8), to venture into the surrounding karst-filled bays, which after karst by land and swamp definitely fit the local descriptor: same same, but different.
This day was cold and the highlight was definitely the amazing seafood lunch and kayaking in the bay, the latter of which reminded me of a different trip, kayaking in Milford sound a world away.
As all good things must end, our crew had a last night out before going our separate ways.I'm heading for Laos, where rumor is it's warm! Sun, I'm coming!
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