Haiphoung to Cat Ba

Sun 24/11/13, 55km

Was in bed for over nine hours, must have needed it! After a quick breakfast I loaded up the bike, checked out and headed for the ferry "terminal" (OK, food stall and ticket office round the corner from a tiny jetty). As I arrived a lady jumped up from the food stall and tried to sell me two tickets, one for myself and one for the bike. Forewarned on the internet that a lot of petty scams go on at this office I declined, parked my bike and proceeded to queue in the local style (i.e. I elbowed my way to the front) and got the
single ticket I needed.

By now the sun was making it's first appearance of the trip and welcome it was too. The ferry put in at Phu Long 45 minutes later leaving me a leisurely 25km cycle to Cat Ba town where I found a hotel, dropped my bags and set off exploring on the bike! Very taken with the island, scenic and virtually traffic free.