After warm goodbyes, and a couple of photos we left our Buddhist host for the ferry on the other side of the island. Cat Ba Island itself only has a population of 16.000, but is visited by 2,5 million tourists every year. We had visited the island during the low season, and did not in any way feel overwhelmed by flocks of tourists.

A few kilometers from our home stay, we stopped to check out Hospital Cave. A secret cave during the war, used as a hospital by the north Vietnamese for about 10 years from 1965-75. A small amount of ammunition and weapons were also stored at the cave. There are operating rooms, meeting rooms and a number of other areas where patients would wait to be treated. I can only imagine the screams of agony from wounded soldiers, reverberating between the walls of this concrete bunker cave. Various mannequins of patients, doctors and nurses make the whole visit even more real.

After a short wait, we boarded the ferry from Cat Ba island to Tuan Chau on the mainland. The ferry took us through parts of stunning Ha Long bay, with it's miniature islands, luxury cruisers and tour boats. About an hour later we arrived in Tuan Chau. Disembarking is quickly done, as the ferry simply pulls up nose first to a sloped concrete ramp, with cars, trucks, and motorbikes driving straight off the ferry like that.

Leaving sunny Cat Ba, we headed for the northern hills. It didn't take long before we stopped to put on a few more layers. It was getting decidedly cooler. From 38-40 degrees in the southern and central part of the country we were now feeling chilly at 18-19 degrees. We checked in to a mediocre hostel in a village late afternoon. After a meal of rice, vegetables and meat, it was "lights out".

The following day took us through some fantastic hilly areas. Stopping a couple of times for coffee, we arrived at a beautiful place called LAN's Homestay late afternoon, and settled in. Our homestay was situated in the countryside, and also had a small restaurant. Sebastian and I enjoyed the most delicious vegetarian meal you can imagine.

The following day we would reach China!