Day 8 was my last full day on Cat Ba Island. I intentionally kept things low-key today, focusing on wandering the local streets and catching a proper sunset.
The morning started slowly. At 8:15 AM, after finishing some work and showering, I went down to the reception area. The setup at the entrance to this hotel is very odd; it’s basically a reception desk that doubles as a living room and bedroom. There is a small single bed right behind the desk, and frequently there’s someone sleeping there. Similarly, the day I arrived, someone was just sleeping on the couch in the lobby. I considered trying to get a picture of the bed, but the figured that was a bit intrusive. The couch however seemed fair game, but it also seemed to miss the whole point of the picture, as there was currently no family activity going on in that area. Still, you can get some hints of what I’m talking about.
Having my included breakfast at 8:32 AM, I reflected on the fact that it is good to have some complete downtime. Nevertheless, I wished there was something slightly more structured to see or do today. Evidently, there’s a third beach here that I didn’t see yesterday, so I figured I could go check that out. The only issue was that my beach shorts from a couple of days ago were still in the laundry, so I debated whether I needed to buy another pair. I know, such a difficult decision, right?
At 9:20 AM I decided to go back upstairs and just work on the blog for a bit, but I clearly had not been working on this particular entry, as more than two months have passed since I was visiting, and I am only just now writing about Day 8!
The Great Facebook Ban of 2025
Then, drama struck.
At 12:41 PM, I got a bit of a shock. I had just posted on Facebook about my Day 2 trip in Vietnam, and my account was immediately blocked. I think it was because I included an AI-created photo in the post as a joke, even though I made it clear in the text that I had intentionally included a “suspicious picture” for people to try to identify as being fake. I don’t use Facebook constantly, but getting blocked made me feel sick; I have more than 15 years of posts, memories, and contacts tied to that account. Planning for just such an eventuality, is actually the reason that I started this blog . . . Here I pay for my hosting, and maintain ownership (not that it is particularly valuable) of all of my writing. However, there is still a lot there from before I started the blog, and I would also miss the contact with a couple of friends who are regular posters.
Thus, I spent the next twenty minutes (1:01 PM) frantically uploading various documents and appealing the block. By 1:20 PM, Facebook restored my account. Who knows what actually happened (They certainly didn´t tell me the offense) behind the algorithmic curtain, but crisis averted.
Exploring the “Real” Cat Ba
At 2:03 PM I finally headed out walking, sporting some new glasses (not technically new, but the backup pair I had brought along) since my other ones weren’t staying on my face very well. The sun was very bright and it was rather warm, though there was a nice breeze coming off the water.
At 2:15 PM I arrived near the “third beach.” It’s not as fancy-looking as the others, but it still looks like a decent spot. I once again debated buying another pair of trunks, but at 2:35 PM I decided that this beach looked interesting, but not buy-another-pair-of-shorts-I’ll-never-use-again interesting. If there had been some shop selling them right there, I might have given in to the impulse, but that´s not what happened. If any shopkeepers from Cat Ba are reading, this might be a business opportunity.
I wasn´t particularly hungry, but eating is always good, so I resolved to wander around with the general goal of finding some hidden gem where I could get lunch. The wandering worked out alright, but not the lunch part.
Up on the hillside at 2:19 PM, I saw some sort of a temple in the distance, and I thought it might be nice figure out how to get there. I never discovered how to reach the temple, but the back streets themselves were eye-opening . . . so different from the main strip along the side of the lake.
Moving along at 2:25 PM I saw more of those local houses with massive glass front doors, in many cases left wide open; privacy curtains don´t seem to be a thing.
I really can´t tell you how I got there, but at 2:41 PM I found myself on some other “local street” which seemed to be a mix of both shops and residential homes. I suppose it wasn´t an Earth shattering discovery, but it was new for me.
Once more at 2:47 PM I noticed some more government buildings which were yellow. I was developing a working theory that “yellow equals government building” perhaps because it contrasts well with red?
I was quite proud of my architectural detective work for about five minutes, but it was all dashed to pieces when at 2:52 PM I saw a WHITE government building. Judging from the rings, I am guessing it was a public gymnasium, but I can´t confirm that. So, the new working theory was: “government buildings are yellow, unless they are gymnasiums”.
This still seemed like an understandable system, so once again I was feeling quite proud of myself. And then the whole theory came crashing to the ground when at 2:55 PM I saw yet ANOTHER white government building, which clearly was not a gymnasium. No longer a theory but just an observation . . . many government buildings in Vietnam are yellow, but at least some of them are white . . . more information is required to see if other colors also appear.
I then saw the oddest thing. There was a furniture shop with a rather large mirror. The mirror had a plush fuzzy border reminiscent of a cartoon rabbit. It made sense to me that someone might think it was nice perhaps for a child´s bedroom, but it certainly didn´t look very practical for cleaning. I mused that it might be removable and washable, but closer inspection didn´t seem to support that hypothesis. But then I suppose cloth couches and armchairs also aren´t easily washable, so maybe it wasn´t all that remarkable.
No doubt you my faithful reader have already arrived at this conclusion, but at around 3:10 PM I realized that it really doesn´t take that much to please me. I was quite happy just to have found this section where it appeared that local people actually live and go about their daily lives away from the tourist strip. Should I really care that much? Probably not, but it is something that most tourists probably won´t take the time to see. Furthermore, given that the rapid development of the area is obvious, it seemed likely that much of what I was seeing today, would be totally different in 2-3 years. I genuinely hope that the actual people of the island will benefit from all the changes.
Literally coming full circle, at 3:28 PM I noted that my wandering had brought me right back to the beach I had originally set out to see. It seemed predestined that I should check it out a bit more. As I walked down, it was obvious that this is the “old beach,” a bit neglected, having been replaced by the shiny new ones I had seen the previous day.
A Sunset Dinner and a Feline Friend
By 3:49 PM I was walking next to the lake again. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and lunchtime had clearly slipped by, so my mission was to find a good place to eat and watch the sunset.
The walk there had some interesting contrasts. At 3:54 PM I saw a “Protect the Environment” sign that seemed woefully out of touch next to the massive, disruptive construction going on nearby. Furthermore, the more than twenty boats in the picture also called into question the connection . . . was it meant to be a criticism of all of the boats? Or was it just environmentalist theater?
As if to further illustrate my point, at 4:07 PM I noticed a fancy harbor hotel that had obviously originally been constructed to take advantage of the view of the water, with its ambiance now completely destroyed by the recent massive filling-in of the harbor in order to construct a new mega tourism project.
I continued along my way, and at 4:30 PM I arrived at Le Pont Bungalow for dinner. As you would expect for a place with this view, the food is a bit more expensive than similar options nearby, but the prices were certainly not absurd.
It wasn´t a long wait. At 4:44 PM my food arrived, and the fish, fries, and asparagus all tasted great.
Shortly thereafter at 4:47 PM, a cat came over and sat across from me at the table to watch the sunset. Okay, let’s be real: it was more likely the cat’s table, and I was just sitting at it. Regardless, he was a very good dinner companion.
We watched the last moment of the sun before it was blocked by clouds at 5:08 PM. It wasn’t anything I haven’t seen before, but I was very happy I had come here for my sunset dinner. The fact that it was my last night in Cat Ba somehow made it even better. The ambiance was perfect. No doubt noting that I was wasting my perfectly good bone, my dinner companion jumped down to the floor and waited for me to pass it over.
At 5:37 PM I paid the bill: 225,000 VND ($8.55 USD / 765 INR) via Moreta. For a nice view, decent food, pleasant ambiance, and an adorable cat, it was well worth it.
Dessert and Early to Bed
I decided to head back into town to find a special dessert, and at 6:06 PM I stopped at Chang Dessert and Cake. I ordered a blueberry and cashew smoothie and an almond croissant for 120,000 VND ($4.55 USD), paying via Moreta. Interestingly, this was the first place I’ve gone to in Vietnam that asked me to pay as soon as I ordered.
I finished up at 6:39 PM. I really liked that smoothie; I wondered if I could figure out how to make it when I get back to Bangalore. Having seemingly exhausted my options for the day, I just headed back to the hotel.
However, I wasn´t quite ready to go inside. So, at 6:54 PM I sat on one of the very few public benches in Cat Ba, enjoying the evening view right outside the hotel. I stayed there for a bit over an hour, absorbing the ambiance, finally heading in at 8:00 PM.
I briefly considered packing, but as my pickup for the transfer to Hanoi wouldn´t be until 12:30 PM tomorrow , I decided to just leave it until the morning. Not feeling inclined to do any reading nor any sort of work, despite the relatively early hour, I decided to just turn in for the night. Keeping in line with the general vibe of the day, it was a perfect end to a day of unrushed exploration.
Travels with Jay 