We were a bit under time pressure as wikitravel stated that the last ferry would leave around 3pm. So we decided to take a cab that would drive us and our bags to the bus stop.
With some suspicion for taxi drivers I followed the route he took on my phone and it turned out that he was not trying to bring us there straight which resulted in a taxi bill of 15 $. We agreed on 10 $ (which was still a good deal for our taxi driver) and thought he would get out asap, but were surprised and impressed when he parked the car and helped us find the right bus.
We actually were not at the bus stop but a couple of hundred meters after it, so he tried to flag down the right bus and get us on.
We eventually were successful and on our way to HaiPhong. No hard feelings towards the taxi driver, he tried to make a quick buck, we agreed to meet in the middle and he was still friendly enough to help us out.
Arriving in HaiPhong, a major shipping and harbour city we had to take another cab to get to the pier where we were immediately rushed towards an old, rusty boat with only one other foreigner (a Thai, so not even that foreign) on board.
We were placed on the most prominent spot right in front of the captains hut and the photo session with kids and other passengers started.
Everyone wanted a picture with these weird looking Europeans with their big backpacks.
It was really nice to be received with so much interest and happiness.
When the ship left port we stayed out in front and "enjoyed" the harbour cruise. The ship wasn't the quickest or the quietest or the least smelly but it brought us along the river like an old faithful friend.
After an hour or so it started to drizzle a bit and we wanted to move us and our bags into the passengers compartment for which we had to pass the door of the captains hut.
We were urged to join him and his mates (actually the correct word in this respect) and come in for a cup of tea.
So we were sitting there behind the captain on a straw mat surrounded by about 4 Vietnamese that could have easily jumped out of a pirate story.
It was really cool and I was nearly sad when we arrived at Cat Ba harbour.
We thanked our new Pirate friends many times for the adventure and were immediately received by a guy who wanted us to stay at his Hotel.
Usually this kind of thing raises suspicion with me but we agreed to have a look. And indeed it was a nice place for a very reasonable 8 $ per night (for the room, not per person).
We even had a sea view room.
It was still raining though and it wasn't looking like it was going to stop.
Basti had a bit of a stomach issue and wanted to stay in. I some food and walked along the water front.
We also had to book a tour of Lan Ha and Ha Long bay. The offers we had looked again to good to be true and from reading a few things on the internet, usually it is to good to be true. So I asked a western guys sitting in a restaurant what his experiences were. Chris from the UK was very nice and told me his experiences and I sat down at his table and joined him for dinner.
It looks like most of the scams are run from Ha Long City or Hanoi, if you book your tours from there. Cat Ba seems to be an honest place and it is less likely that you get ripped off. So I decided to take the full day tour for 19 $ the next day that was offered from our hotel.
By now Chris and I were joined by an Irish couple from Cork (Sorcha and John). They also wanted to take a boat trip and booked it for the next day, too.
Back at the Hotel I felt a bit full meself now and my suspicion was confirmed in the middle of the night when I returned my dinner back to the toilet (upwards).
Basti woke up and we concluded that the pirates may have tried to poison us with their tea.
Plenty of water and some carbon tablets helped resolve the issue for the next morning.
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