Fish massage anyone? Anything goes on Cat Ba Island in Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam
By Eileen Ogintz
Want an all-natural pedicure? On Cat Ba Island in Vietnam, you can stick your tootsies in a shallow pool and have tiny fish go at all that dead skin. Weird… it tickles, but it works.
As we walked around the island in Lan Ha Bay, home to just 150 people, we saw signs for other “fish massages” for the equivalent of about 25 cents.
Later, the three Malone sisters were taking turns jumping off our day-excursion boat, laughing and shrieking as they went.
“They are having a blast,” says their mom Alex Malone. Her husband Cody is an Air Force pilot stationed in Japan and the family—the girls are 9, 7, 5—opted for Vietnam for Spring Break.
The first leg of their trip is a two-night, three-day trip on this 18-cabin boat (Aurora Cruise) that sails around the bay, past limestone cliffs and tiny islands. Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is more famous and more touristed, which is why we chose this option as the topography is similar. There are plenty of boats — traditional ones, sleek yachts, one with a hot tub, and another with a water slide, more than 40 we learn. Ha Long bay has double that number.
Our excursion was arranged by Asia Focus Travel, a local agency that specializes in curated tours and experiences. Our Aurora Cruise is quite comfortable. I love looking out the big windows of our cabin at the tree-covered cliffs and the other boats, each a distance away.
We cruised on a smaller day excursion boat to Cat Ba Island, a national park with one small village and some farms and several “fish massages.” Some rode bikes, others opted for rides in electric open-air carts and still others walked.
We were served a bountiful lunch on board — dish after dish — stir fried chicken, fried fish, rice, spring rolls, prawns, cucumber salad and fried squid — before the chance to kayak from the boat and then jump in the water, much appreciated on a hot day.
Last night we were treated to a cooking demonstration making fried spring rolls followed by a gourmet dinner-salad, two-tone soup, grilled salmon, grilled chicken with mango sauce and delicious flan for dessert.
It’s easy to relax here as internet is intermittent and the scenery is so spectacular you just want to sit and look — and look some more. Our last day we were up early to visit the Dark and Bright cave in a pristine cove. It is an assembly line of small rowboats taking the tourists through the small cave and out again—one way in, one way out.
Ella Malone, 9, and her sisters Olivia, 7, and Grace, 5, loved being able to have the run of the ship. They especially loved the karaoke and dancing after dinner.
“Bye, Bye tiny city,” said Grace as we left the village on Cat Ba Island. “See you another time.”
There’s squid fishing after dinner… hope we can stay up for it.