Oh okay. Well Cat Ba island is kind of touristy looking, as in, when you rock up and see heaps of 80s style brick hotels on the front of the island, you think instant tourist zone...and a lot of shops reflect that with signage etc...but it still seems less fake and bogan than what I imagine Bali and Thailand to be these days. I kind of wanted to stay on Cat Ba and party there at bars but our schedule didn't allow for it (the whole trip to Vietnam was done on improv and booked the day before we went there), so was literally only there for food and to book our kayak tour. Then jumped on a very rickety boat and nek minut hidden island paradise that reminded me of that movie the beach but a tad more organised. Was like $200 for everything over the few days?
Shit there's not enough lifetimes to see the world. I would easily spend one of those lives just living in Vietnam. Then you go and think how many countries are out there easy to see why people get the travel bug but melancholic to know you'll never see it all no matter how much you travel.