Monkey Island

This guide to Monkey Island in Lan Ha Bay starts with a secret many boat guides leave out: its now-famous macaques were not native but introduced to draw tourists, and the island's original name, Cat Dua, refers to wild pineapple, not monkeys. It then turns to a shy, golden-headed primate found only nearby on Cat Ba Island itself, a neighbor whose story rarely gets told. Watch the beach for the macaques, then listen for what they've displaced.