Sailing Around The Bay

Today, we were woken up at the crack of dawn with the alarm going off telling us that if we didn't get up then we would miss our bus to take us to Halong Bay. After packing our bags and showering, we headed downstairs to get some breakfast before the bus came. Our hotel staff have turned on us since discovering that we had booked to do the Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island tour with another company, so it was almost impossible to even get service for breakfast, let alone what we wanted! Our bacon was uncooked, we couldn't get juice (because they had run out of fruit. What? This is SE Asia! There is fruit everywhere! Go get some!) and I had to ask for eggs to go with my baguette. In the meantime, Ellissa, Kenneth and another Swedish couple called Johan and Pernilla, who had all booked the trip through the hotel recieved 5-star treatment. That's fine. They won't get any more money off of us when we get back. There are plenty of other hotels around.

The bus finally arrived at 8am and we all clambered aboard for our 3-hour trip to Halong City, where we would be getting our boat. Our guide Tien, (or Sky) who would be looking after us for the next 3 days did a quick speil about the trip but, all in all, the bus ride was pretty mundane. We had a stop halfway so the boys decided that beers were in order to try and speed up the journey.

The bay is filled with 3000 islands set in the Gulf of Tonkin and is absolutely beautiful.

We finally arrived in Halong City at around 12pm and, after a quick toilet stop, (in a toilet with see-through doors - very disconcerting!) we were rushed onto our junk. (boat) It was quite nice with a restaurant area, room to laze around outside and on top and cabins for sleeping. After dumping our bags in the restaurant area as we weren't allowed in our cabins yet, we all headed to the roof to start drinking before lunch. The harbour was packed with boats, all looking exactly the same - wooden with a dragon head. This is a pretty popular tour. We had a good crowd on our boat. As well as the 6 of us, there was Rochelle (or Rolls) from New Zealand and her husband Dale, a fellow West Country guy (yeah!) from somewhere near Taunton, Nolwenn and Luc from France plus a nice Canadian family consisting of John, the gandfather, Doug, son and uncle and Matt, grandson and nephew.

Soon, we were off, sailing through Halong Bay. The bay is filled with 3000 islands set in the Gulf of Tonkin and is absolutely beautiful. After marvelling the sights for a while, it was soon time for lunch. We headed down to the restaurant for an interesting although at least edible meal. (although the fish tasted of mud!) We were all starving by this point so it didn't really matter what the food was like.

After lunch, it was time to head out to our first excursion to 2 of the many caves found among the islands. We wandered through the huge, breathtaking caverns spoilt only by neon lighting and other tour guides sporting megaphones and those damn light pointer thingys. And of course the beers kept flowing as we went.

Once we had explored the caves, it was time to be off again to our 2nd stop on a beach to do some swimming. (and sunbathing if the weather hadn't been a bit chilly and cloudy) Tien had told us it was unsafe to jump from the roof of the boat due to other boats coming in to dock. Well, there were no other boats coming in so in our alcohol induced state, it seemed a marvellous idea to jump into the water from a height as tall as a 2-storey building. Brett and I plus Johan and Pernilla headed straight for the roof and took the plunge. The experience was only spoilt because I somehow managed to strain my groin! Oh well. What can you do? After climbing the shell covered steps (which may have caused a few cuts) and another jump, (as if I'd let a little strain stop me!) we headed to the beach for a spot of swimming and relaxing.

After a while, it was time to head back to the boat to continue our trip around the bay. At this point, we were finally allowed into our rooms. And were greeted with the sight of 2 single beds. Great! Infact, the only people who managed to get doubles were the Frenchies and the Canadian family - the only single people on the boat! I suppose we can push them together. The cabin itself was nice, with wooden everything, (which isn't a surprise as the whole boat is wood) our own bathroom and air-con plus fan.

After freshening up, we headed back upstairs to continue drinking. (although we hadn't actually stopped) Before long, it was time for dinner. And we were greeted with exactly the same meal as we had at lunchtime. Yippee! A bottle of wine plus more beer helped to brighten the meal and soon it was time to continue getting as drunk as possible.

As the evening turned into night, the drinks kept flowing and it wasn't long before everyone was roaring. We accosted the stereo after kicking the staff out from watching their soaps, (well, we are paying after all) so now we could dance and drink. Even better!

Once the staff started sleeping and we discovered that the alcohol had run dry, (yes, we drank everything on the boat. What an achievement!) we headed back to the roof to finish the last dregs, admire the sight of many boats docked somewhere in the middle of Halong Bay and perform the usual drunken antics. Brett and I finally stumbled to bed in our little cabin around midnight, proud of the fact that we managed to be the last ones standing apart from Kenneth.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring apart from a massive hangover. And to all you homies out there - doh chi!