We hit the town in hoi ann but there wasnt alot going on so we just had a few quiet drinks and socialized a little! Its as beautiful at night as it is in the day, with narrow cobblestone streets, lanterns and candles floating down the river. The next day was chaos as we all had to try on the clothes that had been custom designed for us..Shopping is a nightmare at the best of times but this was absurd, and, as tough as it is to admit a little enjoyable..All the boys got suits made up and i got a few items customized as well..Its going to be a while before we can all afford to do that again! we spent the day going between the shoe makers, suit makers, belt makers etc! Soley and i did manage to get in quite a long bike ride around to some of the beaches and through the fields which was quite tough given our current physical state..We took it pretty easy that tonight in anticipation for Hanoi!
The flight down was smooth and we arrived at the New Hanoi Backpackers around 2pm. It was awesome to be back in a big modern hostel and we took full advantage of the situation. We did go for a bit of a walk and purchased some souvenirs..Its by far the craziest city in terms of traffic an scooters with a constant feeling that you are about to cop a foot peg to the shin! We got pretty wild that night in the hostel and then went to one of the local clubs. We spent the night smoking shisha, drinking whiskey and relaxing on the pillows and mattresses in the bar!
The next day we were all a little dusty but managed to put together the energy to go for a big walk around the city..There's some beautiful lakes around, as well as statues, bridges etc..we went to the old prison and had a look around and got a look at the first real guillotine that i have seen! We were in a pretty stupid mood and a jovial time walking around the city (used by french colonialists to build la roa prison in 1896)!!!
That night we met up with Victoria and Sylvia (the nz girls we met in luangprobang) and had a cracking night..it was great to see those 2 again, they are crazy girls! We had beer towers at the hostel and watched man city man u in the fa cup before heading to a club in town. It was an early night for some and all in all very enjoyable!
Special mention goes to danny who was completely out of control, with poor sol having to apologize profusely on behalf of a certain incident that occurred in our hostel room!
Luke and I enjoyed the the free breakfast at the girls hotel and we spent the day lazing around the hostel, watching a couple of movies and taking a few strolls around town. THe girls decided to come to ha long bay with us so we sorted all the out and finished the night playing beer pong at the hostel and messing around at the girls hotel..
The next day (10th Jan)we rose early and set off for Ha Long Bay. I was extremely excited as it had been one of the places i wanted to see the most, and the 4 hour hungover, squishy bus ride did nothing to curb my enthusiasm. we arrived at the port and then set out into the harbour in a small boat. We would see the islands through the mist but it wasn't until we climbed about our bigger boat and finished lunch that we got a good look through the low set cloud.
The boat was amazing, with a top deck for partying and lazing and all separate rooms..I shared a double room with vic and it was probably the nicest room i stayed in all trip..Not to mention the fact that when you sat up the first thing you saw was ha long bay in all its majestic glory!
By the time we finished lunch we were in amongst the islands and stationed in our little section of the bay! There were 2 boats full of us so we tied the two boats together and as the sun came out we all got into our swimmers and jumped off the side of the boat a few times..it was a cracking start to the afternoon!
After we went for a bit of a swim we all got into kayaks and took off around some of the islands, beers in hand..There would have been about 60 of us, all teamed up in double kayaks..It was a beautiful way to see the bay and alot of fun as well. We stopped off to see some caves and get some history and then continued on back to our boat!
We all showered and go ready for the night ahead and over dinner we played some cards and fooled around. After dinner everyone from the 2 boats came together and the night kicked off! Vic and i were running a little late to the party and hence entered to a rousing reception! very funny indeed!
We played all multitude of competitive drinking games and the night got crazy! Special mention to the tour guide josh who must be one of the craziest ppl i have ever met as well as being a cracking guy..As a small taste of his "prowess" he snorted chilly sauce of soleys "hoofie", which was no mean feat!
As the games progressed ppls inhibitions digressed and we all ended up wearing the cloths of the opposite sex and going wild! We retired to our little shack, only to be woked at 7am! So they could clean the boat!
Everyone was destroyed the next day so we all spent the return leg sleeping up on the deck. Ha Long Bay didnt disappoint, it truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. that, combined with the weather, the company, the boat, the partying etc made for an incredible couple of days, days im sure we will never forget!
That night we went out to Mexican with the girls (it was their last night) and had a nice meal before retiring to the hotel!
The next morning the girls set off to Aus (they currently live there) and I sorted out some shit for uni..A little sad to see em go, they make for cracking company, but im sure we will see them again one day!
One more night to go, bitter sweet, happy and sad! Will have to make it one to remember (hopefully for the right reasons!!yeeeeeeeeeeeeew
