Last day of the tour

Although many of us woke up still drunk or hungover, we jumped in kayaks first thing this morning. We paddled through an opening in the rock and after leaving this tiny cave, we were fully surrounded by sheer cliffs on all sides – it seemed like we were boating through a hollowed out island. We were hoping to feed some monkeys but unfortunately they weren’t out today. 

We rowed around Ha Long Bay for a while, and then headed back on board the boat.  As we were boarding, Jourdan had a bit of a mishap as the boat moved apart from the boarding boat.  His feet hit the water, but he held on.  I am a little upset that he didn’t fall in, and that I wasn’t quick enough to snap a picture.

We chilled on the boat for a while and had brunch as we headed back in to shore.  We then boarded the bus to take the 4-hour journey back to Hanoi.  Another very necessary nap was had. 

Once we returned, Jourdan and I walked the streets to get a better feel for the city and to get some souvenir shopping done.  We then headed to the hotel to relax and try to stay cool, as it is still super hot outside.

Being the last night of the tour, we all headed out for a group dinner at Little Hanoi.  We found out how much Stu really likes rice, and had a lot of other good laughs at dinner.

After dinner we headed to Red Mao Bar for some drinking.  Once we decided to get a little silly, and start shooting tequila and other things, we decided we needed to dance.  We rolled 25 deep to Dracula bar, but quickly dwindled.  Those of us who stayed had a really good time.  Between Jenga, Scoop, the conversation, and the dancing, this was a really great time.

We said good-bye to most of our new friends, and headed back to the hotel.  We are going to miss everyone and all of the good times.

  

  

Beautiful... Ha Long Bay

I am quite happy that our 7 am wake up was quickly followed by a 4 hour bus ride.  I needed the nap.  Our final local tour guide, Kuan, joined us as we headed to Ha Long Bay, and gave us great information along the way. 

We boarded a junk boat which was a ton nicer then any of us were expecting.  There was a great lounging and eating area, pretty nice rooms, and a great outdoor chillin area and tanning deck. 

Ha Long bay is spectacular, and words and pictures barely do it any justice.  As we cruised the bay, and passed some of the 2000 thousand islands, we made a few stops along the way.  The first stop was to do a cave walk.  While there are hundreds of naturally formed caves throughout the islands, only a few are open to the public.  Kuan lead us through and explained how the caves were formed, and why they are they way they are.

We next went to another nearby island, where some of us climbed to the top of a mountain for a great look out view of the bay.  It was VERY HOT!  You can get a vague idea of how wet and sweaty we all were in the picture.  After the climb, we chilled on the beach for a bit, and then went to our anchor spot for the night, where we did more swimming and jumping from the boat as we watched an unbelievable sunset.

Hoover showed us an episode of Top Gear, which was focused on Vietnam, and we realized how much we have done over the last 11 days.  The crew then served us an unbelievable seafood dinner, and we prepared for our nighttime pirate party.

The party was a lot of fun, but I am unsure how Jourdan, Matt and I finished our bottles so quickly.  The pictures were great, the stories were better.  The fun times just kept going, as we headed to the top deck.  Graeme and my little pescado Davide decided to do some nighttime jumping off of the roof.  The crew wasn’t happy about that.  When we were told no more night swimming, we chilled out on top for the remainder of the night.