This tour is a must do for anyone travelling to Vietnam (except for you Cass- I’ve other things in store for you 😉 ) !! Two nights of absolute mayhem in one of the most beautiful settings in the world.
Ha Long Bay (meaning descending dragon bay), one of the new seven wonders of the world, is located in the northeastern part of Vietnam and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bay features a collection of around 2,000 limestone islands that are covered with jungle vegetation, and many of these islands feature caves, grottos, lagoons and secluded beaches (BOOORRING…soz about the copy and paste job, but felt I needed some facts to set the scene- also, sozzles about the plagiarism)
Now, on to the fun stuff…
Our bus picked us up around 8 am from the hostel and we began our 4 hour bus journey to the bay. Luckily, as long as I’m not driving it, I will sleep on anything that moves, so the ride was pretty painless for me. We stopped at pottery barn for a quick break to stretch our legs and get some snacks (aka Pringles or Oreos). When we got to the harbour, a smaller boat brought us to the bigger boat, where we would be spending the rest of the day and that night.
We arrived in time for my second favourite time of the day (after dinner time)- lunch time 🙂
The crew prepared stir fried veg, squid salad, prawns, rice, noodles, salad, tofu and chicken. After lunch, the shot gunning began on the deck. Our tour guide Jack (age 19 but looked 29), was the youngest on the boat and was absolutely mad for sauce. He only had three rules for the weekend-
1) The world mine is forbidden
2) The world ten is forbidden
3) Buffalo
If you break these rules, you have to do ten T.E.N press ups and down your drink- simples.
I for one, had never even heard of shotguning or buffalo- are we Irish out on missing something? I would think so, only most people I’ve spoken to aren’t familiar with the naggin so I feel like we’re the ones who are on to a winner 😉
Anyway… Before we got too tipsy, we got a bit of culture and sightseeing in and went for a kayak through the bay. And by “kayak”, I mean- I sat in the front of the kayak and drank beer (the normal way with my left hand) and took pics while Ben covered the ground work- Success!
After dinner, when the drinking games started, I won 3 free beers because I knew all the rules to Kings (they don’t call me controlo for nothing). Luckily for me, the girls weren’t around and these people didn’t know me to well, so I was allowed participate in a card game (suckers 😉 ).
Forfeits included body shots, upside down shotguns, boys shifting, outfit swaps, lap dances (boy on boy) etc. We took the party upstairs and a few people jumped in to the sea from the deck
Don’t worry lads, I’m a sailor!!!
At the end of the night, because Dominos wouldn’t deliver, I settled for some noodles the crew made me- sound!
The next day on our way to the private beach, the local supermarket rowed up beside us and we had a chance to buy more snacks (aka Pringles and Oreos).
The Castaway beach is beautiful. A tiny beach with a beach bar and some huts, surrounded by green limestone mountains and blue sea. Our island guide, Sean, let us know that the same rules apply on the beach. After a night on the booze, we were surprised at how often one would say the word T.E.N in a day, and there was always some snake asking “who’s drink/camera is this??”!
Hoooooow many…????
Whoooooose is it…????
People spent the day playing volley ball/badminton/rock climbing/tubing/playing pool/swimming/kayaking/drinking/recovering for that night 🙂 Dinner was amazing-Vietnamese spring rolls, fried fish, stir fried veg and noodles, salad, rice etc. I had seconds, and since I didn’t want a repeat of the night before, I made up a third plate and put it behind the bar-best decision I ever made! I was the envy of all at 2 am!
Drinking games started, and within an hour half the boys were naked, covered in sand, doing manginas/having toilet paper stuck up their bums and set alight while shot gunning- just your average Tuesday night really! The girls got off lightly- myself and Charlotte had to give each other hickies- but that was a small price to pay in return for the entertainment we got from the boys humiliation 😉
We slept in huts on the beach, where we had wicker baskets trying to pass themselves off as pillows- you’re fooling no one lads! It was like one giant sleepover on the beach- too much fun! A highlight of my travels so far 🙂
Power Trip 
Pingback: Happy Hanoi | Power Trip