Oh! What a day. I don’t even know from where to start. First thing first, the trip started very early in the morning at around 8 and all the participants were very sleepy. The bus came to pick us up from the hotel and then the two hours trip to the Halong Bay began. Our guide first presented himself and then proceeded to give us information about the place we were going to. He told us the meaning of Halong Bay and what we should expect from it. I didn’t had that much expectations, but after seeing it I was fascinated by the place and you will se why.
Our first stop was somewhere on the highway to have some coffee and to also buy some snacks. The prices were very expensive, because yeah, it was a very touristic spot. In that place Guus already had his first beer at 10 in the morning, and Siemen got scammed by paying 12 euros for a bag of chips. After that we had one more hour of driving until we arrived at the boat that will sail us through the bay. When we arrived on the boat, we first had our lunch which was of two types: vegetarian and seafood. The only difference between these two menus was the extra seafood that was added for the menu. The meal was very tasty, and everyone was pleased with their choices. After we ate, the boat guide gave us more information about the places we were going to visit and the activities that were programmed for the day.
The first landmark was a formation of two rocks in the middle of the ocean that were theoretically kissing, and so they received the name of the Kissing stones. Everyone was expecting to see some big rocks, because we were surrounded by them, but in reality, they were very small compared to the others. After we’ve passed these rocks, we arrived at our first stop, which was a small island called the Ti Top Island. This small island has two main attractions. The first one is the small beach that allows visitors to sunbath and take a quick deep into the ocean, and the second one is a 400-step climbing to the top of the island from where you can see the surroundings in a 360 view. During the “hiking” everyone was a little bit tired because none of us has the physical condition to go that many steps in one go, especially when a lot of tourists are going up and down. The view from that place was amazing, leaving everyone jaw dropped and with a happy face at the same time that we’ve succeeded to go all the way up. After taking some pictures and admiring the view, we went back down to have a quick swim into the ocean. The water was very salty but at the same time very rejuvenated, because of the hot sun that was hitting us. After 45 minutes spent on the island, the cruise has come to pick us up and continue our journey in the Halong Bay. When we arrived on the boat the guide first presented the activities that we were going to have at the next stop and then the happy hour started where we could order two drinks and receive one more for free. From this point the fun began. The guys that were staying at the third floor of the boat started to order a lot of cocktails. Edi was the first one to have three of them for himself, but he couldn’t drink that much and shared the drinks with others. Everyone started to order drinks over and over until we arrived at the next activity. The tour guide told us to choose between three activities: bamboo boat, kayaking, and speed boat. The majority of us has chosen kayaking, and I think it was one of the most fun activities. We’ve split ourselves in groups of 2-3 people in order to go in the kayak boats. The start was a chill one, we paddled through a small cave and then we went inside a big “lake” surrounded by huge rocks everywhere. Sina, Siemen, and Peer started to fight with Lawrence and Aryan, and the later mentioned had their paddles stolen by Sina and the others. The group of three whom I mentioned before didn’t remained untouched. They’ve fallen into the water for at least two times while they were fighting and playing with other kayaks. Caj was also implied in a “fight” play with Rob’s kayak and he got a little injury while doing it, but everyone had their fun there. Tudor was kayaking with Serban and for Serban was the first time going in one, and also, he didn’t have spare clothes with him, so if he was falling out of it, the trip would have been a mess after. After 30 minutes of kayaking and having fun, everyone was soaking wet, but with a big smile on their faces. While the others were already on top of the boat, they’ve seen Lawrence and Aryan coming on a bamboo boat, because their kayak was sinking, and they didn’t had paddles with which to return to the starting point. When everyone arrived back on the boat, the happy hour continued, and everyone started to drink again until we arrived at the next and last stop of the day. Before arriving there, Guus ordered seven long islands, but because we were very close to the stop, he had to chug them very quick. The stop was the Hang Sung Sot cave. There we’ve entered the huge cave and the guide presented us all of the three chambers of the cave. He explained to us the usefulness of the cave and told us that monkeys were still coming inside during the raining season. He also showed us a lot of rocks that were somehow assembling wild animals and he explained to us the meaning of each valuable animal in the Vietnamese culture. After we’ve finished the cave tour, we went back on the boat to go back to the starting point. The way back was around one and a half hour. During this time everyone, again, started to order the happy hour deal until we arrived back at the start. Everyone was talking, taking pictures of the amazing view, and were laughing all over until we arrived.
In the bus, the majority of us were so tired that we went to sleep until the tour guide decided to have a quick stop on the way back. At that stop all of us were hungry and tired from the 11 hours trip and wanted to arrive faster at the hotel to rest. The day was amazingly fun and everyone had a great day laughing, taking pictures, and connecting deeper with one another. Overall I think that that day was one of the best so far in this trip in Vietnam.