March 23rd, 2009

Vietnam was no different than the previous countries and we woke up bright and early at 6:30 to eat breakfast and get check out of the hotel before taking a 3 hour drive to Hanoi Bay.  Mike our tour guide had told me the night before that there would be alcohol on the junk boat but that it would be expensive so if we wanted we should buy our own before getting on.  So Mike took a few of us early in the morning to go stalk up for the day before getting on the bus.  We were told to drink rice wine because that is what the locals drink and it was the cheapest.  In the bottle it looked like vodka but was called wine so we bought a few bottles only later to find out we would only need maybe two of the bottles. 

 

After a long three hour drive where we all got to catch up on lack of sleep we finally were at the port I guess you could call it where we would get on our junk boat.  There was some paper work Mike had to deal with before we could get into the port so we all stopped at a souvenir stand and bought rice hats to wear.  They were a dollar and really fun! Finally we were able to get into the port and onto the junk.  I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had only seen pictures.  The port was full of these junks and they all looked so fun and almost like what an old pirate ship might look like, made of all wooden with a dragon on the bow and everything.  So far I was very impressed and really excited and I hadn’t even been on the boat yet. 

 

I finally got on the junk and my expectations were blown away.  Each room had two beds, and its own bathroom and shower with a door that locked.  Their was a main dining area with wickers chairs and nice tables with clothes and a bar area with a TV.  Outside on the top deck were chairs and a big space to sun bath on the top deck. I felt as though I was on a house boat but nicer than any house boat I have ever slept on.  Once we were all settled into our rooms we were told lunch would be served shortly.  When I finally went up to the dining area 15 minute later we were served one of the best meals I have ever had.  We were served maybe around 8 courses like; fresh fish, crab, prawns, squid, vegetable, French fries, pineapples, and much much more.  The food kept coming out and everything looked better than the previous plate.  We all ate so much and I was happy to see how impressed everyone was and that the trip was getting off to a great start. 

 

Oh ya I forgot to name a few of the people on the boat Liz, Jake, Craig, Emily, Emily, Mary, Pepper, Celeste, Jeff, Thomas, Ryan, and Liana.  Everyone got a long great and I was so happy to finally meet all the people I had been in contact with earlier. 

 

After lunch we all sat on the top deck talking and playing cards.  The ship was going to sail around the port and then in a few hours we would go and see the “great cave”.  It was a little chilly out and cloudy but the scenery was still gorgeous.  After sailing around we finally ended up at the great cave.  We pulled right up to the dock and stepped off and headed our way up a lot of stairs towards the cave.  Jake, Jeff and I took off first heading up the stairs.  We finally reached the top and headed down into the cave we saw the first sections and were amazed and took so many pictures.  Mike our tour guide finally caught up and said don’t waste all your time here keep going there is so much more.  We all had no idea and so we kept going only to find an even larger and more amazing cave.  The ceiling at some points looked like sand and I wasn’t sure why the ceiling didn’t cave in.  We spent a good 45 minutes wandering through the cave taking pictures and still getting to know one another.  We then went back to our junk where it dropped us off in at a place in the cove to get on some kayaks for an hour of kayak in the area.  Jeff and I shared one and headed off to explore.  The areas were so pretty and I was just enjoying the water and cliffs around.  On our way back to turn in the kayak we were coming up on Liz and Craig so we decided to race.  I cant remember who won but it was a good time and the boys thought it was hilarious to get us wet because they were in the back and it was easier to splash us then us them.

 

After kayaking it was slowly starting to get dark and our junk made it way out a little ways into the cove and put down an anchor for the night.  We all had time to jump off the boat and take showers before we would have dinner.  When I finally came back up to the deck after my shower I looked around the cove to find maybe 30 other junks had set down anchor in the cove.  It was really pretty and peaceful.  Again it reminded me off home and family trips on houseboats although I think this cove is prettier than any cove I have ever been in. 

 

We again enjoyed an amazing dinner with so many courses I wasn’t sure I could eat like this for every meal.  After dinner we shared a few drinks with the captain, crew and mike up on the top deck talking and laughing until about midnight when we all went to sleep.