Good evening from Castaway Island, Halong Bay, Vietnam!

This place is incredible! Wow!

It's 5:46pm, I'm sat on the beach in a cove, the sea is lapping at my feet, music is playing in the bar and people are enjoying themselves as the sun sets. The cove itself is no bigger than 300m wide and the beach area is less than 100m deep. There is literally just us here and it's great!

We have joined the 3 day, 2 night package where you come to Castaway Island and have a great time. Before setting off I was a little apprehensive as it was looking like it was going to be a few days of chaos... However, the place is really nice and as the beers are flowing it's really good!

There are 64 in our group and around 40 in the group that have been here a day already. They have just returned from the Booze Cruise and it certainly looks like they have had a good time! No doubt tonight is going to be lots of fun!!

The view from where I am sat is beautiful! Rocks/mountains covered in trees tower over the sea and they are all shapes and sizes. It really is an incredible place to spend a few days and I'm sure we will have a great time!

After arriving we had lunch before enjoying chatting to other travellers. We then went on the tube pulled by a speed boat in the bay! Hanging on for dear life was great fun and we all did really well! It took them a long time to get us all off it, after which we couldn't get back on!

I've just set my Go Pro on a Time Lapse of the sun set and as the sky clears it looks like it's going to be lovely. Time for another beer... Goodbye for now :) X

Hello!! It's 10:47pm... What a night!

I've actually just called it a night as the music has turned rubbish and since we started at 4pm I'm pretty tired! The party is still going but to be honest I'm past drinking for the sake of it and dancing to beats! I sound so old haha!

After dinner there was Castaways got talent. Martin did an ace job and sang 'Ain't no sunshine!' This went down a storm!! Lots of other people did random stuff and then it was finally time for someone to fill time before a girl sang Wonderwall. The organisers were asking for talent no matter how good or bad... I decided to go with the following....

"What is the name of the film where a nanny flies in on an umbrella?" "Mary Poppins" the crowd shouted. I asked what the long word was from that film... "Supercali...." The crowd shouted.... "Can you say it backwards?" I asked.... The crowd fell silent.....

It when then that I said the bloody long word backwards just as a child from The Oaks had taught me a few years ago! They loved it and I got myself a free beer haha!

After the rest of the bad talent I enjoyed partying, playing beer pong and flip cup and dancing on tables! It was really good fun and amazing to be having such a good time on the beach, occasionally going in the sea to cool down!

I wish my girl was here now! I've been thinking about her all night and look forward to visiting such beautiful places and having lots of fun with her!

It's red hot in my room.... The two fans are really not doing much and I'm actually dripping wet through!

Tomorrow is the booze cruise! I'm glad I feel fine now so I will be able to enjoy that :)

Goodnight from Castaway Island, Vietnam!

Tom

X

Hello!

It's now Sunday and I'm back in Hanoi. I'm lay in bed and after having a lovely catch up with Mum I'm going to write a down a little bit of the crazy few days we had on Castaway Island! I would like to make it clear... If you're not interested and consider this drivel please do not carry on reading. Thanks

Going back to the first night on Castaways it was a brilliant start to our 2 nights there. The booze cruise started at 10am and I was pleased that I actually ended up on the quieter boat. This meant I could enjoy sailing through one of the wonders of the world, taking in the breathtaking views and taking pictures along the way.

After a short while though it was time for the beers to start flowing! The boat stopped we all went for a swim in the sea and jumped off the boats. After this the whole group, around 60 people, went kayaking into the actual Halong Bay. This was lots of fun and I was with a Scottish lad called Scott. Martin was with another English lad and his kayak kept sinking! He had to swim a good mile back to the boat!!

Once we got back on the boat we enjoyed a good lunch and a few more beers. I enjoyed chatting to two lads that had grown up in Dubai!

The boat set sail again and we headed to Rhino island. This was when the party got going as beers were thrown into the water and it was a mass race to get them! I actually got one and enjoyed drinking it in the sea :)

When we returned to Castaway everyone was pretty drunk having had a great day in a great place! There was a new group waiting for us and we spent the afternoon in the sea, on the beach and chatting!

That night I was shattered. The party continued and I fell asleep in a hammock. I then went to bed and enjoyed chatting with the lads and taking the mick out of Tom and Caitlyn!

The day after (yesterday) was really funny as when I woke up there were people asleep on the beach everywhere and there were a lot of hangovers! I was fine :)

It was a long journey back to Hanoi but eventually we got back to the hostel where we were just in time for free beer! We had a shower and then went down to the bar to get a pizza.

Last night was a great night too. Martin and I entered the Beer Pong competition and played great in the rounds winning our 4 matches! We got all the way to the final and had the crowd behind us! Things were going great until Martin tried to clear a bouncing shot that was going in and knocked 3 of our own cups over!! We managed to survive for a while after this but eventually lost! We were very unlucky and ended up drinking the winners beer anyway as the others didn't want it!! Not a bad effort for my first beer pong comp!

After this we went in search of a Karaoke bar and failed miserably! We went back to our room, enjoyed a good chat with the guys in our room

and I caught up with Tara :)

Today we we chilling and are about to go for lunch! This morning we had our hair cut and tried to visit the body of Ho Chi Minh, but it was shut!

Tomorrow we start our tour down south and I'm looking forward to the pub quiz tonight!

After a great few days in Hanoi and Castaway Island i'm signing off.

Bye for now :)