We woke up early and went for the buffet breakfast - any eggs of your choice mmmmm. At 10 we got on the boat for our 7 hour Halong Bay cruise and words can't even begin to describe how amazing this was. I had doubts about coming on this tour because it was a little more pricey, but I now know that it will definitely be one of the best things I do for the entire time I'm travelling and I am so glad I went. The boat had an open top deck with mattresses and music and we had such a great group of people on our tour it was one of the best days in the world - I couldn't think of ways to improve it.
We stopped at one point and all got off to Kayak in pairs - I went with Stephane - and followed the guides through these incredible caves to a quiet open bay of bright blue water surrounded by cliff rocks. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever experienced. We kayaked back to the boat and were served a Vietnamese feast in the boat's banquet hall - one of the best meals so far for me. Everybody chilled on the deck as we sailed through this unbelievable world heritage site seeing fishing villages and tiny beaches, with the best people and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

We stopped again and everybody started jumping off the boat into the sea - including me and I did the most embarrassing bum slap into the water Woops! Some of the guys could do ridiculous flips! We all danced and drank and sang the day away, sailing through Halong Bay, and it was an experience I will never ever forget. You should all do it!

We arrived back on the island and continued the party of course! The night went on to be just as good as the previous night with added chats on the beach with all the people I had met and an absolutely lethal game of Slap Cup - hysterical and so much fun. I have met the best people through this hostel (Hanoi Backpackers Downtown) and the Castaways trip and I would really recommend both.