So after arriving back home (Bangkok) after a whirlwind 4 days in Vietnam it's about time I updated you on the latest. On our first full day on Saturday we spent the day walking around the city of Hanoi sightseeing with one of our new friends (who ironically was called Sarah), as we felt we needed a bit of culture after the boozy/hazy few days we spent in Laos. First stop was Hoa Lo prison which was really interesting, kinda scary/freaky but really glad we experienced it. Then we walked all the way around the big lake (can't remember the name), tried to see the water puppet show but was full, then headed to the Natural History museum which was a bit of a let down. Then we stopped at Fanny's to get some ice cream - shared a 14scoop ice cream and fruit chocolate fondue which was lush. Then we walked around the market stalls which were crazy, can't believe how much crap they pack into such small spaces. We were soooo shocked at how busy Hanoi was - apparently a population of 7 million in one city which isn't overly big. There are just people, mopeds, cars, tuktuks, dogs, cats and general hustle bustle everywhere all the time. Got back that evening and found our friends from Laos so went out for a few drinks with them. Some of their friends who are living in Hanoi on work placement were there so they knew their way around. One of the girls recommended that Ben and I went to eat at amazing Vietnamese place called Little Hanoi, we had the famous 'roll your own catfish spring rolls' which were delicious and seasame coated KING prawns - I was in ecstacy!!! So we found the others again and went to a buzzing hostel/bar to watch the rugby, then headed to another cool bar for a cocktail before heading back as we had to be up so early the next day. Sunday morning we had to meet at 7.30am ready to head to Halong Bay. We went and got a cheeky free breakfast at the hostel which organised the trip then got on a 4 hour bus journey to Halong Cit harbour. There were 52 of us, equipped with ridiculous bright sombreroes, excited about what was ahead of us. We boarded the Jolly Roger which was a really cool, quite big sailing boat which would be our home for the next day and night. Everyone was chatting, mingling we all began drinking, got fed some really nice seafood and vietnamese food, and got assigned our rooms which were surprisingly nice. In the afternoon we all got into our swimsuits and jumped off the boat (which was REALLY HIGH even though the photo's don't look like it!!). Then we all got in 2man Kayaks with our beers and went paddling around the little islets heading for a little beach. When we reached the beach we all climbed up this steep, rocky mountain to watch the sunset from the top...we didn't get to see the sunset cos it was too early and we didn't wanna climb back down in the dark but it was still pretty! We all headed back to the Jolly Roger after that and went and got ready for dinner. After another really nice meal we chilled for a bit until happy hour opened at 8.30pm - buy 2 drinks get the 3rd free. We were informed that we would be playing a GIANT game of Ring of fire...so we'd need at least 6 drinks each. We all crammed ourselves round 2 tables dancing and chatting waiting for the games to being. One word can only describe what happened after that...CARNAGE!!! In typical English binge drinking fashion it was loud, there was nakedness, there were confessions, there was shouting at the other teams, there was dirty pint drinking, people had to sit under the tables, there was clothes swapping...it was just hilariously funny and so much fun!! After we turned the boat into a nightclub and danced the night away until the early hours of the morning. The next day we had to be out of our rooms at 7.30am, so we all dragged our hungover selves to breakfast and then chilled out on deck in the sun until the 2 day cruisers (Ben and I and abotu 10 others) had to leave while the rest of them went off to spend the next night on an island. We were gutted to leave our newly found friends and gutted that we couldn't stay on the island but due to having flights booked we couldn't afford to stay. So they went off for more fun and games and we chilled, sunbathes, swam some more, heard lots of crazy travelling stories from a life-time travelling australian guy, had some more food, met up with another group of people who had finished their trip too and made our way back to the Hanoi. When we got back Ben and I went for a wander around Hanoi City again - now we felt quite aquainted with it, got some more really nice food, pushed our way through the busy streets, had some dessert on a balcony overlooking the havoc ridden roads, and got a well deserved early night as had to be up at 5.30am to catch out flight back to Bangkok the next morning. Flight was amazingly luxurious compared to the hell hole buses we are so used to and Bangkok feels more and more like home everytime we get back here! Spent the last 2 days sorting out our lives, shipping Sarah's suitcase home, and we have bought some backpacks for ourselves so goodbye suitcases and snobby travelling, hello proper travellers!!!!