Today we got up early and drove for another 3 hours to Halong bay. This place is listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world and for a good reason!
We boarded our luxury junk boat at lunchtime and were treated to a seafood banquet! We stuffed ourselves silly on prawns, crab and oysters. Our energy didn't go to waste though because directly after that we boarded the dingy and headed out to the mountains to explore the caves, this reminded me of the dugouts back in white cliffs but much much larger and more impressive since they were formed naturally. There was a fossilized sea turtle from prehistoric time in one of the caves, it was HUGE!
We exited the cave and some of the group opted to relax on the beach while the rest of us took the long steep walking trail to the top of the mountain. The humidity was intense and it felt like taking 3 step classes back to back but when we arrived, exhausted and dripping with sweat, the view was definitely worth it!
When we boarded the junk boat again there were contiki brochures "conveniently" placed on the tables at the deck so we all had a browse and began to plan our next adventure (I'm thinking New Zealand is on the cards next)
Hoover then put on the Top Gear Vietnam DVD for us to watch since their journey was pretty much the same as ours and although I'd seen the episode before it was much funnier being able to relate.
Tonight was our pirate party. We'd all been market shopping and creatively come up with pirate costumes, some were hilarious!
The drinking began and we formed a dancefloor next to the bar. It was such great fun and I really took the time to appreciate the friends I've made and the fun times we've had.
We were asked to turn the music off at 1am so those of us who hadn't passed out from the 1:1 vodka ratios made our way to the top deck of the boat and carried on til early hours before we realized we have another early start tomorrow morning for our last day :(