The night before I went to Halong bay was St Paddies night & there was a big barbque on the roof with free booze. It was an excellent night with lots of games & such. Met loads of friends & then we all went to the Irish pub to sing some irish songs. Definitely a night to remember! The next morning I had to be up early to go to Halong bay so I didn't get much sleep. Nevermind, my moto out here is "sleep on the bus".

Halong Bay was nice, I think it would be better in the Summer as it was a bit misty but still beautiful. Our boat was gorgeous, really posh. The only thing I didn't like was the food because it was all seafood. They did cook an alternative for me but it was a bit of a last minute job & I was hungry for most of the trip. I didn't mind though because there are lots of smaller boats that come up to the big boat & sell you beer & food. We had to sneak this on because you have to pay a service charge for any booze you bring on to the ship which was a shame because drinks were expensive (I was ok though because one of the waiters took a fancy to me & kept giving me free cans of beer ha ha!).

We stopped at some caves but I wasn't that impressed. We also went kayaking which was hilarious. I was teamed up with this guy but he was more scared of the sea than I am & when a huge jellyfish swam next to the kayak (it was almost as big as the kayak itself) we totally flipped out ha ha. From then on I let him do all the rowing & I was on jellyfish watch. I'm going to be crap when it comes to scuba diving.

We spent the night on the boat & in the evening we got the kareoke going. It started off I said I wouldn't do anything but by the end of the night they couldn't get me off! I think I sang every oasis song in the catalogue along with some other classics. I was the only english person on there so they probably thought "bloody english!" All in all it was a good trip.

Later on tonight I'm getting on a bus to Hoi An. It takes 16 hous so it's a sleeper bus & I was a bit worried about getting it on my own but now 2 german guys I know are on the same one so that's good. Also Sean & Rob who I met while trekking in Chiang Mai are going to be in Hoi An so it'll be really cool to see them again. I've bought loads of books on the Killing Fields of Cambodia & the tunnels of Cu Chi in Saigon so when I get there I'll be loaded with knowledge! I shall read them on the bus!