The bus came to pick us up at 07:30, we put both our things into Daniel's backpack and i took my day sack so we left the rest of our luggage at our hotel to pick up when we get back. The bus was almost full but we got two seats together and went to pick up some more passengers. Our tour guide introduced himself as Doung (pronounced zoong) and he was very friendly and told us a few jokes while on the bus to Halong City. One of them was about dutch lady milk, i didn't get the joke at all but not sure if it's because of his english or because it was just a s*** joke.

We had a stop off in another art factory where disabled people work to look around. There were many stone statues outside and inside were pretty coasters and vietnamese style embroidery on pieces of cloth as well as some clothes as jewellery, mainly selling jewelled pieces with gems. We got back on the bus for another few hours until we reached Halong City. Before we even got off the bus there was a crowd of tourists lining up to get on which annoyed me as they literally ran to the front.

Doung went to buy our tickets while we all waited at the port. There were dozens of small boats lined up and hundred of people. The weather was overcast with not a bit of sun peering out which is a shame but i don't think it will take the beauty away from halong bay. We were handed our tickets and proceeded onto a small boat where we all had to put on life jackets. The small boat transferred us to our Halong Dragon Cruise boat and we all got off with the help of the workers and as we approached there was a young man smiling and waving at us.

We all headed up the steps on the boat to the restaurant which was set out for lunch. We received a welcome drink of mirinda in a china cup while being told out itinerary for the day: check into rooms, visit the amazing cave, then onto the beach and back to the big boat for some kayaking; quite a jam packed day! We were handed the key to our room which was back down the stairs under the restaurant.

When i walked in i was surprised at how nice the room was. We had a window with the view of the sea and all the limestone mountains dotted around it, a double bed, a fan and a really nice bathroom with hot water and freebies. They decorated the room nicely too and we had life jackets in the cupboard incase of an emergency as well as a hammer by the door. We changed and came back up for lunch where we all sat in groups on different tables.

On our table were a couple from Switzerland called Rebecca and Martin and an Australian man called Darryl who is teaching English in hanoi and with him his "friend" Agoos an Indonesian mining engineer living in Laos. The first dish to be brought to us was a small bowl of shrimp soup which tasted absolutely amazing, i could have had ten of them! We also had crispy fried pork, crispy sesame seed fried chicken, pork and veg, rice and a plate of sauteed vegetables. There was too much food for all of us to eat but we did our best.

After lunch we retired upstairs to the sun deck to take in the amazing view around us. We sailed passed many limestone rocks, some of which were huge and others slightly smaller. We got talking to the Darryl while smoking and we spoke about his job and his plans for afterwards. He has been teaching English (with a degree) for a year already and plans to do another year. This is his second trip to Halong Bay so he told us about the cave we are visiting and that there is a massive stalagmite shaped like a penis. His friend Agoos ordered a cocktail which looked like it had come straight from the 80s complete with a slice of like and a cherry.

Because we can't dock our cruise boat to where the cave is we had to all get back on a smaller boat to take us there. We stepped off and saw so many tourists all coming off their own boats and heading up the one hundred and something steps to the cave. Doung bought our tickets and we began the journey up the stone steps. There was a viewing point before entering the cave for photo opportunities and once the crows cleared, we got Agoos to take a photo of us together before descending into the cave.

We were walking behind a young Australian couple who had a beer in their hand and absolutely reeked of the stuff, god love em. When we got into the cave it reminded me a bit of paradise cave, just not as big. There were different coloured lights lit up all around and a pathway where people were stopping to take photos. It wasn't a very big cave and we were in and out in around ten minutes. It wasn't as impressive as paradise cave either but there were weird formations that indented inwards on the roof of the cave, which was made by the suction of water. We were pointed out different rock formations which resembled a couple kissing and a lion although i couldn't really see it much.

I didn't see the large penis. I was looking out for it but had no luck. Once we got back on the boat Darryl said it was right near the beginning but i guess i wasn't looking for it that hard. We all got back on the boat and put on the bright orange life jackets to take us to a small beach. The beach we were originally meant to go to was full of people so our tour guide arranged to take us to a different one which is less busy. We saw a lot of rubbish floating around which is a shame because it ruins the natural beauty of the place.

We arrived at the beach and everyone got off. Dan and I didn't fancy getting in the water so instead we climbed up the stairs to the top of the mountain. A lot of it was trekking because the stairs only took you so far and i was sweating buckets but the view was worth it when we reached the top. We took a few photos and one of the Swiss couple to email to them after as they didn't bring their camera. After catching my breathe and taking in the view of the limestone islands surrounding us we trekked back down which was harder than coming up and we slipped a few times. The american couple from Florida also trekked up with their super expensive slr camera and took some photos. The man reminds us of james from balans if he was straight with a lot more muscles.

When we got back down we sat by the beach for a while until it was time to head back. It was getting quite late so we were scared we wouldn't have much time to kayak around the islands. We all got back on the boat and headed to our bigger boat. When we got back on there were china cups half filled with Dalat red wine, compliments of the tour company which didn't take long to finish. They had cut up some fresh watermelon for us as well which went down nicely as i was so thirsty, my fault for not bringing a bottle of water with us during the cave visit!

I headed back to our room to change into a bikini and shorts and we waited for the kayaks to be delivered to our boat by a smaller one. I was nervous about getting in so Daniel got in first to try and steady it a bit more and the man held my hand as i carefully lowered myself into the small seat while Rebecca handed me my rusty paddle and we were off.

It was harder than i remembered, although the only other time i did kayaking was in Barbados with my mum and i was the only one doing the work because every time i looked over my shoulder she was sitting with her head back catching the sun. Daniel did the same, he would paddle with me for a bit then randomly stop to let me do the work, probably wasn't intentionally. We crashed into the two german girls as well as Darryl who was losing his patience with Agoos and said he hasn't got a f***ing idea what he's doing, all in good humour.

It was getting dark pretty quickly and when the sun had gone in we were gestured back onto the boat by them workers. We only got to go around two islands which was a shame but it is so bloody tiring i don't know if i could have lasted any longer! Now, to get out of the kayak. Daniel got out first and walked off so the two men had to steady the kayak and hold my hand to help me out, i was scared my feet would slip and i would end up in the water which isn't ideal as i spotted a big jellyfish in the sea before we went kayaking.

When we got back to the room i had a nice, hot shower before strapping a zoot to smoke before dinner. When we had both showered, we headed upstairs where Doung had set up a table with ingredients to make fresh spring rolls. We were handed a happy hour menu with cocktails for 40,000VD- $2! But as i only brought around 200,000VD i couldn't really afford one so instead we both got a small can of "bia han oi".

Firstly, we were shown how to make pretty flowers and swans out of carrots and a rose out of tomato peel which was a bit pointless as none of us would remember how to do it when we get home. He worked the knife so skilfully making incisions in the carrot before revealing the final piece, he must have some chef experience as he really knew how to handle the knife. He then went on to teach us how to make the dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls. It goes as follows:
Two spoons water (he was using a ladle however)
One spoon of fish sauce
Some salt
A heap of sugar
One spoon of white vinegar
Finely chopped garlic and chilli

Once the sauce was prepared, we went on to show us how to make the fresh spring rolls. He started by using a sheet of rice paper and filling it with steamed shrimp and squid, shaved carrots and herbs such as parsley. He wrapped lots of them up with the help of one of the boys working on the bus and we all got two each. They were very tasty and healthy but i still prefer them deep fried.

After the spring rolls came dinner. First we were handed chicken soup to my delight which tasted amazing, although not as delicious as the shrimp soup we had for lunch. With the soup was a plate of fresh prawn crackers and the dishes just kept coming. We had rice, fried fish, vegetables, tofu and chicken. Every dish was so delicious but Doung knew how much we enjoyed the soup and left the big bowl of it in front of me to help myself, and i did, three times. We had the same group on our table as lunch which made conversation a bit easier, except for Martin as his english isn't the best so Rebecca translates for him.

When everyone finished dinner, me Darryl and Daniel retired to the sun deck for a cigarette and we were later joined by Agoos, Rebecca and Martin. It was pitch black outside but you could still make out the outline of the limestone islands surrounding us. There must have been around 30 other boats docked where we were so we were surrounded by the pretty lights from the boats reflecting off the water, it looked almost magical, very majestic. The german girls joined us later on as well as the french couple.

One of the german girls had an unsual accent and it turns out she's been living in sydney for a year which explains it. The timid french couple were speaking about what they do and where their travels have taken them when she said very softly that they practise martial arts and she lived in vietnam for 10 months beforehand practising the art form. She invited us all to do slow thai chi in the morning before breakfast, around 06:00 to which most of us laughed at. She also was explaining an injury her husband had occurred from fighting and she asked us "what do you call ze finger of ze foot?" Really innocently and i tried my hardest not to burst into laughter and you could hear sniggers travelling around the circle from everyone.

Darryl turned to me and said "do you smoke pot?" And at that moment i think i found my gay best friend, it was an "i though you'd never ask!" Moment so we both went into our rooms to roll a spliff each. We met again on the sun deck with everyone and sparked up and i could see the faces of everyone, its the face people make when they smell weed and they examine the different sticks people are smoking for a joint. We passed them around the group but the french couple didn't have any, which didn't surprise me, neither did Rebecca.

One of the german girls was egging on the french couple to show us some of their martial arts and so Agoos joined her saying "the boat is yours!". They promised they would do it tomorrow morning before breakfast as it's not good to do it with a full stomach. Darryl was making me laugh so much, i think the concoction of weed and beer had made him even funnier than when he's sober. I was teaching him to do the rub your belly and pat your head at the same time and he said he could never grasp it but got there in the end and so i said that apparently, if you manage that, you have the ability to fly a plane to which he replied "yeah for Malaysia airlines" very tongue in cheek and he knew that but we all laughed anyway. We could hear Doung playing the guitar and singing downstairs and wondered if there's anything he can't do? He's a tour guide, a chef, a magician and now a musician! He was competing with the party music being played by the boat beside us complete with disco lights; must be a booze cruise.

The group was joined later by an elderly french couple and i looked around the group and then at the surroundings and though WOW! It's amazing that all these different characters are gathered together under the dark sky with the moon and surrounding boats for lighting, laughing and joking together, it seemed unreal. Almost magical. It was getting quite late and one by one, people went downstairs to sleep until it was me, Darryl, Agoos and Daniel left. The same four who started off the gathering. Darryl was talking about climbing the wooden ladder up to the top of the pole on the boat and Agoos tried it but stopped before he got halfway as it was dark and he may have been a little drunk. It got to around 23:30 when we decided to hit the sack as we have to be up for breakfast at 07:30! We said goodnight to Darryl and Agoos and went into our cute little room to get some sleep. It was a great night.