We have just got back from what was probably the best few days we've had since being away.
Halong Bay was up there with one of the places I was looking forward to the most and it did not disappoint.
We booked a 2 night party cruise when we arrived at our hostel on Tuesday.
The bus picked us up at 8am on Wednesday..we were 2 of 16. The bus journey was not the best, roads here aren't exactly the m27 so after 4 hours of what seemed like constant speed bumps, we finally arrived at the port.
We boarded the boat and got a quick health safety briefing before checking into our cabins for the night.
You'll see from the pics how cool our little room was and considering it was on a boat it was among the best places we have stayed so far.

Halong Bay is made up of 1968 limestone islands and is a world heritage site. The pictures really don't do it justice!

We cruised out into the bay, chatting and getting to know the other people on our tour.
We visited a cave, it was cool but very busy so took the emphasis off exactly how cool it was.
Back on the boat, we all got ready for the evenings events..dinner followed by drinking games and a bit of a boogie. Everyone really let their hair down, we had an awesome group!

The main rule was no jumping off the boat..uh oh! You know what's coming!
A couple of lads in our group decided to dress as pirates for the party, swords and all, but one ended up in the water! One of the girls, Alice, decided it would be a great idea to climb over and reach for it until she slipped and fell in! Absolutely hilarious, 3 rings were thrown to her safety even though she was swimming like Michael Phelps. After diving back in to rescue the rings it turns out not all the rings made it back, 20 dollar fine for her! Highlight of the night!
Jazz went to bed before me (lightweight) so when I went to try and go to bed she had locked the door. After basically kicking and punching the door for 10mins she still hadn't answered. Luckily one of the crew was still awake to let me in!

The second day we left the big boat and left some of the peeps behind as they only booked one night, big mistake ! Day 2 was without doubt the best day/night so far!

A smaller boat took us to Lan Ha bay, a more remote part of Halong. The further we got the less boats we saw, just a few fishing boats or floating villages.

We got told we would be staying on an island. On the way we stopped to rock climb and jump into the water. I started to climb and froze with my knees shaking- what a p**** I climbed back down. I don't know what's happened to me but I think I've definitely got more sensible ( you'd be proud mum and dad). We did all jump off the side of the boat though! With the beautiful background and fresh water it was a great hangover cure.

When we arrived at the island, it was literally our own private island, equipped with diving board, volleyball net, pool table, basketball court and table tennis! It was incredible, especially when the sun came out-paradise number 1!!

In the afternoon a group of us went out on kayaks to explore, it can only be described as magical, like something you would see in a film! We found a tiny island with a beach and claimed it for an hour or so, searching for shells to make our very own custom jewellery!

That evening got even more magical but unfortunately the camera couldn't catch it. When it got dark we went down to the waters edge to find that when you slashed or disturbed the water the plankton lit up blue.. it was like neon lights were glowing under the sea, everyone was amazed! One guy went swimming in it and the water just illuminated around him. At this point it hit me how lucky we are and how much of a good decision it was to embark on our adventure!

After the evenings excitement we all decided to have an early night in our dorm together. We stayed up telling stories, all giggling like school girls.

Unfortunately our trip had to end and after a brief cooking lesson on the way back to the harbour, before we knew it we were back on the bus!

A trip that started with 16 strangers, ended with 16 totally crazy friends!
Pictures to come.