Wow. Incredible. Halong Bay blew me out of the water (pun
intended). It reminded me of the Westman Islands in Iceland, but more vast and tropical. The tour I signed up for enticed me with a great junk (boat) to
spend the night in the bay the first night, rock climbing, kayaking, wake-boarding, spelunking, and camping on a private beach the second night. Unknowingly, I
signed up for a booze cruise. Good thing my college days as ‘Boozin Susan’
prepared me for what was in store. The people on the tour were hilarious and
fun, which made it a pleasure to spend three days with them.
The guides are mostly Westerners who were traveling around
and decided to stay in Hanoi for a few months and work. The Hanoi Backpacker’s
Hostel tour motto is printed all over their shirts saying, “rock long rock hard.”
I don’t know how they do it. At the end of the tour, my body was wrecked.
Scraped and bruised from adventurous activities, exhausted from little sleep,
and coming down with a cold, it felt right when it ended. I literally could not
have survived another day. That being said, I would absolutely do it over
again!
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"Spelunking"
We barely made it inside... Drunk people... |
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| Many food vendors came to our junk |
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| Castaway Island |
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| Just another day of rock climbing |
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| The wake-boarding boat driver |
I do believe tour guiding was the most exhausting job ive ever had, and I didnt do it nearly as long as lots of poeple do. Truly think I was at my lowest, healthwise when I left that place. That being said I'd totally go do it again!
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know how your body held up. Mine was wrecked after one tour.
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