Day 49: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

-Marco and I woke up early before heading out for our tour to Ha Long Bay. There was a four-hour drive until we arrived at the harbor. Once there we took a long leisurely boat ride through the bay. We were on the booze cruise tour of Ha Long bay so were already playing drinking games at 2pm in the afternoon. It was really fun getting to know everyone from all over the world.

Some views of Ha Long Bay:

-We learnt some interesting things on the way to the beach. For one Ha Long Bay is one of the natural wonders of the world. It also was used in James Bond’s The Man with the Golden Gun. However, everyone associates the island in Phuket with that movie. Apparently the director wanted to pay a bunch of money to blow up one of the islands in Ha Long Bay but the locals were like ‘no way’ and he moved over to Phuket. Speaking of the locals, they had a strange birthing tradition. When the women go into labor they are left to birth the child alone in a boat with a little food and supplies. Then they have to survive for several months with the newborn before coming back to the village. The tradition is seldom practiced nowadays but its crazy to think people used to do that!

-We arrived at Castaway Island in the middle of the bay. It was really beautiful with just a few huts for housing. There were no pillows or blankets, just mattresses and mosquito nets. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, relaxing, and reading until the party started later that night.

Sleeping in the yurt: