Halong Bay, Vietnam: 3,000 Islands & Death by Banana Boat

The 3 day, 2 night boat cruise in Halong bay was incredible (we booked it through our hostel, Hanoi Backpackers..the only way to go). The scenery was the most remarkable sight I have ever seen. Halong Bay has thousands of limestone karsts that jut out of the water. They are all different shapes and sizes. I can’t even describe the beauty of it.

View of the rock formations from our boat.

The first day we kayaked around these rock formations to a small beach. We watched the sunset there and then kayaked back to our boat. As it got darker, the water got warmer. Probably warmer than any shower we have had thus far.

A few cold ones while kayaking around Halong. WEE.

JJ & Chloe cheers-ing while enjoying the epic view.

Halong Bay CREW aka Family Band.

The kayaks lining the beach where we watched the sunset.

HAPPY JUMPING. Paradise. Took a few tries to get this shot.

We had a delicious dinner of fresh fish, vegetables and rice (every meal was included on the trip, and each was better than the previous). When the rooms were being delegated, everyone was asked if three people wanted to share a king size bed. Jo, Leigh and I each shot up our hands simultaneously, as this was nothing new for us. Three to a bed had been a reoccurring theme in our trip. Oh wait, let me correct myself: four in a bed had been a reoccurring theme of our trip. hahah. The room with the king size bed that we were sharing just so happened to have a massive private balcony aka massive pre-drink. Did we mention it was Halloween night?!!! One problem though: Costumes????

HALLOWEEN on the boat!

We obviously had left our costumes to the very last minute and had no idea what to be. Using the only resources at our fingertips, we decided that the boys we were travelling with (JJ and Marcus) would dress up as us, and we would dress up as them. Note: JJ got intimate in my dress. YUK!!!!!! He couldn’t take my dress off so he had to ask the girl to take it off hahahhahaha. Although that is a funny story, I had to burn my dress.

Chloe getting some action?

 

We also ended up meeting 4 other English guys on our cruise, which we happened to travel with for quite a while (and are still travelling with to this day). Words cannot describe our first Asian Halloween. Let’s just say the night began with a 30-person game of Kings, followed by an intense dance party...followed by jumping off of the ship into the ocean in the pitch black. The next thing we remember is being woken up at 7AM by Ceasar, our trip leader, who decided to blast house music at full volume so the entire cruise ship would wake up.

We were then taken to this private island and tanned and swam and went BANANA BOATING. Leigh and I went banana boating at Ian’s cottage a couple of summers ago and it was a wonderful experience...us bouncing around on this floating banana, very leisurely and care free. Maybe a couple ‘circles of death’ thrown in, but nothing we couldn’t handle. We thought we had banana boating in the bag. Apparently, this was just amateur banana boating. The banana boating in Halong Bay was no regular banana boating, it was an extreme sport. Jo, Leigh, myself, and the six other men we were travelling with, decided to take a leisurely banana boat ride in the ocean in front of our secluded island. Little did we know that Vietnamese banana boating was nowhere NEAR Muskoka banana boating. First of all, extreme banana boating entails high speeds combined with massive waves as well as our guide yelling position changes (for example, the person at the front had to run to the back while in motion as well as reverse cow girl position where everyone has to turn around to face the back of the banana boat.) When we fell off we all landed on each other meaning, I got punched in the face, kicked in the butt, broken arm...the whole nine yards. Leigh basically broke her leg. It was a jumble of bodies. You would fall off and someone would land on you, then another person would land on you, THEN ANOTHER PERSON WOULD LAND ON YOU. Lord oh lord. So sorreeeeee. At one point my head was being dragged on the surface of the water and Marcus and Ollie were trying to pull me back on for like 30 seconds. I was told I looked like mission impossible.

View of the private island from the beach.

Smiling faces before the Banana Boat of death.

Can't. Even. Get. Back. On.

Let’s just say it was quite the experience. When we finally finished, the 9 of us literally dragged our bodies up the beach and sat there in awe of what we had just endured. After a clothing-change, some amazing barbecued squid and chicken, and a few drinking games, we all settled into our bamboo huts (which consisted of a grass roof, sleeping pad and mosquito net). Although the sleeping conditions were nothing shy of literally sleeping in the jungle, we were out as soon as our heads hit the pillow.  Another exhausting, yet fun-filled day in Halong Bay.

The next day we endured a painful 7 AM wake-up call via Gong, and took the boat back to the main port. There we hopped on a bus which took us back to Hanoi, where we planned our next leg of the trip...

Vietnam: The land of no traffic signs.

After our hellish bus ride, we finally ended up in Hanoi - Vietnam's capital and main major city. Since we needed some backpacker-style pampering, we decided to splurge on arrival and stay in a $10 dollar/night hotel, as opposed to a $3 dollar/night hostel. It was HEAVEN..Air conditioning, our own beds (instead of the cosy queen-sized bed the three of us had been sharing the entire trip thus far), and an English movie channel...What more could you ask for?

 

Us holding heaps of Dong upon arrival in Hanoi- FYI: Dong is Vietnam's currency ;)

We adored Hanoi. It was a hustling bustling city that strangely reminded us of New York. The streets were thin and decorated with lights and lanterns and red Vietnamese flags. We felt the energy right from the get go. The main difference we noticed was that THERE ARE NO ROAD RULES. The only rule is: just go. Seriously, if you are driving through an intersection you just go. If you are a pedestrian crossing the street you just go. It was TERRIFYING at first but you get used to it. If you show any sign of hesitation, you will most likely get run over. People just go around you. Oh and they LOVE the horns. There are a thousand different versions. Our favourite was the fader horn (Aka a special edition horn that goes from really loud to soft from a single touch of the button).

In the middle of the street right near our hostel.

One of the cool things about Hanoi is that all of the locals eat their meals on the side walk on little plastic stools. There is this one street corner where you can buy 4 beers for $1, so we went and sat like the locals on these little stools and drank our beer and people watched. It was incredible. When there are no driving rules, people watching can get intense. Bikes were criss-crossing all over the place. Also, the things that people put on the back of their bikes is abstruse...such as massive bags of rice, a chest of draws, 1-year old-children, and boxes the size of a small fridge. And you thought Asians were bad drivers.

4 Beers for 1 Dollar. YUM.

Motor bikes EVERYWHERE.

Street food looking tasty as ever. NOT.

Our English friend enjoying a "Chip Butty" (french fry sandwich).

There is a wonderful lake in the middle of the city, and in the centre of the lake is an island with a stone monument. Supposedly, the king built this temple dedicating it to a tortoise. The legend goes as follows: back in the 15th century the Mongols were attacking Hanoi, so the king went to the lake and a tortoise came up and provided the king with a sword. With this sword the King defeated the Mongols and returned to the lake to give the sword back to the tortoise. The sword is supposedly still in the lake and the occasional tortoise spotting reminds the Hanoi people of victory against the Mongolians.  There you go, a little history lesson!

Tortoise Temple.

Some ice cream by the Tortoise Lake.

We continued to walk around Hanoi, and came across every woman/girl/metrosexual/homosexual's fantasy: Shoe Village. The entire street was packed with shoes coming from every direction. Every style, colour and knock-off brand imaginable. Obviously, we spent some much-needed time in shoe village...highly recommended.

Shoe HEAVEN.

That night, we decided to check-in to Hanoi Backpacker's hostel with some of the friends we had met. It was a $3 dollar/night, mixed (boys and girls) dorm-room style hostel. Quite the experience - and definitely the place to stay in Hanoi if you are backpacking. We all went out to this club, which looked small at the front, but opened up into a massive dance floor. Party, partyyy. What a phenomenal way to spend October 30^th.  

Hostel Friends.

Dance, Dance, Dance.

Next stop, 8AM wake-up call for our 3 day, 2 night cruise in Halong Bay..To Be Continued.

Much Love,

Leigh & Chloe

Honk Your HORN More, BUDD

Wellll hello folks!!!!

So finally, (and when I say FINALLY..I mean it), we are in Hanoi, Vietnam. The route to Hanoi from Vang Vieng was not an easy task, nor should it be taken by anyone. EVER.
So, as you can probably see by Chloe's posts, Vang Vieng was like a Wonderland for adults. Probably 5 of the best days of our lives. If you come to Southeast Asia and you do not go tubing in Vang Vieng, then you are a LoooooSER and you are missing out big time. Words, not even pictures, can describe the amount of good times we had, and the amazing people we met. We will try to post some more pics soon.

Anyways, like I said, we ended up meeting a bunch of other people in Vang Vieng who told us they were hitting up this place called Halong Bay in Vietnam. They were planning on taking a 3 day, 2 night party boat/cruise which would be stopping at all of the beaches and islands (along with kayaking, snorkling, etc.)..and obviously we HAD to go with them. So, we ended up foregoing our plans to go to Luang Prabang (another city in Laos), and staying another phenom night in Vang Vieng, so that we could leave on the 28th on a 24 hour bus over to Hanoi.

So we got on a mid sized bus in Vang Vieng at 1:30 PM, which drove us 4 hours to Vientiene (the main area of Laos where most buses/planes depart from). When we got to Vientiene, we caught the 6:00 PM sleeper bus which would be taking us to Hanoi (a 24-hour ride). We all got settled in our own little 'bunks'..Jocelyn and I were in the back of the bus (right besise the toilet...yum), along with one other passenger in a 3-person bunk. Very cozy. Chloe got a solo sleeper bunk (there were two layers of bunks - a layer on the floor and a layer on the top). Anyways, after a 6-hour delay at the Vietnamese border, and hours of horn-honking later (the Vietnamese people honk their horns at all times. Why? I don't know)..we finally made it to Hanoi 32 hours after our departure from Vientiene. Overall, it was the experience that we will always remember, but we will also go down in the books as the girls who conquered one of the "Top 5 Worst Bus Routes in the World". BEAT THAT.

                                      My view of the top row from the back of the sleeper bus.

Mooooorreeee Porridgeee

Me doing the rope swing. Best swing of my life. Dont jump on the rocks!!!!

Ewww  beeesss in the shots. There was one bottle with a snake in it. Nast

Tubing pretzel.

Note: We have been doing non alcoholic activities as well. We went to this beautiful blue lagoon as well as this really creepy cave. It was so dark and we had to wear head flash lights to see. We climbed to the middle and there was a gold budda lying in the middle of the cave. It was beautiful. Leigh then saw a spider and I have never seen someone exit that cave so fast hahahahahah.

Heaps of new friends

Hahahah Leigh was obsessed with these shots.

Last night we were drinking at dinner and we wanted a splash more alcohol in our bucket. So we said, Sirrrr could we get a drop more delicous tiger wisky in our bucket. He gave us have half a 26. No big deal. Some people in Vang Viene are jems.

Bucket in and around....

HELLOOOOO,

I wanted to describe the most amazing experience that we had (its Chloe by the way). Before I do this i want to say that Leigh and I have prepared a wonderful Bangkok presentation with pictures and vids, and every time we try to post it it takes forever to post and then fails cause the internet is brutal, the excuse was that it was Saturday and the high speed internet is not high speed on Saturday. What a nut. Anyways, we are going to try to post it in Luang Prabang when we have more time. We have been busy tubing all day here in Vang Viang.


Anywho, back to the amazing experience. So our first day in Vang Viang we went tubing obviously. For those of you that don't know, you rent a tube and tube down the river and stop at each bar along the way. At these bars there are slides, rope swings, flip cup, free shots (but they are nasty cause they have snakes, bees and centipedes in them) and spray paint. We basically had the most wild day of our lives and met some sick sickkkkk people. Oh and our team won flip cup obv. Oh and we did the rope swing which was freaking and amazing. We have 400 pictures which we will post soon.

So we ended up leaving the last bar at 6ish, and it gets really dark here early so a group of 8 of us were floating down the river in the pitch black with only the stars as our guide. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. You could see the outline of the limestone mountains which are really pointy and it was just breathtaking.We all just floated down this river in our tubes singing songs and looking up at the sky. It was a magical experience. Kindo of creepy at times when your butt hit a rock or a twig grazed your leg but appart from that it was amazing. HEAPPS OF FUN, as our new aus friend would say.

Going to post picts and vids soon. We have the best videos.

Miss you HEAPPSSSSS
xoxoox

Sneak Peak of Bangkok

Hellooo,

To all you followers out there...do not fret. We are currently putting together a descriptive blog of our wild & action packed journey through bustling Bangkok. We have a lot to write so we thought we would post a quick sneak peak of our first night in Bangkok and of our first tuk-tuk ride (FYI- a tuk-tuk isThai taxi that is petit and has no doors).

This is the conversation that went down right before we jumped on the tuk-tuk:

Jocelyn: We should go see a ping pong show tomorrow night with my friend Chris so we have a guy to accompany us.

Chloe and Leigh: Yesssssss!!!!!! Wooottt!!!!

Random Aussie group of men that had just stopped us on the street (Koh San Road): Hey girls do you want to come to a ping pong show with us for 200 baht each plus a free bucket??!

Chloe, Jo and Leigh: Ummmmmmmmm....YES!!

And off we went (view video below).

Haahahah. So much for easing our way into Bangkok...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jQfqgWWAvA

Please refrain from Praying at this time....SIRRR

WE ARE IN BANGKOOKKKKK. So much has happened so far however we must start from the beginning. Etihad turned out to be a HUGE success. It was quite the experience to be a minority for once: two blond girls among  500 Middle Easterns. A little awk at first, but then we got used to it.  We got VIP seats at the back of the plane (ballin) which was a sweet two- seater when every other isle was a squishy three-seater. Our seats came with three pillows, a blanket each, headphones, and a little kit with an eye patch, toothbrush, earplugs and SOXXX (which I personally loveeddddddd). Air Canada suckssss shittt!!!! We are both quite pleased with Etihad at this point.. and THEN we proceeded to get 30 meals, 2 deserts, a sandwich, oh yah and FREEEE ALCOHOLLLL. Red red wineeeeeeeeee. Oh and 50 movies to choose from. I was pleasantly surprised with Clash of the Titans and Leigh enjoyed Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. The flight got a bit shaky - at which point the captain came on the speaker in order to inform us of upcoming turbulence. Once the turbulence started, the captain then came on the intercom and said, "Please refrain from using the bathroom at this time". Five seconds later he followed with "please refrain from praying at this time" hahaha. Glancing around curiously, we see a man praying in the middle of the isle in the middle of turbulence. "Sir in the white...we see you". It was quite the show.   To all you haters out there, ETIHAD is the way to go, ETIHAD FO liiifeee.

We arrive in Dubai safely and wander around the airport for a bit. They are playing a really interesting song which is like a deep, creepy voice uttering Middle Eastern language. We see this one woman with something on her face that looks like a goofy fake nose and moustache...it is not.  It’s a metal guard-like thing over her face in addition to her gown and hijab. We were staring, they were staring... Do you think they look down at us or are jealous of us? We found it so bizarre. Women’s roles do not appear to be as equal as I had previously thought.

Here are a few photos of our Etihad journey... Bangkok coming soon...

VIP service from Etihad: Menu for our 30 meals

Hotties in Abu Dhabi Airport

Prayer Room ...that way

I misss you REneeeeeeeeeeeee

Love Chloe and Leigh

One Day Left. Here Goes!

ONE DAY TO GO! To be honest, I never thought this day would actually come. We are at the bitter-sweet end of homecooked meals and familiar faces as our departure into the great unknown slowly approaches. Hey, I know it sounds a bit heavy, but for us 20-somethings it is a big deal. This 9-month-or-longer trip marks the beginning of a new chapter in our lives...and I'd say this chapter is called 'Independence'. I mean, in all seriousness, the return of this trip marks reality for most of us..which is the actual scary part of it all. We return to career choices and new apartments..But also, there is the idea of this..will we actually return home? What if we catch the travel bug and remain adventurous backpackers for the rest of our lives, always wandering the world looking for the next best thing? Who knows really..I have seen it happen before in others, and I can't say I'm not curious..but I guess we shall see...


Juust kidding - obviously I will come back home, since it is where my family and friends are and always will be..buutt it's always an interesting thought, no? (See photo below of Chloe and I with our friends from our going-away party..how could we not come back?)


Anyways, a few things to know before a trip like this begins. Hopefully this information will help others like myself out before your big departure:


1) Let your parents know you are not leaving them forever and that you will not go off and elope and have children and never come home again. Guaranteed this is what is going on in their heads (my Mom has already cried about 4-5 times (in this past week alone) thinking I will never return home). Please give your parents a break - tell them you love them and that you will keep in contact with them...but be realistic - you will not be writing them every second of every day about the last detail of your trip. This is why a) you are going on this trip, and b) why I started this blog haha. So, they can log on and read it and be comforted that I am not stranded on a deserted Thai island with sketchy Thai rebels held at gun point.


2) Get your travel shots. First of all, you should know that shots are not covered by OHIP nor are they cheap or painless. 200 dollars on stupid shots would buy me at least a week in a 4-star Thai hotel. But, I mean you have to suck it up - health is number one my friends. You get sick, your trip is oover. Also, I should add that being stuck in the arm by 4 consecutive needles doesn't tickle - so it takes about 3-4 days for the arm aching to fade. Also, make sure you know some info about your trip (as in which countries you are going to), so the doc knows which shots to give you. Also - just so you know - your normal family doctor doesn't do travel shots - you must go to a travel clinic. Google travel clinic in your area and  voilà!


3) Book your first hotel so you aren't stranded and can crash somewhere upon arrival. We all know jet lag sucks, and who wants to be exhausted walking aimlessly around an unknown area trying to find a bed. Just do it. Nuff said. 


4) Packing. Now this is the hardest part. Especially for overpackers like myself - I mean a girls gotta have options, no? Yeaa, but for this kind of a trip, no one wants to be lugging around a massive suitcase full of clothes you won't even use. I've done it. It sucks, and you'll be miserable. Trust. Since I am a genious and have done my research, I have opted on the Mountain Equipment Co-op bag that is a rolly bag slash backpack all in one! So, if I get tired of lugging the bag around on my back, I can flip up the handles and roll away! Since I will need the backpack part for doing things like hiking & camping, I can use the rolly part any other time (airports, flat ground, etc.). What a great invention. I will let you know how it works out. 


5) Passport, money, etc.  Since I personally lose everything that I come into contact with, I have decided to take 2 photocopies of each important document : my passport, Visa, and debit card. I have a copy, and my Mom, who will be at home, has the other. So in any case if I lose my passport and am actually stranded, I will at least have a photocopy, or I can call my Mom (always a lifesaver), and she can send over the documentation. 


Anyways, I hope I have covered most of the basic need-to-know info, which I think will help anyone going on a similar trip...


So..if any of you are interested, Chloe and I leave tomorrow at 10:45 PM on Etihad airlines (sketchy?), bound to Abu Dhabi. There, we will have a 2.5 hour layover, until we leave for Bangkok and arrive at 7:00 AM.  Since we have already booked our first nights' stay at the D & D Inn in Bangkok, we will set-up shop and hook you up with a little flight-recap blog upon arrival. 


SEE YOU NEXT YEAR CANADA!!


 - Leigh

Needles.

I am not used to writing about my life but I guess I have to get used to it if we are going to have a super sick blog. I am in the getting ready stages of our trip. I have gone to shoppers to get 1000 wet naps and gone to Noah’s to get vegetables in a pill and tons of Vitamen C. I also took a little trip to the travel clinic to get my shats. NOT OK. The 100 year old doctor advised me to get three shots and take them all at the same time. He said that they have the formulas down to a science so I can take them all at once and not feel any side effects. So, I am holding this guys hand like a looser and he jabs me with one, then two then three needles. I am not feeling so hot. I can feel the stuff disperse in my arm and move into my body. He says that I can lie down if I feel sick. The next think I know an old man is slapping me on the face repeatedly, ON BOTH CHEEKS, shouting are you ok are you ok. I passed out. It was quite awkward and I was very disoriented. I was having the wildest dream that I was in Asia and the sky was purple and the grass was neon green. Anywho, I don’t know why that happened. The doc said that that never happens, and that there is a first time for everything. That made me feel a lot better, nat. That experience was pretty weird so I thought I would throw it on the blog. I am excited to post actual travel stories sooonnnnnn. Less than two weeks.

Ps going away party next week wooottt

Chloe

We are Dancing...

Parody of Jersey Shore..

We are so EXCITED!! Three weeks until departure!!

The countdown begins..until our epic journey of a lifetime!!
Who's jealous? YOU are. So, come traveling with us. We will not be leaving any adventure untold.

Join us in discovering Asia and Australia, and see it all through our eyes as we will be posting uncensored pictures, stories, & videos.. Can you say Ping-Pong show?

Get excited. Check ya laterr!

Leigh & Chloe