Wakeboarding, Hangovers, and Traveler's Sickness

They woke us up at 7:30 like some cruel joke. With only 4 hours of sleep, I was moving a little slowly. The two boats split up, taking the 2 day people back to harbor, and taking us 3 day people to the hostel's private island deep in the mountainous islands of Ha Long bay. The ride there was mostly hungover people sleeping wherever they could. It was lightly raining, so a bunch of us stowed our stuff below decks and fell asleep on the top deck, letting the rain cool us off. There isn't very much wind in the bay, besides that caused by the boat moving.

Finally we arrived on the hostel's private island. It was actually very nice. Showers, working toilets, a nice kitchen and bar. We stayed under thatch roof, wall-less huts. Each had 5-6 mattresses with mosquito nets above them. Considering how hot it got, this was a very good setup. Once we got there the rain stopped, and I found a shady tree with a hammock and took a nap. Once I woke up, we had lunch and started the volleyball games. The whole time groups were going out for wakeboarding, which I had never tried but was excited to do. After 2 wins and a loss, my turn for the wakeboarding was up.

According to the guides, getting up is the hardest part. In fact, about 50% of the people trying the first time that day, didn't get up. Another 25% only got up once. I got up on the second try. And then had no trouble getting up after that. I think it was because I waited and watched both experienced and first timers, trying to gather as much tips as possible and learn from their mistakes. Also, the position you get yourself in as you get up, is very similar to one you use in rock climbing. Once I figured that out, it became a breeze. It was SOOO much fun! I think I have found a new hobby. And it's a big workout. Muscles I didn't know I had were hurting for days afterward. Abs, arms, back, and legs all felt the burn.

That night they served us a feast, which was good, cause I needed it. And of course, everyone went back to drinking heavily, as if they had no memory of the hangover this morning. I took part as well, trying to live up my youth. But one of my friends, Andy, didn't feel like drinking as heavily as everyone else. About 5 of us all felt the same way, and escaped to another part of the beach to drink, talk, and watch the stars. You can tell that on a clear night, you could probably see clear to the other side of the galaxy. I really tried to stay awake, but after the 5th time of my head dipping while talking to someone, I decided I was being rude and should just crash.

So I did, but it wasn't a restful sleep. The beds were fine, but at around 2pm, a british man started calling my phone. After the 5th call, I picked it up and in a not so polite way, told him that he was calling a phone in Vietnam, and it was costing him a fortune. He stopped after that. The next time I woke up, it was because a monsoon was coming down outside, and some thunder literally shook my hut. After that, a leak started right above my face. I used my windbreaker to cover it above the mosquito net, which worked fine. After that I only slept til 7. Couldn't get back to sleep. Meh.

The ride back was uneventful, with one exception. The lunch that day. I don't know what it was, because I was very careful in choosing my food. Only well cooked meats, breads, and fried foods. But something got me sick. Just travelers diahrea. It didn't hit me until that night. I went to dinner with Andy and another friend Leo. We got back and were joking around, and planning a day trip the next day. All of a sudden it hit me, I said goodnight, and spent the rest of the night in my room. Thank god for medicine. It took about 3-4 hours to work, but the perscription stuff WORKS. I haven't had even a rumble since I started the stuff. Meh, I watched Finding Nemo on my computer then fell asleep.

Hanoi and Day 1 of Ha Long Bay

Sorry guys, the internet I was stealing got taken down, so I had to wait a day to continue posting. I have had some jet lag before. But man this one kicked me square in the face. I got to Hanoi, and was thoroughly unimpressed by the airport. That's ok, because the people were very friendly, but not the pushy friendly I was used to from Greece, Egypt, and Turkey. Just polite and friendly. To avoid the taxi scams, I approached the official airport tourist desk and requested an organized taxi to the hostel, and also reserved one to the airport for my travel to Beijing on Saturday.

I got to my hostel no problems. It was down what we would call an alley, although in Vietnam it's a full street. A big street in Vietnam is one that can fit cars, not just bikes. It's a big hostel too, with three buildings and a ton of people. Good hostel though, with airconditioning in all rooms, extra fans everywhere to help even more, and resonably hot showers. Althought it has the feeling of a really well run frat house. Almost everyone (including a lot of the staff) seem perpetually drunk or hungover.

I immediately reserved a slot on the 3 day, 2 night tour to Ha Long bay, which was the real desination for this leg of the trip. Ha Long bay is a beautiful bay in the northeastern section of Vietnam, bordering Chinese waters. It's a World Heritage site and definately the coolest part of the Top Gear Vietnam tour. We left early Monday morning, took a 3 hour bus ride to Ha Long bay, and then jumped on our Junk, a vietnamese cruise vessel. Because they over booked us, we ended up with nicer rooms than expected, complete with air conditioning. The boat took us out into the islands, which look like little mountains sticking out of the water. Then the two boats (one for 2 day-ers, one for us 3 day-ers) stopped and let us swim for a while. The boats were 3-4 stories out of the water, so we all jumped from the tops of the boats. One of the boats had an extra high roof we weren't supposed to be on, but a bunch of us, including me, jumped off it anyway before they yelled at us to stop. If any of you know about my fear of falling, you know how big a step that was for me. Totally worth it though. Tons of fun.

Afterward we did some kayaking, hiking up some of the islands, and then ended at a little floating fishing village. These little villages (essentially bamboo houses floating on the water) are everywhere in Ha Long Bay. Supposedly there are some villagers who will live a full life having never touched land, although that could just be an old legend. Some of the houses were just extra large row boats, one of which had a flat panel tv, which was wierd. Anyway, that night the boat exploded with a giant party. Most of the backpackers on this trip were 20-26, and clearly the boats are used to this, cause they had packed plenty of alcohol to go around. I tried to stay awake for as much of it as I could, made some friends with a few of the British and Irish. Finally jet lag caught up with me and I crashed hard.