GOOD MORNING VIETNAM, GOODBYE LUGGAGE
Everyone’s worst travel nightmare happened today! I made it to Hanoi, Vietnam, but my bag didn’t. I had three flights: Fiji to Sydney (5 hours), with a few hours layover before a 9-hour flight to Guangzhou. This is where I think things went pear-shaped. China Southern Airlines don’t have the greatest rep but were really the only option due to the cost. They took me from Sydney to China and then onto Hanoi. I had a 7-hour layover in Guangzhou before my 2-hour flight to Hanoi, so a lot had to go right for my bag to turn up.
WE PROMISED EACH OTHER AN EARLY NIGHT. 12 HOURS LATER WE CRAWLED INTO BED AT 2A.M.
I’m always apprehensive about booking flights with short layovers, but it turns out they are key for your bag turning up, as they tend to go straight from one airplane to the other. I wouldn’t book a flight with just 30 minutes between flights, as that’s asking for trouble. But with a 6-hour lull in between, they would have had to store it somewhere for a period of time, and it was most likely forgotten!
WHERE IS HANOI?
Where is Hanoi?
BRITISH AIRWAYS >> CHINA SOUTHERN
I warned Phil beforehand that his layover was only 1 hour and 30 minutes, but his bag arrived without a problem. That’s British Airways against China Southern! I’m going on the 3-day castaway, so I asked if they could ensure my bag arrives from China ASAP, not that what I’m saying will have any effect.
A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME
I never let the bag issue bother me; I was just so looking forward to the next two weeks! Nonetheless, I checked into a cheap hotel, as Phil hasn’t yet got used to hostel life.
I was meeting him later in the afternoon. The idea was to have one or two Hanoi beers at the hostel hosting the cruise, then chill for the rest of the day to ensure we made the 6 am pick-up time. I bumped into Rose, a girl I met on Kao Tao, which was crazy as it was only a month ago. Since then, she has been home to Canada, down to South America, and back to Asia. We stayed in the hostel most of the night, but I told Phil we had to be up at 5, so bed by 11 at the latest. He wasn’t keen on that. Eight hours later, we both crawled into bed at 2 am but got more sleep than I would over the next two weeks!
THE CASTAWAY CRUISE
Getting up was a drag this morning, and we thought we missed the bus until we realized we got the time wrong. We were in such bad shape that we would’ve been happy to wait until tomorrow, but the same thing would have happened. It’s just as well we made it, as it was the best part of the trip!
I’ve heard incredible things about the Ha Long Bay castaway trip, where you spend two days on an island and a day on a boat. Generally, people say it’s their best experience in Vietnam, but more of a party social thing.
RELATED READ: BEING ATTACKED BY A MAN WITH A SNAKE
HA LONG BAY
We immediately got friendly with four Swedish guys and an Irish fella. To their shock (at 6 am), Phil went straight to the bar for seven beers. I guess they haven’t come across many Irish people. From that point, it really set the tone and became one of the best trips I’ve had. We were definitely the group you either wanted to be with or hated.
We spent the whole trip drinking until 2 am, up at 6 am, and repeating, with a few activities to keep us away from the bar. I’m not sure we even had time to sober up over the next two weeks.
Every bus stop had a little Vietnamese woman outside selling beers, so everything was organized to the minutia. After a few hours on the bus getting to know everyone, we arrived at the port. Here we would jump onto a boat that would take us to our destination.
THE ISLAND & RULES
We finally got to the island, and it was amazing—a tiny beach surrounded by cliffs with a bar and a few lodges. They gave us a quick induction, which generally covered the drinking rules everyone needed to follow. No right-hand drinking, no use of the word “drink,” etc. One rule stood out: a bong hung from the bar’s rafters, and if someone hit it, the whole island had to drink at their expense, no matter the time of day!
The clouds don’t often part in northern Vietnam, but they did that day, revealing stunning views. We spent the rest of the day at the bar playing the holiday drinking game, Shimmy Shimmy!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Huge expectations, and so far the Castaway Cruise has lived up to every bit of them and more!
NEXT UP
After already 5 hours of drinking it was time to do some Rock climbing before boarding the best party cruise in the world. Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS
27/229
This post is part of the Vietnam Series, click to explore
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
