Getting to Vietnam felt like a slap in the face, in the best way possible. It was a point in the voyage that had seemed like so far away for so long, because Jenna’s boyfriend was coming to visit. When she mentioned that around the time we were in Spain, Vietnam sounded like lifetimes away. And it was.
We spent our first day around Ho Chi Minh City also known,and preferred, by locals as Saigon. We explored until Michael’s flight got in and he and Jenna met us all for lunch. For the rest of the day, we explored downtown and came across one of the coolest little urban areas I have ever been in. There was this specific street that was filled with coffee shops and bookstores ranging from children’s to biographical to completely English books.It was the most amazing place and we stayed there for hours just taking it all in.
I found this interesting old converted bus that was now a library and I’m not sure why it struck me so much, but it was just one of the coolest things.
Our friend group is doing secret Santa, so we found a lot of great stuff that day which was super exciting, especially after Lauren and I found decorations for our room at one of the shops. The minute I saw tinsel I made her come over immediately and we bought so many cute little things. To make it even better, I made everyone buy tiny stockings to put on our doors just in case we weren’t already festive enough.
That night I flew on the smallest, least leg room-y flight I think I have ever taken which was not helped by the fact that my seat was in the back row with no mobility. We had a van chartered by the hostel where we were staying pick us up from the airport, and not having to figure out transportation was such a relief. Especially after that afternoon where we were grossly overcharged for our first taxi to the airport in Ho Chi Minh and decided to get out but then could not get another car.
The Vietnam Backpackers Hostel was such a great first experience in a hostel. Being with a ton of my friends getting ready for the next three days on the Castaways tour offered through the people who own the hostel was the most fun. We sleep in each other’s rooms all the time, but never all of us at once so it there were major slumber party vibes going on.
I had originally planned on doing a field program through Semester At Sea in Vietnam, and I am so grateful I made the decision to go on Castaways instead. It was probably the best consecutive three days of my life.
It wasn’t even close to most of the other countries in terms of cultural experience, but I met people from at least five other countries and I feel like I still managed to get so much out of my time there.
After taking cabs to the other, bigger hostel we were all set to leave from that morning, we had breakfast and met up with the rest of our friends who had ended up staying there. It took way longer than I had anticipated to get from Hanoi to the area we were staying in, but the bus ride didn’t seem too bad and it was broken up by lots of stops at markets and ferry rides to other sections of land. By the time we got to the island, everyone was so ready to be there.
Staying in bungalows on a private island in the middle of the absolute wonder that is Halong Bay is pretty much as good as it gets. Add in the fact that nearly everyone on the island was from the ship, and those who weren’t were super cool, it was even better. Kayaking through the cliffs and bays at sunset with Sierra and two guys we met from Belgium that kept buying us alcohol almost seemed like an extra little perk at that point. Mix the idea of spring break with nearly 100 college kids who have been alcohol deprived on a ship for 3 months with the fact that there was only about 40 days left of the trip, and you’ll get a good idea of the Halong Bay experience we had.
The first night, after tubing for the first time in years and getting thrown off literally every time, we played games and danced for hours on end. I met so many people and talked so much with the ones I already knew. Skinny dipping for the first time in the middle of one of the wonders of nature is a damn good story in my opinion, so we did that too. I kept having moments where I would just stop and be absorbed by the fact that this is my life. I couldn’t help but be amazed by everything that was going on, a combination of partying and being in awe at the world we live in and being immensely fulfilled is something I hope everyone gets to experience at some point. The highest level of fun, honestly.
Our second day consisted of waking up at 7 am to a gong telling us it was time for breakfast. We then split up onto two boats for the day to go cruise around the area. I got to kayak even more and somehow it was just as great as it had been the night before. Between jumping off the side of the boat and swimming to other tiny islands while everyone shotgunned every single chance they got, I don’t think I could possibly forget that day.
We weren’t even close to stopping when we got back to the island for dinner. After showering off all the salt from nearly 8 hours of being in and out of the water, we ate and started dancing right away. I remembered that I am only on, very rare, occasion good at ping pong but very good at dancing on tables for hours. Elevated surfaces are always a move.
Between more swimming, clothed and otherwise, dancing and drinking, we played so many games again and had the night of our lives (for the second night in a row). Later, there was bio-luminescent plankton that we were able to see in the bay that I hadn’t been able to find the first night (we honestly thought it was a ploy to get everyone to go skinny dipping at the time, but they were actually amazing to see.) Never mind that the coral pushed closer to shore by the tide cut up our feet so badly that most of us had to go to the medical clinic back on the ship, we barely felt it at the time. I almost lost the skirt that Lauren let me borrow after ripping it off so I could get in the ocean as fast as possible at one point, Kelsey fell off a table, and Sierra and I bonded way too much for one night, but I don’t think I have ever felt quite so alive.
Crazy enough, the next morning it wasn’t even that hard to get up. We all kayaked one last time and sat in one of the little bays and talked about how our life felt so extremely movie-like at that particular moment in time. The ride back was a lot less full of energy than a few days earlier, but we were still in a place that was beyond thriving. By the time we got back to the main hostel that we had all left from, I was personally ready to go out again,or at least explore some more.
The last day back in Ho Chi Minh consisted of a spa day,good food and smoothies (of course), and going to the Heineken experience in the Saigon Skydeck to finish the day. We almost missed on-ship time, but it was worth it until they took our personalized (emptied) bottles at security. (Sorry dad, I almost got you a cool thing #cwdb )
Vietnam was such a perfect mixture of getting a view into my friend’s relationship from home and seeing one of the most beautiful places in the whole world and letting loose and having the absolute time of my life and I could not miss it more than I do right now, 9 days before the end of the voyage. (Obviously I’m a little behind since we were there a month ago at this point.)
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