Way back cruise - Skuril in Hoi An

After a cozy evening on Cat Ba Island, the next morning it was time to go back to Hanoi. Ready for the next flight.

So we first took the boat back through Halong Bay to Halong City, before a 3.5 hour bus ride awaited us. During the boat trip, there was also a small cooking class.

'On a boat in Vietnam, a Swedish philosophy student, a Turkish business administration scientist, a biologist living in Africa, and a German engineer met and began to philosophize about the world's problems...'

This could also be the beginning of a joke 😅, but it was actually reality. Thanks to this mix, there was indeed an extremely entertaining and friendly discussion that lasted about 5 hours until we arrived in Hanoi. I am sure that this will later be considered the birth of some great social achievements 😂.

After the flight from Hanoi to Hoi An, despite the arrival time of 10:20 PM, you could immediately feel the change in climate (26°C @ 90% humidity 😅). Just before the flight, I quickly organized a homestay with Anh using the airport's WiFi. (Friendly hostess and a nice big room for €9 😎👍.) When I arrived there, I thought I would go into town for 1-2 beers to get a first impression of Hoi An. However, what I did not anticipate was that on this evening, I would experience the most bizarre 15 minutes of my life 😅😳...

So here's how it happened: Since it gets quite quiet everywhere in Vietnam very quickly and most bars close at midnight at the latest, Anh recommended a area with a few bars that usually stay open a bit longer because of the late hour (11:15 PM). The area was about 2 km away from the homestay, so I decided to walk there. After being told in two bars that I couldn't sit down anymore because they also wanted to close, I was already despairing. But then I finally found an open bar called the 'Tiger-Tiger Bar'. I took a seat on the terrace and was promptly served, finally getting my well-deserved beer after a long day of traveling. Shortly after I received the second beer at my lonely table, the music suddenly stopped and the waiters started frantically clearing all the chairs and tables. By now, I was familiar with this situation from Hanoi, but there was no police operation here 🤔. After about 120 seconds, I had no chair or table left 🤦‍♂️. I thought, oh well, I'll just go back and get some rest. As I walked alone for about a kilometer from a small alley towards the main street, the other guests from the bar suddenly came marching in a conga line down the main street. 3 seconds later, I was part of this conga line of strangers in the completely deserted city. 100 meters further, the conga line suddenly got into a disco taxi 🚕. With me 😳! I hadn't expected that 30 seconds ago 😂! 3 minutes later, after a party taxi ride, I had several free shot vouchers in my hand and I was suddenly part of the group in the 'Why-Not Club' 🤦‍♂️. Here, with each shot, a nitrous oxide balloon was also served 😂🤷‍♂️. I finally returned to the homestay at four in the morning 😎...