I went on my first junk boat party last June 12, which is Philippine Independence Day.
In case you’re wondering what a junk boat is, which was what this newbie expat was wondering about at the beginning, CNN explains:
Though the word “junk” traditionally refers to Chinese wooden sailboats dating back to the Han Dynasty — still used in Hong Kong’s natural harbors and islands — these days it’s a catch-all phrase that refers to any Hong Kong boat charter.
– CNN
Our boat actually looked more like a yacht, kinda like this on the outside:
And like this on the inside:
There was also an upper deck which had couches and bean bag lounge chairs.
There were around 20 of us and we each paid H$850 which included boat rental, food, and booze.
By the way, I didn’t know any of these people except for May, who knew just a couple of them, too. But it was an opportunity to try something new and also to possibly make new friends, so I joined. Also, everyone was fully vaccinated.
We met up at Central Pier 10 and boarded the boat at around 10am. We rode the boat to somewhere around Repulse Bay which we reached at around 11:30 am.
Then we dropped anchor and it started to rain. There was actually a typhoon signal number 1 that day but it was a rain or shine event.
We had lunch first, and since it was a Filipino event, we had Filipino food like Jollibee chicken joy, sisig, barbeque, and beef tapa.
After eating, we changed into swimsuits and jumped into the water. The boat had water props like a giant round inflatable pool, a floating foam bed, a paddle board, and pool noodles. Apparently you need to pay extra for these.
I really enjoyed the round inflatable pool thing because it has a bottom which allows you to just sit in the water and relax like you’re in a bathtub.
I also enjoyed being in the sea and swimming around with a pool noodle. It’s so much easier than bobbing around with a life vest.
I didn’t try the paddle board but May did, and she even managed to stand on it for like all of 2 seconds.
The sun did come out for a few moments, and it rained on and off during the time we were there. I was actually glad for the rain because it made swimming in the sea more refreshing, and lessened my chances for a sunburn. I still haven’t completely recovered from the back sunburn I got from our Kerry Daycation, actually.
We left the Repulse Bay area at around 4:30 pm and reached Central Pier 10 at around 6pm.
I really enjoyed my first junk boat party experience, though I actually had no idea what to expect. I would say that I would highly recommend this activity for people who enjoy being in the ocean, but strongly advice against it for people who get seasick, because the boat is constantly in motion. I even got a bit seasick myself when I went downstairs to the toilet to get changed. I eventually got over it when I went out on the deck to get a lot of sea breeze.
It was also fun to hang out with friendly Filipino folks, most of whom were also in the Finance industry, like me.
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