A bong or water pipe is a filtration device that is used to smoke tobacco, cannabis or other herbs. It is smaller and simpler than the Hookah or Shisha and therefore more portable. It is essentially a cylindrical vessel (filled with water) with a bowl (to place the grinded herb). Some can be used with ice to cool the smoke and others have a little hole that you will have to cover when you burn the substance so that your bong is filled with smoke while inhaling it from the top of the cylinder. When it is full of smoke, you can uncover the hole or remove the bowl (if it does not have a hole) so that you can inhale it easily.