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Published: March 26th 2009
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Central Vietnam
Travelling in a bus on Highway 1 on the east coast southwards is one hell of a scary experience. Two lanes in opposing directions, where motorbikes, trucks, and buses fight for supremacy on the roads, weaving insanely through congested traffic and jambs. The only highway code is to get to the front as quickly as possible by what ever means are available. The small succumbing to the larger, like bullies in a school yard - the weak and vulnerable pushed to the back, in this case the motorbikes forced to the gravel surface of the roads shoulder when oncoming vehicles come towards them, horns blaring out loud. A complete disregard to fellow road users, or is this the way they drive here in Vietnam? I guess so as it is happening all the time and very often - lane delineation is non-existent on this uneven, well worn out highway, where every bump and pot hole is carried through and felt inside the bus. Never a peaceful moment...constantly on guard...Holding on tight and gazing out the window, praying you get to your destination in one piece, never mind on time.Then you see your life flash before your eyes,
or that of the headlights of an on coming truck, and then the constant sounding of the buses horn deafening the traffic ahead as to say 'move over I'm coming through, let me pass you slow driver, can't you see a truck is coming in my direction'. I look around within the bus, no one (the locals) seems perturbed or alarmed. I spot the only other foreigner in the back. I quickly get up and move towards the back...safer distance between the front and the back I thought. I fall into my seat as the bus swerves back onto the correct side of the road, the on coming truck narrowly passing by, horns blaring out loud the whole time - close call I thought, the only casualty being the out stretched side view mirror broken off the side of the bus and my pants. The bus driver slows down and assess the damage from the drivers seat whilst driving and continues on. I turn to look at the other foreigner and simultaneously we shake our heads in disbelief....I finally arrived in Hoi An in one piece to say the least and with a new friend, Stefan from New Zealand sharing
this hell of a bus ride secured a friendship that would take us to the next for towns down south together.
The old ancient town of Hoi An was once a major international trading port town in the middle of the last century. Roaming the narrow lanes you can easily see the many influences from Chinese, Japanese and European cultures all still preserved in the local architecture and art, and it isn't difficult to imagine the town of three or four hundred years ago, bustling with trade and enjoying its economic and cultural hey-day. These days, the trade is almost entirely tourism-related. It is also here the nearby white sandy beaches is a place to soak up the sun, relax, and forget your harrowing bus experience and go swimming for the first time since arriving in Southeast Asia. Also nearby is Vietnam's world famous China beach and adjacent Marble Mountain where craftsman carve out large impressive marble sculptures and 30 kilometers out of town -'hiring a bike for the day - the Ancient ruins at My Son where we saw almost all of the 70 monuments spread over a large area -'spread' being the operative word. A
site the French meticulously began to restoring, then came the Americans and blew it to pieces during the Vietnam war. Fortunately some monuments still remain to be appreciated.
It was onto Quy Nonh next a much shorter bus trip and not as harrowing as the last. A short stay though. Just to break up the journey to Nha Trang. This quiet seaside fishing town is not quite on the tourist trail for most and makes for a pleasant stay as tourist are scarce. Foreigners are stared upon as if one has not ever being seen before. But yet this quite place offers great golden sand beaches and opportunities for one day of being developed into another mecca tourist beach resort destination. Taking the train to Nha Trang was advised as being the safer option than buses. No hesitation there. Our hotelier purchased tickets on our behalf. Pre-booking the direct fast train service with soft seats to make our 3.0 hour journey as comfortable as possible. So it seemed. We were advised to be at the train station no later than 9:15am for the 9:50am train to Nha Trang. We arrived at 9:15am exactly only to find our train
pull away from the platform. We missed our train - 'Not Happy', incorrect information given - Next train due to depart some three hours later, a local train stopping all stations...duration five hours and only hard seats available - Not Happy - Well i can't complain my travels have being uneventful up until now, so i put it down to part of the travelling experience.
Nha Trang is a large seaside city, golden sand beaches with coconut palms and bamboo-straw umbrellas providing shelter for sun bathers. High rise buildings along the main boulevard, lined with shops, bars, cafes and restaurants similar to that of Surfers Paradise. It even has a theme park situated on a nearby island reached by a cable car that stretches 3.5 kilometers across the water from the mainland. The area also boasts 9 islands where day tours can be arranged to visit 4 of the main islands, inclusive of lunch, snorkeling, swimming and visiting an aquarium on one of the islands.
The central highlands made for a change of scenery to that of the coast line. Renowned for its cool climate, beautiful mountain scenery and innumerable streams, lakes and water falls - Dalat
was the highland town visited and where I fare welled Stefan after two weeks travelling together, on the count he was running out of time to complete his own journey. I stayed on to learn that this is a big town and contrary to my expectations of being a small hill side village at 1475meter above sea level - this town is a mecca for Vietnamese honeymooners with all its kitschy sites, parks, flower gardens, paddle boats and lakes. But outside it's city limits it's dotted with streams and waterfalls and surrounded by evergreen forests, hiring a motorbike is the only way to see them at your own leisurely pace and to keep out of the town for the day.
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