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Published: July 17th 2009
Okay okay, we've been bad bloggers. We're two cities behind so we'll have to do a little catching up before we can update you on our plans for the coming weeks. Last we told you we had left Mui Ne to head to Nha Trang. The bus ride was unpleasant, hot and bumpy but Anna, Kristen and I (and our aussie friend Jaimee) arrived safe and sound and found ourselves a hostel.
Nha Trang definitely lived up to the reputation of relaxin' beach town by day, drinkin' party town by night and there were backpackers everywhere. We spent our days lazing in the sand, eating fresh pineapple and swimming in the clear ocean and our nights at the Why Not bar drinking buckets of who knows what!
The boys caught up with us after their motorbike adventure into the jungle as well as a sweet german girl Ang who'd joined our travel crew. We signed ourselves up for a boat cruise of surrounding islands in the area and prepared ourselves for what we'd been warned would be a crazy party on water. Instead, we crammed ourselves into a small wooden boat with a bunch of Chinese tourists and cruised a short distance across the ocean to a local aquarium. Now maybe we're spoiled having been to the Vancouver Aquarium but this was seriously disappointing. There were several tanks of sea cucumbers and starfish and a few bigger fish and hundreds of people. The boat tour was looking like a bust. At the next island we were handed cheap snorkel gear and we jumped off to boat to explore. Despite leaky masks and still too many people we started getting into the spirit of the tour and having a good time. After a free lunch served on the roof of the boat (and some beer) we'd decided to make the most of our tour and spent hours jumping, diving and flipping off the boat trying to catch the perfect action photo. Just to top off the fun we'd begun to have the 'cruise director' busted out a 'floating bar' (a styrofoam board with fake flowers pierced into it) and free red wine. So in the end, the cruise was a success and we all came home with a buzz and a tan. All in all, a great day.
After a few nights of in Nha Trang we moved North to Hoi An. We'd heard great things so we all had high expectations. Luckily, the town lived up to the hype. We all admitted that this was the first time we'd felt like we'd experienced authentic Vietnam. There are tailors and shoe makers on every corner and the buildings are old and a bit decrepid. While there are still many backpackers and foreigners, the party/drink vibe was not there which made for a relaxing time. We each got pants and shoes made, even though some turned out better than others. Kristen is now the proud owner of the ugliest shorts on earth, haha. Kristen and I rented bikes and cruised the cobble streets exploring while Anna and Luke opted for more speed with scooters that they took to Marble Mountain. We all visited the My Son relics and though we couldn't understand much of the tour guide's information we tried to take in as much as we could.
Alright, I need to sign off. The computer is very blurry and making me a bit sick...AND there's a woman killing chickens just outside the door. Ick!!! We're in Halong Bay right now and we've had over 24 hours travel to get here but I'll leave that story for now.
Hearts, hugs and all that jazz,
Kohle (and the girls)
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Andrew
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