Day 39 to 44 Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park and a little bit of heaven in Hoi An

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The overnight train was quite eventful as voyeurs, we were in a seat as they had sold out of sleeper bunks. Firstly, there was an announcement about the great Vietnamese railway (in English), at least 3 trolleys of food went up and down and then they started showing a Smurf film! People had lots of luggage all over the carriage, and they slept everywhere including the aisle which was difficult to negotiate at 5.30am when the train pulled into our stop. A cab was there to meet us to take us to our very grandly named hotel Mountain View, which all I can say did have a mountain view, and a very friendly landlady, and a room. Maybe it was the early hour, or lack of sleep, but we were quite stunned on arrival and took time to acclimatise. Luckily we found a good vibe and some live music in a local hostel which helped us settle in.



We found out that there was much excitement in the little village of Son Trach, it had been booked out by no other than a Hollywood film crew! They are making King Kong 2, using the tropical evergreen jungle and the enormous (world’s largest) Son Doong cave. We were hoping Kim would get another opportunity to be an Extra, but were still waiting for the call!



You have to undertake tours here for exploring the forest and caves unless you take a motorbike, we decided on the safe option as we didn’t need any extra excitement at this time in our trip. The tour took us to Paradise Cave, a huge dry cave and secondly a lovely long boat trip to and into Phong Nha river cave. So pleased to have seen some greenery, stunning mountains and incredible cave structures, would have liked to see some animals but hopefully that will come.



After 2 nights in Phong Nha it was time to move on. We thought we would have to get back on the train to Hoi An, but this would have meant a taxi connection to and from the stations. We found out we could get a night bus that would get us directly to Hoi An. These are buses operated by various companies, some good some bad, that criss-cross south east Asia. We were to pick up the bus at silly stupid o’clock (not just stupid o’clock) at 4.30am. We have been told that some night buses are better than the train and they were right, modern, designed to sleep about fifty on two levels, and the beds were really comfortable-if a bit short for a tall person. If only they had told the driver it was a sleeper bus, and stop beeping that ‘beeping’ (put in your own word) horn.



We arrived in the centre of Hoi An, if there is a luxury we afford ourselves, it’s to have a taxi to the hotel or hostel. It can also be the most irritating as soon as you get off the bus, hordes of people descend on you, to offer to drive you to your destination. Two guys with an official but old identity tag round their neck, said they could get us to the hotel one on each motor bike, do you know what we said? ‘on yer bike’!.



We arrived at the hotel, on a hot humid day, to a very warm welcome from the hotel Manager, to have melon drinks thrust into our hands, we just had a quick look at the lovely hotel room, (most of our hotels had been very friendly but average in Vietnam) before diving into the small but perfectly formed pool. The manager then came out and said would you like a coconut drink?, the next thing fresh coconuts were off a nearby tree, into a glass with ice. The next few days they couldn’t do enough for us, we thought we had gone to heaven, wonderful.



We had hardly seen any westerners on our voyage through Russia, Mongolia and China. But in Vietnam we are well on the tourist trail. Hoi An is a place that people flock to, and for good reason. The river location, the quaint rustic streets, the shops particularly, the town it is known for its tailoring.



The only downside of the hotel was it was a little out of the main town, but we were given bicycles by the hotel. It didn’t take long to get to the centre, but we are still working out who has right of way. Parking was also a problem, vendors who see you wanting to park offer you their space - obviously so you buy from them. We thought we had found a space for the bikes, and a lovely lady came and helped. (I can lock a bike up!) She said would we take a look at a books of clothing designs. One tailored ladies suit and shirt later, it was the most expensive cycle park ever!



We enjoyed Hoi An immensely, its rustic charm, the street food, we enjoyed going to the Japanese covered bridge and historic houses all of which have Chinese and Japanese influence and are about 200 years old. With our newly acquired bicycles we enjoyed exploring the country side, with the paddy fields and the fishing villages, even seeing the beach - the first sea we have seen since our journey started. Only spoilt again by vendors wanted you to park, honestly, we had to fend off about 12 in a few yards.



We have had a lovely time, the food, the atmosphere, the people, especially our friendly hotel staff it’s going to very hard to move on. I strongly recommend it a place to visit, just watch where you park your bike……

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Photos

Market live animals
I m not vegetarian and I like chicken but I must admit I felt like letting them go.

Vietnam train
it soon had people sleeping on floor

Is it working?
with tour guide Diem

Comments

[Brian stay at home Russell]

Sweaty man returns!
You buy a shirt and scrimp on the collar, what a cheap skate! - So here's an image of Sweaty man by the pool, where's the pictures of Hot Girl?????? keep up the good work - it snowed here this morning for the first time this year.

[Brian stay at home Russell]

Doesn't look like Ireland does it?
Sorry I was bored with working - you look to be having a far more interesting time.