Do they haaaave lycra??

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until our South to North of Nam trip is over 😞

29th November 2007:

We started our day off by deciding to walk to the markets that were actually quite a distance from our hotel. First lot ended up being just food, so we skipped that. So we then headed to the other end of town to find the clothes markets. Bianca ordered a pair of prescription rayban aviators ( Bianca says: "funky 70's style thanks") while I ummed and arghed to get a new pair of prescription glasses and in the end decided not to - but they are soooo cheap and they were a cool pinky purply colour (shoulda got them!)!!!

The Dam Markets were not that great in the end and apparently don't barter either, but I was after a few more hippy-ish tops so i didn't want to walk away empty handed. After paying only $2 in Cambodia for my white one i wasn't prepared to pay their $8 asking price per top....so....I played it and wasn't prepared to pay any more than $3 per top....and that I got! I was so damn happy with myself!!!

There is an island across from Nha Trang Beach with a hollywood style sign saying "Vinpearl" - no idea what it was we decided it looked like it could've been interesting so we decided to get a taxi down to the port where you either catch a ferry or a .... get this ... CABLE CAR!! ... 3.3KM LONG ... OVER WATER!!!!!! .... !!!!! ..... As freaked out as i was at this thought, we all got on it and it was surprisingly OK. We arrived at this Vinpearl expecting perhaps a small resort...no...it was a THEME PARK! YEAH! So today...we weren't travellers...we were jockeys, dance stars and basket ballers!! and good ones at that!

This place was great. Apparently it has only opened recently, which would explain the handful of people that were there. We headed straight to the indoor games. Bianca and I really, really, really wanted to use that dancing game thing, which we have since found out we are completely unco at. Explains why I don't like to dance! Funniest game would've had to have been these lifesize horses that literally moved like a real horse, and you have no choice but to ride it like you are a realllll jockey! it was going so fast that your feet were slapping the side of the horse. I also got 'plastic burn' in my inner thighs cos I decided to wear a skirt which I had to hike right up! If i had known what i would've been doing, i would've perhaps dressed a little more appropriately.

Bianca and I decided to get a little competitive with a mystery high scorer on the punching ball. Not a problem...we're going fine...until a noise seems to grab our attention. It sounded like perhaps someone trying to shake a vending machine with chips that were stuck....no....no vending machine in sight....it was mark....by himself....about 15 metres away....riding a pony!!!! This pony game was great. You raced against the others but you had to stand up like you were riding a real horse, and you had to whip it like you were on a real one and the pony's head had to completely move back and forth....or it went no where. It wasn't so much the fact that mark was on this thing....it was more the fact that a grown man was by himself riding this thing! So of course we had to have a go!

We finally decided we should get back to the mainland, seeing as though we had been there for 3 hours and the sun had gone down....but not before riding the rollercoaster! Bianca and I were on it twice in a row and mark had to have a go too, too much fun to miss out on. But...contrary to how it looked, it was actually good....

We then got back onto the cable car, quite windy but thankfully not too bad....while we listened to the carpenters and elton john through their music system run by a car battery... and bianca ate her icecream....her pistachio icecream! yummmmo!

discovered a great place owned by an english dude, with the best western meals!!! shorty's is great for hamburgers! plus he owns 3 cats, one of which wanted to completely adopt us and bianca's head. Two dogs, one which had a strange overbite (the bottom teeth too...cute though!) and a great pool table!

30th November 2007:

Today we opted for a four island daytrip around Nha Trang. unfortunately we didn't get off the boat until the 3rd island...but it ended up being pretty good anyhow. Met four other aussies who were in our van on the way there, including two brothers who live in fairfield of all places. Eric is one guy.....but after not finding out his brothers name, he is now officially called "his brother". Mark snorkelled at the first place but there was no way I was getting in with ten metre deep water. Bianca and I were the only westerners on board...pretty depressing really. Second Island we stopped at and had lunch and the blokes who were running the trip performed with a boy band session thing. Funny but weird.

Finally getting off the boat at the next island, bianca and I sat in our bikinis on the beach....eating icecream. Making sure everyone knew just how to get figure like ours. Mark hired a jetski for 15 mins while we watched some weird girls doing what could've only been described as "homegirl pics". They literally romped around in the water and the sand posing in many different ways for their seedy looking male mate who took plenty of photos - as did many other blokes on the beach. It was just strange. Mark finished his jetskiing and we decided on a tandom parasail. I was wanting to make sure they didn't dump us in the water, so I kept stressing it and stressing it and stressing it. They all seemed ok with it. Being waterproof, we took our camera up. Being Asian they obviously thought we were saying "dump us in the water" and that they did!!! Five metres out from shore the boat landed us straight in the water! Lesson one for the day: let them run things how they usually do....you just cause confusion otherwise! The parasail was great though.

Fourth island ended up being at an island with an aquarium. On the way there I got talking to the two aussie girls about Hoi An and the clothes they got made, how much and where etc etc. They opted to stay on the boat for this stop and we got off. As I stepped off the boat I remembered to ask them something. So I yelled out "do they have lycra" I was serious....I wanted to know if they had stretchy fabric. Mark and Bianca though decided to pay me out about it cos it sounded like I was dying and I had one last thing I wanted to know. Anyhow!!!!

Aquarium was small and I became a tour guide for 2 asian guys. I would read the label being smart....and they'd repeat it and ask me to point it out....they were most impressed with the stone fish! I'm gonna be a marine biologist like George in seinfeld!

We finally headed off back to Nha Trang, where we had to get back to collect out bags, rush for another yum dinner at shorty's and go to board the night bus to Hoi An. Not such a great trip because I had to pee no less than 6 times....not a comfortable feeling with no toilet onbaord. Oh and many, many, many trucks coming straight at us allllllll night...Apart from that though, I loved it. What more could you want...a cool bed, M&Ms, Oreos, Coke and no wasted travel time in the day. 12 hours on a sleeper bus for $11 - Now that's the way to travel!

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