Travelling (Nine)

Asia » Vietnam
December 1st 2006

Published: July 1st 2008

01 Dec 2006

The next morning we made our way to the cafe where we had bought the tour and grabbed a few french goodies from the boulangerie and had a cup of coffee from the cafe. We then left our bags with the cafe and went a way for 3 days with out having to worry about them, a very nice feeling indeed! The bus left about 830am and took around three hours. We sat down on the bus and our tour guide stood up and introduced himself, Duan or Tony, because apparently he looked like a member of the Italian mafia! Rather funny though but made it hard to remember his real name! He did go on to tell us about the various bridges that we passed over how one was Vietnamese built and another french and how they had been destroyed in the Vietnam war. He also told us why there were so few cars on the road, which is due to an extortionate import tax on foreign cars, even second hard. He said they would cost about US$45,000 a lot of money but a lot more reliable than the Vietnamese built cars which were a lot less around US$12,000 (if my memory is right). We also had a chat with an Australian couple who were travelling for a couple of weeks in Vietnam. The bus stopped off at a rest area which was obviously just built for tourists and we quickly bypassed that bought a drink and had a quick chat to a Dutch couple and got back on the bus. When the bus arrived I was most greatful to get out as the lack of leg room was causing a bit of pain in my legs! We left the but and went and had some lunch at a restaurant. The food was really nice and included lots of fish and seafood and soup. really really nice. After lunch we then got back on the bus and drove over the road, why we needed to get back on the bus I don't know. Anyway we then grabbed our bags and made our way to the boat where we would spend the night. We sat down and were given these really nice cold towels to mop our brows with. Had a drink before settling into our rooms. We then made our way to the top deck to enjoy the sun and the views. We sat there relaxing and taking a few photos. The scenery was quite as we'd expected... stunning!! very like the mountains in Yangshuo but obviously they were just mountains rising straight out of the sea! After a while we passed through a mini village which floated on the sea. The dwellings looked very basic and quite small. Shortly after that we arrived at our fist destination which was a cave. This cave is the largest known in the region. It was OK but again John and I were not as with the water cave. but we wandered through the caves and again there was a giant penis.... We then made our way back to the boat and relaxed some more before the boat moored up in the middle of a bay and over the side we went. The water here was lovely and warm and the sun was just setting as we swam around having a brief game with a ball and enjoying the lilos. Duan also performed a rather amusing performance of pretending to be scared about jumping from the top. Initially I had bottled it and only jumped from reasonable low but after seeing some other people doing it I got out and marched straight to the top deck and in I went. Great!! We then got back on the boat and dried off before making our way to another little area where we anchored for the night. We then spent the next few hours relaxing both on the top deck and down in the main cabin area playing cards. We then all had dinner which consisted of some really fantastic fish and soup. We then headed upstairs where we sat down and chatted for a few hours. Having finally moved to less polluted areas we were able, once we disconnected the light, to get a really good look at the stars. We then went and went to bed as we wanted to have a quick swim before breakfast.

Neither John nor I had an alarm so we relied on one of us waking up. Somehow at 6.40am I woke up, woohoo! so I dragged myself up and put my swimming shorts on and after ensuring the ladder was going down jumped in. Definitely a good way to wake up in the morning. it wasn't long before I was joined by John and other members of the tour group in the water. We then got out and showered and changed before having breakfast. After breakfast the boat upped anchor and set off for Cat Ba island. When we arrived there we packed up our stuff and went and caught a bus to our hotel around the corner. We then got settled in before catching another bus which took us to yet another cave. The bus ride took us through the island which was actually much larger than we had imagined it was going to be but again we were loving the scenery. After about half an hour or so we arrived at our destination we got off the bus and made our way onto a boat after a few minutes we got off the boat and we walked a short distance to the cave. The cave was a lot smaller than the cave we had seen the previous day however this cave had been used to store weapons and ammunition during the American war which we found interesting it was also a lot more like 'real' cave we enjoyed this a lot more and one part we went under through a short tunnel into a really dark cave which had some really sticky mud in it. After we had done that we made our way back to the boat and then back onto the bus. The bus set off and shortly one of the locals who had hitched a ride got off the bus however the bus had not stopped and when he hit the ground he fell over. Luckily the guy wasn't hit by the bus and got up all ok. The bus then made it's way back to the hotel where we grabbed a few things before jumping onto another boat. Once on board we had lunch consisting of break and cheese and egg and salad and some fruit. We then relaxed for a while and watched the sea and islands go past. We eventually reached a point where the boat dropped anchor and it was time to go swimming again. This time, being on a different boat to before, we had a big banana boat to play with. I got onto this and began to paddle towards the closest island which had a small beach. A few of the other guys had also swum there. I then landed the craft and went for a short walk followed by a brief swim. After I had had a bit of a swim I then went and jumped back on the banana boat with the young Australian couple and we paddled around the island. Once we had done this the Australians got off and I picked up another passenger in the form of John. We then paddled all the way over to a small beach which was a bit further away. When we eventually got there we were a bit worried about how long we'd been so we turned around and came straight back. However when we got back everyone was still on the beach or in the sea. So we got off the banana boat and I swam back to the boat. Shortly afterward everyone did the same thing, and just as the last person had got out we saw a huge stingray swim up near the surface and then disappear again. I didn't stay on the boat for long though, as our next trip would not take so long so we were given the opportunity to sit on the banana boat and be pulled along. So John and I were straight on and we were also joined by the Danish guy and his elder son. The boat took us to what is known as monkey island and took around 20 minutes from where we were anchored. It was rather fun being pulled along and bouncing up and down on the waves. When we arrived we jumped off the banana boat and walked along the shore in search of monkeys. The island was not as I had imagined it and we were only really able to walk along the beach. We did manage to sea a few monkeys, about two or three, but we were a little disappointed with the lack of monkeys. But it was a nice beach so it wasn't all bad and we were soon bouncing pebbles over the sea before getting back in the boat and making our way back to Cat Ba island and to our hotel. When we arrived back I had a stinking headache and went and had a lie down before dragging myself up. The evening was scheduled as a free evening but our tour guide had said he would be at a certain restaurant so a few people would be there so John and I went there too. I had a really nice fish there which was gorgeous and we chatted away about this and that before making our way to a bar nearby which just so happened to have karaoke. John was again in his 'prime' and of the 8 or do of us there we all had a go at the 'singing' some obviously worse at it than others but a good laugh. People left in dips and drabs through the evening and eventually it was John, I and the two older Australian women who were a good laugh and we talked a lot about Australia. We then made our way back to the hotel and chatted a bit more before going to sleep.

The next morning we got up and went to a place around the corner where we had breakfast and were then joined by three girls, English girls (nurses too) as it turned out who had opted to remain for a few days on the island and return later. We got back on the same boat we had come from the mainland on and soon were on top deck enjoying the view. We were then given the final opportunity to have a swim and john and I at this point did some synchronised jumping from the top deck which was great. Then we go back on the boat and dried off and we sailed back to the mainland we then went to a restaurant where we had lunch before getting back on the bus. It was on the journey back that John and I really got to chat to the girls and it turned out that they had done a 2000km charity cycle up to a place called Sapa which is supposed to be fantastically beautiful with the rice fields in the mountains. So they were just relaxing for a few days after the cycle before returning to England. When we eventually arrived back in Hanoi John wanted to get straight out as quickly as possible so we said our goodbyes to everyone we had met and walked to the railway station. Once we arrived we planned to by any ticket so long as it was south but luckily there was a train which went to Hoi An which is roughly halfway between Hanoi and Saigon. So we then had a quick dinner before jumping onto the train and onwards to Hoi An.

We were woken up ridiculously early by the Vietnamese passengers sharing our cabin, around 530am! And they soon began some kind of heated debate... which was nice. However we did see some stunning scenery as the train passed along the coast line. When we arrived we were in a city called Danang, which is just a few minutes away from Hoi An. We ended up going in a mini bus type thing and tried to haggle but the driver was not having any of it. But there were a few other westerners in there so we decided to go with it. It wasn't many minutes before we arrived at the first hotel and were asked to come in and have a look etc. but this hotel was on the outskirts so we decided against it. However the next hotel we came to was much more central and really rather nice. it had air con and even a pool. so we went with that one. After showering and changing we went for a wander and to find some food. We ended up wandering through the town and buying as few bits and bobs before going and having some food down by the river at a small place. We then went for another big wander and also booked a tour to see the My Son ruins which were near by. After a few hours we made it back to the hotel and found our bearings a little bit. The evening we went in search of food and I was still suffering from a cold and had a really bad headache so I stayed in the room and watched James Bond on TV and had an early night.

The next day we got up and checked out and had some breakfast before getting on the bus for our tour of the My Son ruins. While on the bus we bumped into a girl who we had met on the bus from Danang to Hoi An but it actually turned out that we had been following each other as she had been on the same train as us to Hanoi and done a different tour of the Halang Bay. She was interesting to talk to as she was brought up in France but had a Chinese father and a Vietnamese mother and was staying with here relatives around the place. So when we arrived at the ruins we wandered around with her which was nice and we looked at the overgrown ruins of My Son which is an ancient Hindu temple from around 1000 years ago discovered in the 19th century by the french and then the Americans destroyed part of it with their bombs in the war. The area was littered with craters, it was really sad to see the destruction of such an ancient building. After the tour was over we went back to the town and had some lunch together and then arranged to meet on the beach later. We then went back to our hotel and went on the Internet and grabbed our beach stuff before hiring some bikes and heading off towards the beach. The cycle took us about 20 minutes and was really rather nice passing through a slightly rural bit of Vietnam. We then parked our bikes and walked under the palm trees and out onto the golden sand. We then wandered up the beach in search of Su, the girl we had met, we went straight past her and up the beach in search of her and taking in the sights and atmosphere. We then turned around and spotted her not far away from where we had been. We sat down and said hello turned a few hawkers away and headed into the lovely warm Vietnamese sea. John and I had a bit of fun trying to body surf and messing about. John returned to the beach a few minutes before me and when I returned we had quite an impressive hawker who made the hard sell fun as she had lots of amusing phrases which she came out with such as its happy hour you buy pineapple your happy and I'm happy, you get pineapple and I get money, or words to that effect anyway. We eventually weakened and Su bought a pineapple for us to share which was really nice and sweet. We then said our goodbyes as we were both off to Saigon and arranged to meet there. We then went back to the hotel and had a shower before grabbing some dinner and a few munchies before getting the bus to Saigon!! The bus turned up and we got on. We had been promised a sleeper bus in the style of the ones we had seen in china where you could lie flat. however, we were not given that and ended up enduring a really long and uncomfortable night on a cramped full bus.

Eventually the bus arrived in Nha Trang about 6am and we then had some breakfast before changing buses to a much emptier bus where we were able to get at least a few minutes of rest. The journey took us along the coast and the landscape was just fantastic with rolling heathland (if that's the right word) Eventually around 1pm we arrived at a hotel somewhere on the beach in a pure tropical paradise it was amazing with palm trees galore and golden sand stretching as far as the eyes could see. I was definitely tempted to stay there. After lunch I used every ounce of will power and dragged myself back onto the bus, which then picked up many more people for the journey to Saigon. The journey seemed to take forever and as we arrived the traffic was really really busy but we did eventually arrive slab bang in the middle of Saigon just where we wanted to be. So we then grabbed our bags and headed off in search of somewhere to stay. We ended up finding a Internet cafe which had some dorms for US$3 per night which was nice and cheap so we stayed there. We had a shower and then went in search of food and a beer. John was in text communication with Su and she said she was going to a bar and the only similar one we could see in the lonely planet turned out to be wrong as when we walked over there there was no sign of her. However next door was a really nice restaurant so we went there and we both had some lovely food. We then walked back to the area where we were staying and went to a couple more bars before getting some much needed sleep.

The next day we go up and went and found somewhere to have some breakfast. There was lots to choose from but eventually we went to a place where the girls seemed to be up for a good laugh and 'stole' johns hat while he was in the loo and was wandering around the restaurant with it on, rather amusing. We then went and found ourselves some motor bikes and agreed our price before being taken to a really lovely temple and pagoda. When we arrived being our first outing on a motor bike we both picked up "Vietnemese Tatoos" or rather nasty burns on our legs. Johns blistered a lot worse than mine but neither caused too much problems other than not looking too pleasant. The temple itself was very different to any of the temples we had seen in China and there were people sleeping all over the place. We were asked to take off our shoes before entering the main area there were also lots of smaller alters around the place and lots of picture pinned up around the place. After a few minutes we left the temple and had a look and some of the other bits and bobs in the complex including a rather nice pagoda. We then went off in search of a lake which we failed to find due to the rubbish map in the lonely planet but we had a nice wander around the local area. Then eventually deciding we had no idea where we were so we got some more motor bikes, this time to see some pagodas. They sounded rather clear and easy to find but after wandering around we couldn't find these either - not a highly successful afternoon. We then got on some more motor bikes back to the centre and had a drink before wandering over to the War remnants museum. This contained a lot of pictures and information relating to the war with America, obviously the place was look at what the Americans did to our people but it was still shocking to look at the effect of the chemical weapons, known as agent orange, that they had used and they said that they had tortured the prisoners. There was also a few tanks and planes and a helicopter on display a really sombre place but worth the visit. We were then thrown out as it was closing time so we made our way over to a park nearby and sat by a fountain as the sun was setting. After that we went back and had a shower before making our way to a bar near our dorm where we had arranged to meet Su and her friends for a spot of dinner. We then bought ourselves a beer and awaited their arrival. We didn't have to wait too long before 4 people arrived two french guys and a girlfriend who was Vietnamese. So we had a couple of drinks in the bar before jumping in a taxi to a restaurant that they french guys knew. Once in the taxi we were surprised by the level of traffic, it turned out to be due to an official visit by none other that George. W. Bush. We actually saw his car arrive at his hotel as we crawled past the motorbikes which were parked up. We then arrived at the restaurant only to find out that they had finished for the evening so we went to a place just up the road. We sat down and ordered a few drinks and the Vietnamese girl Dua was put in charge of ordering us a whole load of food and it did turn out to be a whole load of food it was fantastic!! We had soup and a whole load of seafood, prawns and squid and crab and even some raw prawns Japanese style with the spicy mustard stuff. So we spent a whole load of time eating and drinking and more eating and chatting the whole time it was fantastic. Then after a while the food did eventually stop coming and some of the guys left as they had to do stuff the next day. So the bill was ordered and quickly removed from our eyes and they refused to take any of our money which we were stunned by and the place did not look cheap! We then said good bye to Dua and one of the french guys and we went up stairs to the strange disco type place where we had a few drinks and had a blatant prostitute hassling us and a guy who just kind of hovered really close to our table, this is a Vietnamese thing apparently and they like it as it makes them feel important, very weird to us though! The place then shut and we said out goodbyes and made our way to the area where we were staying. When we arrived we decided to pop into a bar a few doors down from our dorm. We sat in there and soon began talking to a Danish guy who seemed really sound and gave us a few hints on Malysia, then as we were chatting away there was a rather a load bang and all the lights in the local area went out! Then we had lots of fun trying to explain what candles were but eventually they worked it out. We then stayed fir a frew more drinks until the power was restored and then we made our way back to our room and crashed out.

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