Day 33: Snorkelling, hot springs and a mud bath

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Geo: 12.2452, 109.199

All eyes were on the sky this morning checking the weather but there was no need to worry, it looked as smooth as a millpond out to sea. After a very light breakfast (mindful that what went down could come up on open ocean boat ride) we were dressed and ready for the 8.30 pickup by Huay.

We needed to make one quick stop to pick up the snorkelling masks and Mac and Richard decided to add a pair of flippers to the gear for the princely sum of $1. I couldn't quite get my mind around wondering where the mouth piece of the snorkel had been last and what cleansing methods were used to prepare them for us. Never mind - just let it go.

Arriving at the pier at Cau Do, there was no time to dwell on it because everything happened so quickly and before we knew it we were in a vortex of people being propelled towards the boat. Tried to do a little shopping for Loraine to pick up a pair of sunnies but it was quite futile because the rush and crush just took over. Think we found out what it feels like to be in a stampede.

And it must surely have been the harbour master's morning off because the tour boats jockeyed for position and customers. The hulls were a patchwork of rubber tyres and watching the boats use their argie -barging tactics to find a spot adjacent to the pier validated their need for the ugly black necklace of tyres each boat wore. To top it off, there was ding dong battle between two of the stall holders over the sale of a pair of togs - ripped from a mannequin - and tossed onto a departing boat for a Chinese tourist.

Somehow, amongst the spluttering engines of the departing wooden boats a crack of water appears and our private boat pulled into the pier - what a relief to be out of that melee.

The only waves we encountered were the wake of the speed boats. Other than that it was smooth sailing (motoring actually) for 40 minutes until we pulled up at Mun Island. LO_RI were the definite experts and were careful in their entry to the water and suited up meticulously. Mac, on the other hand, a total virgin, half sorted out his mask issues and was in head first and with head down was kicking and sucking in air and water in his mask. As the official photographer I was last to join the group in the water and with a little persistence joined in the fun. Have to say that I spent the majority of the time clinging to the rubber tyres on the boat.

Recently returned from a similar experience in Hawaii in January, LO_RI indicated that this little segment of the Mun Island reef had more colours on show. We saw lots of coral, brightly coloured fish and eels and with a bottle of bread on offer, were able to entice the fish in close to feed.

The ocean temperature was just right and we kicked and explored for just under the hour before calling it quits and clambering back on board. We were one of three boats at this part of the reef. Just the four of us on board our boat while the accompanying boats were ferrying approximately 20 Russian tourists each - so it was very quiet actually and there was plenty of ocean to share.

It was only a quick 20 minute boat trip to lunch although with the shortened snorkelling time we were there 20 minutes early and had to stall till noon. No worries, there was Vietnamese Iced Coffee available so Loraine and Mac savoured the cold sweet drink. On the dot of 11.59, the ever hungry Richard had us marshalled and on our way to the upstairs dining room of the Con Se Tre restaurant - the waterfront restaurant located on the Bamboo Island.

Never sure of the set menu, we held our breath until it arrived. And it came by the truckload including our very own bubbling cauldron of soup complete with tomato and pineapple - the staples of Nha Trang "anything." Tackled the fish, the oysters, the prawns and the calamari - all with new and unique flavours and then had to make room for the chicken and beef as well as the vegetables and the soup. Definitely think the snorkelling had left the swimmers a little peckish because we actually made a dent in the payload!

Back in the boat to be returned to an unusually quiet dock. The absolute clamour of the morning had disappeared and our captain effortlessly sidled up to the pier for an orderly disembarkation (just a short step up and over on this one.) Certainly no screaming or fighting sale ladies on our exit.

On each of our trips over the bridge we have spotted the landmark of the Cham Po Nagar Temple and this was our next destination. Imagine the traffic associated with the opening ceremony of a modern Olympic Games. This is what it felt like at the temple.

There were wall to wall people - as if every shrieking tourist from the pier this morning was at the temple in the afternoon. There were buses and mini vans, four wheel drives and scooters, marketeers and tourists - in fact there were thousands of Chinese tourists lined up in varying degrees of order behind an assortment of coloured flags as their guides yelled instructions to everyone in general and no-one in particular. Everything was done at pace with a good old push and shove and without any semblance of turn taking. This was crazy central.

Huay walked us through the temple grounds which had a striking resemblance to Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. Built in the 700s this temple is still used today by the Cham people for their Buddhist worship. Historically, Cham is an ancient civilization that was influential in Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam and Cambodia. The Cham ruled Vietnam for 10 centuries, their unmistakable architecture and art style had spread widely across places in the country. Loraine and I had our temple length gear on and were able to squeeze inside the narrow, incensed stained corridor to view the tiny altar which was reverently being worshipped by a mother and her children. This tiny space contrasted with the expanse of the temple structure from the outside.

The interesting and perhaps "politically incorrect" side commentary was about the Chinese tourists. Huay explained that the Chinese tourists are noisy and dirty and that they have been banned from a range of religious sites because they spit and urinate over the churches and temples. We had been picking up on subtle references to the Chinese by all of our guides but this was the first series of outright accusations. There is no love lost by the Vietnamese on the Chinese tourists. And we actually saw it today. There was hacking and spitting and throwing of rubbish accompanied by pushing and shoving and a constant screech of noise around the temple.

Next stop - the spa. The three hour mud bath experience was something new for us all. Again, have to throw out the hygiene considerations and just go with the flow - in this case the mud flow...and anyway, what exactly is clean mud? Were issued with our very own green towels and were then invited to shower (that makes sense because we were heading for mud) and were allocated a locker to store our gear including phones and camera. So no pictures of the details of the adventure - just the single shot of the "four pigs in mud."

It was an hilarious afternoon. The tub was filled with the smooth mud and we slipped and slid all around the pool. Eventually found our balance and, if we refrained from moving even a single muscle, could actually relax and enjoy the bath without risking sliding under the surface.

Fifteen minutes of mud soaking, followed by prolonged showers and extended periods of alternating hydrotherapy, jacuzzis, a relaxing prolonged hot tub fed from the mineral springs (if only the Chinese delegation hadn't been next to us this may have been a reality), the waterfalls and the hot and cold plunge pools and we were as wrinkly as prunes. In all, spent just on 3 hours here. Emerged after the experience with mud in all the wrong places and clothes still tinged with green but feeling refreshed and energised. At a good 20 years younger EACH, we were hardly recognisable by Huay (or at least he so graciously joked.) But we were filled with enough courage to take on all comers in the head to head traffic jam in the exit down the tiny village laneway.

Back to the hotel for a real shower (that mud has a mind of its own and gets everywhere) and spruced up for the walk down the hill 830 metres for a seafood feast.

The Thein Phouc had been recommended by Huay as a must do. Wish we had a little more background on it before we dived in...literally. The entrance was filled with multiple rows of tanks with all the live seafood on display. We were shown the tanks to start with but had no idea what was being explained.

Seated outside on a huge veranda that extended over the ocean we purused the menu to discover that your selections were coming from the live tanks. We definitely had no idea on quantities and sizes and after doing mental calculations for the approximate weight of the shells versus the flesh we went nuts and ordered 1 kg of lobster in cheese sauce, 1 kg of lobster in garlic and butter, 1 kg of mud crab and 1 kg of sand crab as well as fried rice with seafood and a prawn dish. We should have twigged when they bought 4 live gigantic lobsters out in plastic buckets and we smilingly and naively nodded acquiescence and then sat while they piled up the multiple trays of dipping sauce.

Even I was daunted by the volume of fresh seafood that landed on our table and Loraine was speechless. But, we just picked up our tools and started working. I ate for 90 minutes without looking up and Richard has rightly observed "I have learnt never to come between Jan and fresh crabs." The flesh was warm, the meat was sweet and 8 lobster halves and 8 crabs later the team declared the innings over and we left with a doggy bag containing two little sandies and half a mud crab.

Had planned to take a taxi home after dinner but unanimously agreed we needed to walk it off. To be fair, given the amount of food we had consumed, 800 metres wasn't nearly enough.

Have you ever been so full you can't risk cleaning your teeth? That was me! I'm never eating again.

Steps: 10 395
Temperature: 34 degrees

PS We have a real life mystery to solve. Loraine left her Elephant Bag on the seat at dinner. Despite returning and reporting it missing, it has not surfaced. A bit of a loss because it has served well - light weight, perfect size, great handles, beautiful buckle - and joined the trip in Cambodia for an outlay of $6! Sadly missed. Of course, this has triggered Operation Dumbo! The forensic skills of the Vietnam Venturers is pitted against the sheer weight of numbers of the KGB. More than the bag, Loraine needs the clip on sunnies cover for her glasses!

PPS Loraine has disputed this. Believes the staff have it - and are cross that they had to give us a free dessert!

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Comments

[Aunty Gail]

Another madly adventurous day! I truly wonder how you are all keeping up the pace!! Not to mention the food! Will you ever be able to eat normal Aussie food again?