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After our few days in Hanoi which consisted mainly of sampling more tasty new foods and drinks as well as dodging crazy traffic whilst checking the local sights, we booked ourselves along with and Matt & Jess, our new found friends, onto a two night/three day boat trip to Ha Long Bay, which was definitely one on the things-to-do-list. We woke up early to catch a long & bumpy bus journey to the coast, consisting of a few 'unscheduled' stops to try and sell us tourists the most unuseful things, including marble statues and rather expensive pearls. Defiant and with the contents of our wallets still intact, we arrived at the port and were ferried to our ship for the next few days, called Opera. The sail boat, if you can call it that, was amazing with our own cabins (there were 13 in total), a bar and restaurant and a deck to admire the spectacular views of the thousands of limestone karsts and islands rising from the sea.
On our first day we got taken to a small floating fishing village and had our first taste of kayaking through to some stunning caves and lagoons; I could have stayed staring at the green walls surrounding us for hours. Shaun got chatting to two girls from Sweden and began receiting all the Swedish profanities that Tim and Jens had taught him. Luckily, as the ever-liberal Swedes, the girls were quite impressed and so the foundations for great friendships were created. Back at the boat we were promised free wine and cookery demonstrations, so after heading back we enjoyed spring rolls made by our fair selves and the rest of the folks on the boat. That evening, we tucked into an amazing sea-food dinner and shared the table and a few giggles & banter with Jack, Val and Bev from Australia, who proved to be excellent company. After a few drops of rum that we had smuggled onto the boat (you weren't supposed to, ha!), Shaun tried his luck with squid fishing from the back of the boat, only returning an hour later with a tiny and very much dead fish in a wine glass. He was named Jeff - RIP. We settled for the night in a small bay which was the sleeping area for all the other tour boats creating pretty scenes with at all the lights twinkling in the dark. Tired from the sea air we turned in rather early in order to keep the energy levels high for the following day's activities.
The next morning we waved goodbyes to those who had only booked for one night and us, Matt & Jess and Stina & Mathilda boarded a day boat and sailed out for our day's adventures in good care of our tour guide for the day, called Kenny (who took a shining for the boys, especially for Matt). We were brought a tray of drinks up to the deck and caved in for a beer at 9.45am... Well, it's sort of a holiday after all. Kenny had set a busy day for us climing, kayaking and swimming, but to the great dissapointment of the lads, he didn't deliver his promise of a football game. The kayaking and the scenery that day were absolutely spectacular, we went through quiet, green bays with crystal clear waters, paddled through dark caves and popped up again surrounded by breathtaking limestone mountains around us, which echoed every sound; It really is hard to describe how stunning the views were. After paddling back to the day boat, we enjoyed a huge lunch and later Shaun, Matt, Jess and Mathilda took the opportunity to jump into the freezing cold Ha Long Bay waters, Stina and I decided to wait for the Sun, Sea and Sand of South Vietnam.
In the afternoon we climbed up another island, and although this one didn't have the football or volleyball nets as did the first island, Shaun and co were determined to create a game of some sort. So with a volleyball pitch drawn in the sand it was all good to go. Back on the boat we sailed towards Opera (and spotted a huge jellyfish), chatting and laughing as the tray of drinks kept reappearing (though later we realised that the beers weren't free). On our return we were greeted by a new group of one-dayers and later joined everyone for more extremely tasty seafood and of course, more drinks, which lead to some questionable karaoke performances.
The last morning of our trip we woke up feeling tired and slightly hungover to a misty and rainy bay and after breakfast we visited a huge cave (called Surprising Cave - granted, it was). After lunch, we returned to the mainland, had dinner back in Hanoi and later that evening said our goodbyes to the Swedish girls. True to his word, the guy from the travel agency who had sorted our boat trip and onward train tickets (who we'll call Gerald), literally escorted Matt & Jess and us to our train compartment heading for Hue. We were pretty tired at this point so got a slightly scammed out of 100,000 Dong (about 3 quid) by a man pretending to be a train attendant. At least we'll be a little more vigilant in the future.
We arrived in the morning in green and wet Hue (known for it's torrential rains). Our two days there were somewhat uneventful, mainly due to trying to recharge batteries and frankly in desperate need of a break from all the pushing and shoving onto another tourist bus. We decided to head out on our own and ended up on a very off-the-beaten-track-tour of Hue. However, we managed to catch a roadside cock-fight, which the locals found hilarious, I guess the whole situation really was, bizarrely enough. In hope for the long-awaited sun, we booked a bus to Hoi An and the next morning we were on our way.
The bus journey took only four hours or so, good time for Shaun to catch up on his sleep as he'd stayed up until early hours watching the Man City game. Nonetheless, him and Matt effectlively managed to chat football for the whole journey, much to mine and Jess' amusement. As soon as we left Hue, the skies seemed to turn bluer and bluer, making us very giddy; finally - sun! Hoi An didn't dissapoint with the weather and the three days there were spent lounging around the hotel pool (Shaun seems to very partial to pools and is very tricky to tempt out), trips to the beach and general good times eating and drinking in the good company of Matt and Jess. The old town in Hoi An was really lovely too, and famous for it's tailors, we managed to bargain ourselves a few more summery items, which were beginning to be in dire need in midst of the thermals and fleeces we were now dragging around in +30c.
The beach in Hoi An was great, and in fact, the first proper beach of our journey, so therefore deserves a special mention. We were walking on the water's edge thinking how far we have come for this, what an accomplishmet; this is what it's about. After a few dips in the South China Sea, we met up again with Stina and Mathilda and also bumped into René and Dominique, who we met on the train from Nanning to Hanoi. Shaun found a new form of entertainment of having a laugh with the beach-vendors (which has since turned to any sort of vendor really) trying to haggle for a bottle of sun-cream. Later that night us, Matt & Jess and the Swedes met for a lovely dinner of Hoi An specials in the old town and afterwards we ended up being led into a dark alley in search of a nightclub which Jess had a flyer for. Luckily my worries were in vain and a bar was indeed produced where we had a great night drinking cocktails and playing pool until the early hours.
The following day was another travelling day, which really makes me wonder how we always manage the most drunken nights the night before, although fortunately we could spend the day by the pool waiting for our night sleeper bus to Nha Trang. Thankfully, by the time we were on the coach, lying at the very back travelling at crazy speeds on a very bumpy road, bouncing and sliding up and down on the 'bed' I was relatively hangover-free, as otherwise it might have been twice as unpleasant. With about 5 minute sleep during our 10h journey, we finally arrived in Nha Trang very jaded at 6.30am. The sight of blue skies and a beautiful beach made it all worth it, and after seeking out our hotel (Shaun's photographic memory of google maps helped - impressive!), we turned in for a nap to try and recover from the best 10 hour bouncy castle money could buy. Nha Trang is a little more touristy, surprisingly a lot of them are Russian, so seeing Pectopah's (the russian word for restaurant) everywhere was a bit of an unreal blast from the past. The Russians aside, the weather was great, the huge beach was lovely and the waves good fun, especially for Shaun trying to body-surf on the waves. I had enough after one washing machine-like tumble being thrown around under water and getting sand blasted from all angles at the same time, so I opted more for the gentle walking by the beach reflecting on the months gone.
On our way back from the beach, we got stopped by a cheeky Vietnamese chap with the best Cockney accent ever. A bit perplexed we found out that he was a Easy Rider called Papa Hahn, who offers motorbike tours of the country, showing the real side of Vietnam. After chatting about the possibility of doing something like this in Hoi An and realising his next trip was to leave on the same day we had planned to leave the city, we decided that it was too great of an opportunity to miss, especially since we were getting close to our Vietnamese visa expiring, and we wanted to do something special before then. He told us Shaun could either drive his own bike or sit at the back, but rather bluntly, it would be more man-like to ride on his own. I had no doubt in my mind which option I would go for! For $55 a day, the five-day trip to Mui Ne wasn't cheap so we agreed we could consider it overnight and meet up the next day for a small test drive out fo the city so we could get a feel on what it would be like. That night we did some research online on the trips and Papa Hahn himself, and found guys who'd travelled with him and had had an amazing time (only read about one slight crash caused by the guys own over-confidence). We were pretty set on jumping in for the chance of a lifetime, so we headed for an early night excitedly wondering what the trip would be like.
We met up with Papa Hanh at 3pm after a day on the beach. Riding out and back in of the city was pretty hairy with the traffic, but he was really supportive and good with guiding Shaun with me clinging on to the back of his bike. We rode about 15km out of the city where the views of the mountains and the sea were so beautiful and Shaun grew a bit more confident with the bike. So back in the city we departed with a chunk of cash, shook hands with Papa Hanh and couldn't get to a bar for a cold beer quick enough! Bizarrely, we spotted René and Dominique again, so we decided to play a few rounds of pool and returned to Omars Curry House from the night before to round the great day off nicely, as the food there was definitely worth returning for.
Our last day on Nha Trang we met up on the beach with Stina and Mathilda (who'd arrived in Nha Trang a few days earlier), completed the generic organisational chores and had dinner together with the girls at a great Tex Mex place, which we thought to treat ourselves to before the trip ahead. We turned in early to be ready for early morning, and fell asleep thinking what we'd really got ourselves in for. However, if the next five days would deliver the once-in-a-life-time authentic Vietnamese experience, we knew we'd made the right decicion to go for it head first (with a helmet on of course, mum).
- comments
Shauns Mum Well once again I loved reading about your adventures! Glad tho son you only told me about the motorbike after the event but I should have known at least you had the sense to do your research beforehand and not just jump in feet first !! Carry on enjoying it and I can't wait till the next blog xxx
Ilse Hello Shauns Mom. Anne and Shaun seems to to do everything unusual. So it should be when your are traveling round the world. They are having wonderful experiences. I hope that we hear from them soon. I'm reading their Blog every day. Have a nice weekend. My best regards to all Shauns family members and friends.