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Week 6:
So at last we have made it to the beach. As her perfect travels Rach had envisioned 6 months of lying on the beach, so after 5 weeks (including the trials and tribulations of India) we finally hit the coast, my guns were ready for the show!
Hoi an is a little fishing town which is situated at the mouth of a river with postcard beaches either side of it, palm trees and white sand. To get to the nicest beach we have three choices 1) Jump in a taxi - too expensive. 2) Ride bicycles - too much like hard work. Or 3) Hire a moped. Now I've had a well founded fear of motorbikes after my good friend (Gibson) fell off one many years ago and still has the scars to prove it. So it really helped my confidence that the old Vietnamese lady renting them out couldn't contain herself with laughter at the thought of having to give me a lesson. In hindsight I can see where she was coming from as you get the hang of it within the first 30 seconds, its just a bicycle that goes a little faster. Didn't stop me pretending I was Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun' though. So on Rach jumps and we head off to catch some Rays. Later we pulled off to a deserted road and Rach had a little go, watching her my illusions of being Maverick were quickly shattered, riding a moped may be fun but it certainly isn't very cool looking, with your knees bunched up to you chin, a massive helmet on and squinting to keep the dust out of your eyes.
We spent several days in Hoi an, mainly on the beach but also managed to do a cooking class, which was really good. In our excitement of our new found skills we made promises to each other to cook for everyone when we get back, so please hold us to it!
A night train took us down to Nha Trang, again this place centered a round the beach but the area was built up with multistory hotels and bars with mandatory shots on entry. It's a slightly soulless place completely developed for the tourist trade but we didn't care as we were lured in by the bright lights of 'VINPEARL' the number one water park in Vietnam!!! If you could only imagine our excitement as we traveled on cable car, I repeat 'cable car' over the sea to the Vinpearl 'the water island'. We were like kids running a round trying to manage our time efficiently so as to optimize sliding pleasure. Our enthusiasm unfortunately soon came crashing to a thud…literally. These rides were brutal, health and safety had seemingly been thrown out the inflatable ring! By the end of the day we were bruised head to toe, suffering from whiplash and mild concussion. Rach's nemesis was the wave pool, she spent a good deal of time trying to conquer it on a rubber tube, she eventually did and swaggered away feeling victorious. This new found bravado was completely washed away the following day when facing the sea and real waves not meant for children aged 5+. I witnessed the least graceful exit from the sea in history, arse in the air being thrown around like a rag doll, finally washing up on the shore with sand in every crevice, but give her credit a massive smile on her face. That's my girl J
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