Nam

Well hello again! Its been way way to long since I've last posted but better now than never. Last time I wrote was in southern Vietnam in the chilly town of Dalat. I guess its a good thing that I haven't wrote because that shows I'm having too good of a time to stop and write. So I will fill you in on the past 18 days and what we have been up to.

After Dalat we took a bus to Nha Trang to stop over before heading to Qui Ngon.  Nha Trang is known amongst travellers as a mecca for partying beach life.  We were trying to avoid this but there was no direct bus to get to Qui Ngon so we decided for a 2 night stop.  We got there in the mid afternoon and was immediately approached by an Easy Rider driver.  Easy Riders are locals that put together moto trips in the surrounding area and you get on the back and cruise with them.  Supposedly it can be quite fun and a great way of seeing the country side but we opted out.  They will ask you everyday and are very pushy to get you to book some kind of tour so by the end of your stay you run from them.  This easy rider showed us a great place to stay that was cheap-cheap and just across the street from the beach. We spent that day at the beach and walking up towards the port.  While at the beach we made friends with a couple ladies who sell beer and food walking up and down the beach.  My favorite of the two was a really old lady with one tooth who was not afraid to show you because all she had were smiles.  The more I bought beers the cheaper they got.  The next day we spent most our time again just relaxing beach side with occasional visits from our old ladies.  Early the next morning we got up and caught a bus to Qui Ngon where not many tourists travel to.  On the bus we met a very nice older couple from Canada and we ended up finding a cheap place to stay.  Once we checked in we walked to the beach but the day was very overcast and it rained off and on.  Before night fall Amanda and I as well as our new friends headed into the city center, where there are absolutely no westerners, and walked through markets.  After enough smell of raw meat, fish, and backstreet alleys we went in search of a nice street food vendor.  Amanda has been eating vegetarian so it took us a while to find something adequate to her liking.  We ended up in a place where we might of been the first falangs to eat there.  It was a vegetarian restaurant that specialized in imitating meat dishes.  The food was good just a bit salty for me.  On the way home we walked through the night market, had some sugar cane juice, and than went to sleep!  We weren't very impressed with the town so we decided to leave the next morning for Hoi An.

The bus left early in the morning and we got into the Hoi An area by noonish time.  They dropped us off on the highway where taxis were waiting.  We shared a taxi with a really nice couple from Israel.  They had already booked a hotel and we of course didn't so we went to theirs to check it out.  It was called the Sunflower Hotel and when we arrived,even though we weren't staying there, the staff approached us with fresh passion fruit juice and cold towels.  This sold me! Then you look down the corridor and theres a beautiful pool.  This was by far the nicest place we have stayed and we paid much over our normal rate. To add to it breakfast buffet was included and was very tasty.  We spent 3 nights in Hoi An where we met some great people and partied for one of their b-days.  There was a beach very close by so we checked it out with bicycles that we had for our stay.  The beach was surprisingly nice and had some really nice body surfing waves.  We ran into the couple we met in Qui Ngon there and talked with them quite a bit.  Btw Hoi An is very well known for their tailors so while visiting I got my first tailored piece of clothing and it came out super awesome. Hoi An was first colonized by the french, like many other towns in Vietnam, and has this old homey feel to it.  A river runs through old town and at night lanterns of all colors hang to light the streets. Its one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen. While bicycling around town you can always find bars that sell "fresh beer."  This is like a homemade beer that comes out of a keg and it only costs 20 cents.  The taste is much different, almost like a meal in a drink, love it.  Our time in this amazing town came to an end when a typhoon came so it made for a good day to sit on a long bus.  Our next stop was Hue.

We got to Hue in the evening and it hadn't stopped raining the whole time.  This is the first time where we booked an accommodation before arriving to the town and it worked out great.  Its not fun hiking around town in the pouring rain searching for a place to stay.  The hotel even arranged to pick us up,  I definitely felt 1st class lol.  So we were to stay in Hue for two night to see the citadel but were unable to do that.  The rain never stopped and by the end of our time the streets were flooded to just past your knees.  It was great to experience because the people here will not let that stop them from riding moto-bike.  So we watched for hours locals trying to start their bikes from dry land and dive into a water filled street.  I guess they dont understand that the muffler cant be underwater.  Hue was nice but the typhoon just sat on top of us the whole time.  After two days we took a night sleeper bus up to Ninh Binh which left at 5pm and arrived 5:30am.  The seats we got were in the very back and had 3 bed like seats right next to each other. I was really hoping that the bus was'nt gonna be filled if it was than i was to sleep very close to a random person.  Of course the bus was overbooked and I got to sleep next to my first Vietnamese.  He would fall asleep and his leg would loose its strength and fall on to my lap.  This is when I instantly shoved it off.  I did not get much sleep that night but makes for a funny story.

We arrived in Ninh Binh on time and we went to a hotel to get some proper sleep.  After a couple hours we needed some food so we asked the reception where to go.  The young man said theres a great place across town which he would take us to, so why not.  Amanda and I jumped on the back of their moto-bikes to find out that the restaurant was a wanna-be KFC (KFC is the largest fast food chain in Vietnam, they love it). We laughed and said no but enjoyed some local coffee.  While drinking coffee they sat with us and asked about the bracelets we have bought throughout our travels.  One of the guys had just started a bracelet making business and wanted to see some ideas that he could maybe work on.  So after taking pics of our bracelets he than invites us to come check out his business.  We jump back on the moto and head across town see what hes got.  His bracelets are not to attractive so I try to explain how hand made would be of much interest to foreigners.  All he had was metal that was bought somewhere overseas.  After our little business meeting they dropped us off back at the hotel and we went hunting for a real place to eat as well as bicycles.  We found both at the same place.  We rode our bikes to a place outside of town called Tam Coc which is about 10 kilometers away.  At Tam Coc we hired a row boat and a rower to take us down a river that is enclosed by limestone karst mountains on both sides.  It is an amazing view and while cruising down you also go through three cave systems.  It was an amazing trip! While on the boat other boats would pass us with fellow tourists, mostly chinese. All of them would look at me like i was some kind of movie star or freak show and constantly take pictures.  With this happening so much I decide to starting taking pics right back at them, good times and good photos.  When we got back to Ninh Binh that afternoon we returned the bikes and took a walk around town.  This town like Qui Ngon has no westerners and we are starred at very differently.  While cruising the streets we hit the market where we found cooked dog sitting on many tables.  People have been asking me how did you know it was dog?  Well when the head is cut off and put in front of the meats you kinda know.  This picture will always haunt my mind.  We then ate dinner, j/k. My stomach was a little twisted post dog table.  We booked a train for the next morning for Ha Noi.  The train was quite nice and talked with very nice local man.

We got to Ha Noi around 11am and took a taxi to the bus station to book a bus-boat-bus ticket for Cat Ba Island.  We got a bus that day for a 1pm departure and while waiting I enjoyed 2 Banh Mi's, delicious.  We arrived in Cat Ba Town around 6pm found a place to eat and than crashed.  The next was spent on rented motobike around the island.  The highlight for me was going to the national park.  We hiked out to an observation tower that might fall any day now.  The views from the top were worth all risks.  That night we met at a rock climbing place for a meeting on what trips were going on the next day.  Amanda and I were interested in deep water soloing, this is where you free climb a wall thats over water and when you can't climb anymore you cliff jump into the water.  I love climbing and cliff jumping so how could I not.  To our surprise there were 8 of signed up which meant that we would be paying the cheapest amount for the trip.  So the next day we climbed till our arms were jello and than went back to the main boat for lunch.  The lunch was fantastic and the people on the boat were really cool.  The second half of the day was spent kayaking around Ha Long bay through its nooks and crannies.  The trip ended by night fall and we all decided to meet for dinner and drinks.  So 8 of us met up shared our stories with some food and drinks and than parted ways.  The next day we met up with a couple from Zimbabwe to go to the beach for a chill day.  But before that happened Amanda and I went to a local restaurant to organize a Thanksgiving Feast.  I brought pictures of dishes and requested grilled whole chickens to replace the turkey. So we ordered mash potatoes, sauteed greens, salad, chicken, yams, and some strawberry jam to replace cranberry sauce.  At 10 i talked it over with our friends and they approved and were super excited for their first thanksgiving.  We went to the beach for a couple hours and than I took it easy and relaxed watching movies.  ***Btw I'm in an internet cafe right now and the guy in charge is jamming to backstreet boys and singing out loud, hilarious.  They love love love backstreet boys here.***  Back to the story.  While relaxing watching movies Amanda is taking a nice long shower.  Right as she finishes we get a loud frantic beating on the door as if something is extremely wrong and there was.  When I open the door amanda hides and I see the owner freaking out.  I look down and there is a river leaving our room and going straight down the stairwell.  The drain was going down in the shower and over flooded.  There was so much water that it reached the 1st floor and we were staying on the 7th lol.  I went downstairs to make sure everything was alright, which it was, and was yelled at like I was back in the keys on vacation with my friend greg.  It wasn't my fault for both these situations but I took the blame very well and held my ground.  It was now 5pm and I needed a beer to calm down before meeting up with our friends.  Everyone showed up but two people so we invited a fellow traveller from montana.  As we approached the restaurant we had had a huge table saved for us with all the food already set on the table.  It really looked like thanksgiving.  In vietnam when you order food you never get it at the same time so we were so impressed.  I was so thankful that i gave father and son a huge hug and thanked them graciously.  So it was 7 of us eating including the montana man, a couple from NJ, a couple from Zimbabwe, and of course us two.  I'm not gonna lie, this was one of my favorite thanksgivings.  I love spending it with family but the uniqueness of this one was just so amazing.  We spent so much that the restaurant provided homemade rice wine for shots.  It was quite a celebration.  When we finished we went to the pier for more beers and bought a bottle of whiskey.  We were told that at 1am the beach near by would have many bio-luminescent plankton to swim with.  We drank till the time was right and than the 6 of us went to the beach for some skinny dipping.  We were kicked off the 1st beach and the second beach was just filled with green glowing plankton.  This was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  The whole day was spent with such great people that I will never forget and hopefully see sometime in the near future.  We departed the next day from cat ba and are now back in Ha noi.  We are leaving tomorrow morning for Kuala Lumpur than we will be off to singapore before flying towards the states.  Its sad that our trip is ending but very excited to go back the states to work SNOWBOARD. Please let it snow.  I will write soon to end the trip. Hope all is well back in the western world!