Heading up the coast

Nha Trang is a tourist destination on the coast. Think of it like a Gold Coast, but for Russians and Chinese. Unfortunately I am unable to identify the Chinese easily as to me they look and sound just like the Vietnamese. The Russians can be easily identified. Kim made a comment about all their women having fringes and painted on eyebrows, which I did not notice until it was pointed out to me, after that they all had fringes. Somehow the Russians looked very tough, almost intimidating. Even the women looked like they would take you out with one punch for just looking sideways at them.

On our first night we went for a walk along the foreshore where there was a massive stage set up with a huge television screen set up behind it. There was a temporary grandstand set up and people everywhere. Big speakers were booming out some Asian pop music. Little toys with LED lights were moving on the ground and others into the air that people were trying to sell. It was hot and humid as we made our way through the crowd. That night we found a travel office and booked a bike tour for the next day.

In the morning we were picked up for the bike tour by a couple of people on motorbikes (scooters) and taken to the bike shop to start the tour. Kim and I were the only ones on the tour apart from our guide whose name was Swing. We left the office and rode through the city which was pretty nerve wracking at first, especially at roundabouts. At one stage someone on a motorbike passed me slowly, gradually pulled in front of me then stopped suddenly. I had to lock up the back wheel and skid to avoid a crash. Australia is not the only country that likes to intimidate cyclists with motor vehicles it seems.

Cycling through the backstreets of Nah Trang

We rode around the outskirts of the city, through narrow laneways between houses and through some rice fields. We saw plenty of Vietnamese people going about their daily business, carting things around on motorbikes. We stopped at a place that made sleeping mats. Kim had a go at the weaving. She did pretty well. We then went to a place that made clay barbecues. After that we went to a huge Buddhist shrine where we had a rest. It was pretty hot and humid (about 34 degrees) and I was perspiring a fair bit. Swing, our guide was much fitter and used to the heat. He didn’t even look warm. I had a slight mishap while riding across a very narrow walkway on a railway bridge. I glanced at the river for a second and my handle bard clipped the handrail which caused the front wheel to turn suddenly. So I braked hard enough for the back wheel to come off the ground and the pedal gouged the back of my leg causing minor lacerations.

Kim entering the water

The next day we went on a snorkelling tour. We were picked up at the travel agency in a bus along with some other tourists from Vietnam, Portugal and Korea. We were taken to the wharf, got on the boat and were taken out to an island where there were a few other boats of divers. We were in about 5 meters of water on a coral reef. The water was pretty clear and you could see colourful corals and fish and quite a few large spiny sea urchins. I saw a jellyfish and immediately got out of its way. The guide told me that they were harmless. We were taken to some different reefs and Kim and I did a bit more diving, but most of the Asian tourists just stayed on the boat and slept. One girl managed to sleep for most of the time we went diving and almost all the way back. The Koreans were so bored or ill they organised for a speedboat to come out to rescue them and take them back to their hotel, for an extra $80 USD. I had the 30+ sunscreen on but Kim, with darker skin than me didn’t bother. Unfortunately Kim got sunburnt pretty badly and has been suffering from that for days.

We also got our trusty travel agents to book us some tickets on the overnight train to Da Nang. It was pretty cheap and took about 12 hours. We shared a cabin with a Vietnamese family. It was pretty cramped and hot to start with. I guess we could have gotten there with more luxury but we wanted to a more authentic Vietnamese experience. I managed to go all night without having to visit the lavatory, but Kim did go once and came back to report a pungent smell of urine and fairly putrid hygienic conditions. You get that. We met some Australians at the station and a couple of British tourists. I asked them what they thought go of the Brexit vote and they were shocked, appalled and embarrassed.

Hoi An

The train arrived at Da Nang about 9:00 am and we got a flash air conditioned car to our hotel. It was about a 35 km trip. When we got out of the car in Hoi An it was scorching hot outside. Hoi An is another tourist place, but more historic and without the Russians. We went for a boat ride up the river which was nice and cool, maybe only 30 degrees on the water. We got some clothes tailor made at the market here. I got a suit made for our upcoming cruise and Kim got some jackets made. They turned out really well. We got a bit more used to the heat here. After 3 days we have headed off again. Now we are in the city of Hue.