Vietnam Pt. 2

The bus journey to Da Lat

Our bus ride to Da Lat was through some stunning scenery, however it was also incredibly windy and our driver wasn’t forgiving with the speed he took the bends at. We had one stop, thankfully well timed as I felt like if we’d continued on any further, my stomach would have joined us in experiencing the mountains. We arrived in Da Lat and were at once relieved to feel the cooler air and lack of humidity. Our hostel wasn’t far away, so we ladened ourselves up with our packs on our backs and little backpacks on our fronts and set off. We shortly became a little confused as to where we were at, however a local soon jumped to our rescue and we continued on our way. 50m from our hostel’s door the combination of broken footpaths, packs on my back and front and weariness resulted in me on the ground with my ankle twisted and my knee which I had cut open in Croatia reopened.  Mike convinced me that lying on the ground having a bit of a cry wasn’t the best idea and begrudgingly I got up and hobbled the remaining few meters.

The next morning with my ankle somewhat rested and reducing in size we decided to hit the sights of Da Lat. First off was the “Crazy House” which really is crazy. Hang Nga, who designed and owned it was the daughter of the former president Truong Chinh, and as a result did not have to comply with any planning regulations. The outcome is a labyrinth of staircases, wooden animals and buildings which mix Vietnamese architecture with a style similar to Gaudi. It’s really a house that has to be seen.

Crazy House

We continued up the road to the summer palace of Vietnam's last emperor, Bao Dai. In our eyes the “palace” was a very drab Art Deco house which looked as though it hadn’t been touched or dusted since the 60s. Feeling a little down about travelling, we figured we’d go and check out the flower gardens as Da Lat is known as the flower city. Unfortunately these were not quite what we’d hoped for and apart from some impressive hedge dragons and deer there wasn’t much else to see.

We made our way back to our hostel rather disheartened. Our day did pick up though when I checked my emails and had one congratulating me on being accepted into the Post Grad Teaching Diploma at Auckland University, all the stress of organising references, doing assignments and having interviews while travelling with temperamental internet had paid off.

The following morning we walked along one of the canals running off the lake to see a waterfall. Unfortunately it was another disappointment as instead of a waterfall, we were met with some smelly, dirty water trickling over some rocks and with a lot of fibreglass animals on the banks. Interesting tourist attraction...

Some of the many things we've seen on the back of motorbikes

On our way back into town I lost my footing and ended up twisting my ankle again, this time worse than the first. Once back at our hostel Mike went on an ice and chocolate mission, returning with some frozen peas, New Zealand ones in fact, that cost over £2 and were as hard icy block. After a lot of bashing we had an icy block and a few mushy peas, though nonetheless it was cold. We rested up for the afternoon and caught a bus to Nha Trang the next morning, hoping for our disappointment to fade. The trip through the mountains down to the coast was rather sketchy as we were diving through thick mist and one point came round a corner and stopped just in time to miss colliding with a broken down truck.

We arrived in Nha Trang, a beach town, just as the rain was starting – I had only the previous day commented on the fact that we hadn’t needed our raincoats... The rain didn’t look like it was going to give up so we donned our coats and went for a wander. We got as far as the cathedral, which was closed, before deciding to give up, escape the rain and rest my ankle.

By the time we went out for dinner our road was beginning to resemble a river and it was still raining. Throughout our meal people were constantly having to move to avoid the drips, and just as we were finishing eating a loud creak and a crack were heard. Suddenly the staff were moving everyone out of the main eating area which had a tarp-like retractable roof, to under the permanent one. It became apparent that the cracking had come from the wall brace which was being pulled off the wall by the weight of the water pooling on the roof. One of the chefs climbed on to a table and stabbed a knife into the material, resulting in a torrent of water descending over him and into the restaurant.  Certainly not your everyday eating experience. Walking back to our hostel we waded though ankle deep water wondering what we’d wake up to.

The beginning of the flooding.

The next morning we’d organised to meet up with Jenny, who Mike went to school with, and Ash and Scott, a UK couple she was travelling with.  Making our way to meet them was interesting as it had continued raining through the night and in parts the water was over my knees. We had an enjoyable morning camped out in a cafe watching the eccentric owner abuse anyone who was driving down the flooded road sending waves of water into the shops and houses.

Knee deep!

The rain was on and off at this point so Mike and I figured that although we wouldn’t be chilling on the beach we’d still try and see the sights of Nha Trang. We walked/hobbled along the beach for 4km and visited some beautiful Cham towers that sat on a hill at one end of the beach. The rain started up again and feeling hot, sticky and a bit deflated we returned to our hostel. We met up with the others for tea and ended up at a bar with free and very cheap drinks. Unsurprisingly this resulted in a rather big, yet cheap night out.

Cham towers Nha Trang

Feeling rather sorry for ourselves we had a quiet following morning. Myself and Mike checked out a large Buddha in the early afternoon and then met up with Jen and Ash and headed to the mud baths on the outskirts of town. The whole experience was rather odd but good fun. We were first shepherded to some very powerful showers and the taken to a large bath which filled with warmish watery mud and we were left to enjoy it. After a while we were told to have another shower and then walk along a pathway with water shooting out of both sides, massaging us. Following this we had a warm pool of water to lie in and then moved on to the swimming pools. The whole experience was supposed to leave you with soft skin, I’m not sure if it did but it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Our new look post mud bath

Buddha above a Pagoda.

 At 5.30am the next morning the five of us were aboard a train heading up the coast to Da Nang. Nine hours later, after passing though some amazing landscapes and attempting to get some sleep we arrived in a wet Da Nang. From here we still had a 30min journey to Hoi An and spent it hoping that perhaps the rain would subside. Unfortunately it increased and just as we arrived in Hoi An the heaviest rain I have ever seen was coming down. Thankfully just next door to our hostel was one of the many small eateries selling the local fresh beer which only lasts 24hrs and as a result is sold for 9p/18c.

The following morning, equipped with a to do list, myself and Mike went exploring Hoi An. First up was finding a tailor to make Mike a suit and copy a few of my favourite tops that are now falling apart. Although every second shop is a tailor we were determined to find one which had good quality workmanship and also didn’t charge though the roof. Thankfully, with some help from trip advisor, the second tailor we visited seemed to fit the bill. We were each pulled in 101 different directions; Mike had to choose the style of suit, material and lining and what colour shirt he’d like. At the same time I was on the back of a motorbike being taken to a fabric shop inorder to find some material for one of my tops. Once back at the shop we were both measured and told to come back at 3pm the following day. Hoping we’d chosen well we set off to complete task number two, booking a cooking class for the next morning, something we’d both been looking forward to for the whole trip. 

Tailors.

We hired bikes for the rest of the day, cycling around town and catching a ferry to a local island. Intermittent rain put a bit of a damper on our spirits so we headed back for a bit of a rest. I ended up having a quiet night in but Mike went out with the others and even ended up in a Vietnamese club called Golden Dragon, complete with a man dancing in a fully sequined suit.

Fresh herbs at the market.

We woke early the next morning and headed down to the restaurant eager to begin our cooking class and learn how to make some of the food we have both fallen in love with.  We started off being broken into small groups and taken on a tour of the local market. Here our guide explained the different types of rice noodles, we tasted local fruits and were told about the medicinal properties of the different herbs, a very rewarding hour. Over the following three hours we were taught, cooked and ate a cabbage soup with shrimp dumplings, some fresh spring rolls, a Vietnamese pancake, marinated chicken skewers and a green mango salad. This food was some of the best I’ve eaten since being here and thankfully we have the recipes so will be able to enjoy the dishes again. Although stuffed from all our cooking we just had to try some of the lemongrass icecream from across the road and we weren’t disappointed. 

Making fresh spring rolls.

We had our first fitting at the tailors at 3pm so filled the time in between doing some of our Christmas shopping and picking up a few bits for ourselves. At 3pm we nervously headed to the tailors, fingers crossed that we’d chosen well. Both of us needed our clothes taken in here and there but we were pleased with the results and were informed that if we came back at 10am the next day they’d be ready. At our next fitting my tops fitted perfectly and Mike only needed his trousers shortened slightly. After a few more visits, and an extra shirt, we were very pleased with our clothes, fingers crossed we’ll still be in a year.

Looking dapper.

 With the sun finally shining we thought we’d finally get round to seeing the historical side of Hoi An. For a few thousand dong we bought a ticket which gave us entrance to five sites, ranging from merchants houses to museums and pagodas. We were once again rather disappointed as the Museum of Trade Ceramics consisted of only a few broken plates and very little information and the merchants’ house was more of a tourist shop. Hot and sticky and for a few seconds actually wishing for some rain we got ourselves a beer down by the river and chilled out. 

Hoi An's water front

That night we had dinner, and the best food I’ve had since being here, at a little place across the road from where we are staying. We then headed down to the historical part of town to admire the lanterns. Hoi An is very pretty at night as it is the one place where local authorities demand shops and businesses have lanterns on their facades, resulting in some very pretty little streets.

Today the sun was shining once again and myself and Mike rented a scooter and went to check out some of the sights a little further out of town. First up was the local beach where we had a lovely refreshing swim and then sat under the palm trees drying off and watching the world go by. We then took our little bike a little further afield to the base of some mountains and My Son, a Cham settlement. Unfortunately My Son was bombed during the war and restoration work has only slowly been happening in the last 20 years. We were both however extremely impressed by the beauty of it.

On the beach in Hoi An.

The Cham towers at My Son.

Tomorrow we’re sadly leaving Hoi An to continue up the coast, weighed down with a significant amount more. Not long now!