NHA TRANG
It was a 6am flight on Friday 18th December to Nha Trang, a town further up the coast from Ho Chi Minh City. After arriving at our hotel we rested for a bit before making our way for some breakfast and then hit the beach. Nha Trang has a lovely beach, and the best part for the boys was the waves! So after finding a spot on this pretty secluded beach we settled into some bat and ball before rushing into the sea for some serious body surfing. We had a great time riding waves and getting dunked before the intermittent rain finally encouraged us to make our way back to our hotel and change. We then made our way back into town to Crazy Kims bar for some snacks, beer and pool. Crazy Kims has a pool table and donates a percentage of its profits to a children’s charity which aims to keep kids off the street – cue comments like “This beer is for the kids!”
The boys enjoyed a few games before being hustled by some teenage Vietnamese locals to play for money and buy one of the books they were selling if we lost. Needless to say we were well stocked up on books by the time we left! We then found an awesome Indian restaurant just around the corner and tucked into the best Indian food we have had for a while, it was excellent. After finishing off with a couple more beers we strolled the streets of Nha Trang back to our hotel for a good night sleep – everyone was pretty exhausted after the early start.
We woke up on Saturday morning and took a slow walk back into town to grab a quick breakfast. From there it was straight to the beach for some bat and ball and to bodysurf some more waves. The weather wasn’t too good and there was plenty of intermittent rain, but undeterred the boys were in the water in no time. Due to the wind the waves and current were pretty severe and we got battered by the waves. The girls were huddled under a thatch on the beach as the rain hammered down again. After an hour of this it was time to call it a day before someone drowned! We walked back up to Crazy Kims for some pool, this time refusing to play any of the Vietnamese teenagers for books or money, much to their annoyance – in fact we were called several names including chickens and babies among the less rude ones!
After a few drinks Shandy, V and I made our way to the Crazy Kim Spa a couple of minutes up the road for a massage. Wow, it was amazing and cost a whole £5 for a whole hour – we could get used to this. Clyde and Greg were battling it out on the pool table when we returned and we grabbed some more Tiger beers and joined in. From there we made our way across the street for an early dinner which was a perfect finish to our day in Nha Trang. We strolled home to pack up for our night coach to Hoi An which would be picking us up at 7pm. All packed and ready to go we settled our bill and then boarded the coach which rocked up 45 minutes late.
This was an adventure in itself. The coach consisted of very uncomfortable chairs which could be lowered into beds (almost). We were given 5 beds stuck right next to each other at the back of the bus so it was a little tight but very cosy! We packed ourselves in and tried to get comfortable, which was easier said than done in these cramped conditions. Then it was out with the cards to pass some time away. The lights were unfortunately turned off at 9.30pm so we had to resort to watching movies on the laptop before trying to get a little sleep. At around 1am we were woken for a toilet break in the middle of nowhere which was scary – the worst toilets you have ever seen, the girls were hating life at this point!
HOI AN
While the drivers tucked into some dinner Clyde, Greg and I watched some live Premier League on the TV in the canteen. Then it was back on board to try and get some sleep before we got to Hoi An in the morning. The morning part of the drive was amazing as we made our way through tiny villages and rice fields before finally arriving in Hoi An after a 13 hour trip! We were dropped off at the Grassland Hotel who obviously tip the drivers to do this, and were swiftly convinced to grab a room there. To be fair the hotel was really nice and very reasonable so it all worked out well. After dumping our bags we had breakfast at the hotel before taking a 15 minute walk into the Old Town. While on our little tour the rain started to lash down so we decided to setup camp in the nearest bar and pass the time drinking beers and playing cards.
In between games V and I made our way to one of the tailors in the town called Kimmys (tailors are everywhere and all trying to coax you into their shops). We picked a suit each which would be fitted for us and ready for collection the following morning. Then it was back to the bar to continue with drinking and cards. By evening we decided to move our lazy butts and go and find somewhere else for dinner. We took a stroll through some streets and alleys and arrived at the river, which was lit up beautifully. We found a restaurant called Mango Room and made our way in for an amazing dinner! Then we took a slow stroll back to our hotel while stopping in the various stalls to check out their goods and make the odd purchase.
On Monday morning we were up bright and early and headed straight to Kimmys to try on our new suits – they fitted perfectly! Then it was time for us to explore the Old Town and of course we stopped along the way for breakfast in a stunning place called Cargo......best breakfast on tour so far! Despite the miserable weather it was a great walk around the town which had some stunning temples and architecture, as well as lots of markets and shops and some brilliant art galleries. So much so that V and I ended up buying 3 paintings from one of them. We continued our tour before stopping for a drink and to enjoy the view over the river. Then it was time to head back to the hotel to catch our taxi to the airport as we had a 5pm flight to Hanoi.
HANOI
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare but unfortunately the flight was delayed by 2 hours so we sat around reading and playing cards to pass the time. By the time we arrived in Hanoi and caught a taxi to our hotel it was getting pretty late. The taxi driver then tried to take us to a different hotel, one we were sure he was getting a cut from, but we quickly declined and carried on to our own. Arriving there the hotel was full so we had to go searching for any available hotel in the area. We finally found the Little Hanoi Hotel for Clyde and us to share a room, while Greg and Shandy stayed at the hotel across the road. Then the hunt began for dinner but with it being so late every restaurant was closed or closing. We did have a nice tour of the local area before luckily coming across a backpacker’s hostel which was willing to serve food and beers hallelujah! We scoffed burgers and polished off some beers before walking back to our hotel for bed.
We were up and about by 9am for a swift breakfast at a local cafe, which had paper tablecloths you were encouraged to draw all over – cue much abuse for not so great creative skills! Then it was time to explore Hanoi, or as much as we could on our only full day there. We took a walk on a recommended tour which took us through the central lake in the city, some old traditional shops and galleries, lots of food markets, and temples throughout the city. The place was manic with traffic everywhere, consisting mostly of scooters hooting at everything as is the Vietnamese way. It great to watch from the safety of the pavement! After a great walk and soaking up the atmosphere of this historical city it was time for a break so we stopped off at a cafe on the 3rd floor of an old building to enjoy the beautiful views over Hanoi.
After enjoying a bit of sun on the balcony and having a laugh it was time to make our way to the Water Puppet show, some traditional Vietnamese entertainment. The show was good but to be fair it had been a long day and we probably weren’t in the mood. So no we wouldn’t go back but are glad to have done it! From there we trawled our way through the people and traffic of the city which was in full flight by now. Crossing the road was still a hilarious challenge but we were masters at it by now. The restaurant we chose which was recommended in the Lonely Planet had closed down – so we made our way back to the area near our hotel to try out one of the ones we had seen the night before. We settled on a nice Mediterranean restaurant for amazing pizzas, of which Clyde’s Calzone was the best by far – much to his satisfaction!
We hit the sack early as V and I had to be up for a 3am taxi to the airport to catch our flight to Malaysia. We made sure we woke Clyde up to say goodbye of course – he’s not a pretty sight at that time of the morning ;-) We got to the airport 2 hours in advance for our International flight, but the plane would be stopping in Ho Chi Minh first which is a local flight so we could have had an extra hour in bed – gutted!! Anyway we made it and after a fantastic time on the second part of our Vietnam tour here were our highlights and lowlights.
- Hoi An, a beautiful town with great history and culture and stunning markets – our favourite place in Vietnam
- Wonderful art collections, could have spent a fortune
- Great food, fresh fruit and vegetables
- Incredibly cheap, the cheapest country so far on our trip
- Craziest traffic in the world, watch out for those scooters!
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