Leaving the friendly and beautiful North-East region of Vietnam we followed the road to our next destination.

After more then 11 hours in the car, shaken and stirred, we arrived in a town called Cai Rong. A little fishing-village where, the next day, a boat would be waiting to pick us up to go to our next stop, the island of Quan Lan.

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The captain and his wife were very kind people and took good care of us. Later that day Hilke and I went for a swim in the sea. We were the only ones on a beautiful beach, with a nice warm ocean all to ourselves. In the evening we walked around the little village where people were smiling at us, and when we stopped to buy swimming shorts for me, the girls of the shop loved Hilkes hair and one even braided her hair. They loved her hair... while they ignored mine ....  :-(

 

 

 

 

The next day we got some bicycles to ride around the island and to go to another beautiful beach to spend the day. Again..... all the beach was ours. Only a few local people were there in little shops with drinks and small snacks. Later in the afternoon we went back, drank some beer (you must try Bia Hoi) with "new" friends, had dinner, had another beer and went to sleep. Sleeping on this island is an experience on its own. There is no airco, while it stays hot during the night, about 30 degrees. They do have fans though, but they stop at 6 in the morning. So we had to open our windows to get some air in the room and then also heard all the sounds on the island all night, like dogs, roosters, crying children, motorcycles, cars and very loud talking people that get out of bed around 5. But you get used to it and since we go to be early we do get enough sleep.

 

 

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Next day it was time to say goodbye to our friendly hosts and go on the private boat, which we shared with a 24 year old Canadian student who we offered a ride to Hanoi. The trip was on the South Chinese Sea and it was amazing and I even got a chance to swim. Once in Ha Long, a car was waiting for us to bring us to Hanoi where we went to our hotel. In the evening we found a restaurant with real food...finally. Pizza, spare ribs and steak and good cold white wine. Ok....it cost us a lot. The 10 days up north cost us about 110 euro, and this meal alone was 42 euro. but well worth it.

 

 

 

 

The ride was fast, only 4 hours including a 45 min. stop where we could have something to drink or eat. Once in our hotel, which was again a nice hotel ( including a massage where the women walked on our  backs .... ouch ... ouch ... ouch ...). Walking through this small town we noticed immediately that there were too many tourists here. Oh, how we missed the good old days in the north where we were the only ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did not sleep well, the train was noisy and it felt like the train track was a bit bumpy....like their roads. But we survived and with a little delay we entered Hue in the rain.

Hue is the former Royal City and today a nice town with highlights like several historical tombsites from former Emperors and we did visited one of the impressive tombs.

We visited this place by boat, but beware... they charge you too much. Compare several of them and also ask for prices in a tourist office. To visit some of the sites we went across the river and then on the back of a motorbike. One of the places was the vacationhouse of one of the Emperors, who stayed here in summer with his 104 wives, and how could I forget this ... some of his sleeping mates of course....

Quite a busy guy for someone who was only 1.58 tall. Obviously....size doesn't matter......

 

 

A second thing, and it is famous about this town, is the big amount of shops where you can buy clothes. Not just confection size ... no ... they make them specially for you, following your design. So Hilke and I had a few shirts, pants, a nice suite and a very beautiful jacket made. If we could only have had more time in this town. The clothes were perfect and cheap too. Pants for 10 euro and a shirt for 15 euro. But time to pack and head for the plane to Nha Trang ..... finally, a beach again and some diving.

 
Because this was the only real opportunity for diving we shopped around, found a good diving centre and got up early (6 AM) for a good breakfast and some dives. The boat was big and there was a lot of space. After 45 minutes Hilke and I started to prepare ourselves for our first dive and 3 hours later our second dive.
Even though we did see some things we never had seen before, we were not impressed, It was cold, and the visibility was very poor. But..... we now dived in Vietnam too. After the dives, Hilke and I found a massage salon where we first had a sauna to warm up, then a shower and then a really good massage, the best so far.
Later that day we visited a big Buddha statue and a pagoda (kind of monastery) and in the evening we had a very tasty dinner and a bottle of wine. The ride there we got on the back of a motorbike again: it is fun to do.
The next morning we woke up early because there was no electricity all over town, so also no airco or fan. So it got warmer and warmer ...............

 

 

 

Vietnam part 2

 

 

 

Back

The day started early, breakfast ( yes, again hot noodle soup) was served a 6.15 AM because we had a boat to catch at 6.45. The boat would bring us, across the South Chineese sea, to Quan Lan. The captain of the ship was also the owner of the guesthouse we would stay in for 3 nights and therefor he considered us as his V.I.P's and invited us for a warm beer .... at 07.00 AM. Lucky for us, he was satisfied that we only drank 1 beer, and not like him, one after the other. The trip was beautiful, even though we had a little rain.

 

 

The next day we hired a car and went to the DMZ to visit the dungeons that the Vietnamese had to dig during the war to protect the people of a local village. Here they could live safely - away from the war that was going on between the USA and Vietnam. Actualy in this part of Vietnam so many bombs had been dropped and mines were placed that nowadays, 30 years later, still people get killed by them. Especially children.

We saw how the people had to live underground for years, it was quite impressive. When we got back we visited the old forbidden town where some of the Emperors lived and ruled. We went back by bicycle ride, ate something and enjoyed a sauna and a massage before we went to bed. It had been a long day.

Tomorrow morning we leave by bus to a small town called Hoi-An.

 

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Tomorrow we can make it a relaxed day, get some rest, do some reading and get prepared for the second party of our journey starting tonight at 11 pm for a 12 hour long train ride in the night. Luckily we have beds and an airconditioned room on the train, so we will be fine.

When we arrived in Nha Trang we promised ourselves to have a nice relaxed moment on the beach. This town is the most famous beach in Vietnam. A nice (not impressive) beach and again ... a lot of tourists. (Oh beautiful North where have you gone too). In the afternoon we walked on the beach, and enjoyed a fresh lobster for only 4 $.