Nha Trang, what more can we say but beautiful one day perfect the next, less crowded than the Gold and Sunny Coasts with beaches just as good. The weather has been fantastic our whole stay and combined with a bike ride up the coast road sightseeing and some fabulous Indian curries washed down with cold Bia Saigon it was oh so short.
 |
| Checking out the action at our favourite Indian restaurant Omar Khyam's in Nha Trang |
The streets here are chaotic like everywhere in Viet Nam and we experienced our first traffic accident when a bike hit our taxi front guard as we left the hotel. The guy was lucky not to fall in front of oncoming traffic and just took off down the road without stopping.
 |
| View from our 2nd hotel room in Nha Trang |
Our next leg required our first overnighter on a “sleeper” bus, about 550km north to Hoi An, a small city on a river full of French architecture and not much else. The bus ride surprisingly was not too bad in fact all buses should have these beds instead of bench seats. The bus left at 1930 so we had from midday till then to occupy ourselves. We found a comfy couple of beach chairs with soft cushions and layed back soaking up the sun at a nearby mini brewery on the beach called Louisiane. They brew a variety of nice ales which we sampled at a considerable greater expense than the Bia Saigon we have been drinking. The surf is non-existent similar to Townsville Strand but the water is refreshing and very clean. We’ve been swimming every day so far and its making us a bit homesick for the boat and the peace and quiet that comes with it.
 |
| Louisiade Brewery a great way to fill in a couple of hours |
Hoi An provided us the opportunity to catch our breath before heading off the next day for the 3hr trip up to Hue (pronounced Hway) the old capital city prior to WW2. This city is full of history and contains a fully functional Citadel which was built during the 1800’s. The Citadel has perimeter walls approximately 10km long x 6m thick and a 30m wide moat to boot. Access is via numerous bridges with impressive gate structures and contained within is the Imperial Palace and about half the population of Hue. The city is situated on the banks of the Perfume River about 16km inland from the coastal beach communities.
 |
| One of the many statues in the park |
We were coaxed into a hotel on the south side of the river by a very persistent owner and to our surprise we were offered what turned out to be the best quality hotel room so far: Price US$16/night “unbelievable” and that included breakfast, the night before in Hoi An we paid US$18 for a room with a foam mattress and no hot water or breakfast and surly staff, its hit and miss here that’s for sure. The owner and staff bent over backwards for us even showing concern when we ventured out into the heat of the day. The breakfast was great and the chef even convinced us to try a Vietnamese breakfast, his noodle pork broth with mixed greenery called “pho bo”, a far cry from our standard fried eggs with baguette (legacy from the French, neither bread nor roll more like a long round crust full of air and impossible to cut properly without making a mess everywhere)
 |
| One of the many entrances to the Imperial Palace within the Citadel |
Our first day was spent walking around the Imperial Palace. It is actually a separate Citadel within the main Citadel with its walls 2.5km long, 2m thick and 6m high it was home for about 145 years to the Nguyen Dynasty which was similar in ways to the early Chinese Dynasties in how it operated, with each emperor having many wives, concubines and eunuchs to love and kill as the need arose. We hired another motorbike for 2 days and went out in search of several tombs and temples, some very impressive others just old ruins, depends on how infamous the Emperor was. Tu Duk (pronounced two duck obviously the brother of two dog) well his was the largest and most elaborate even though he wasn’t buried there it is home only to 200 of his trusted staff who were beheaded because they knew the true location of his grave. It’s amazing what you can get away with as King.
 |
| Pagoda at one of the temples |
Having had enough of strange deathly behaviour we headed to the beach about 16km away for a cool break, only to be inundated with more tombs but on a lesser scale. All along the sand dunes at the back of the beach for miles and miles were family tombs, some much larger than the biggest you would see in a cemetery back home. Apparently money is sent home to Vietnam from relatives overseas and instead of improving their lifestyle they build these huge ugly monstrosities on the beach front. Some even had grass huts built beside them probably as a weekender so mum and dad wouldn’t get lonely. We have seen a few Christian churches in this region but not sure if that is the full explanation.
 |
| One of the grandiose beach tombs |
 |
| Guess who showing off a great set of hudas |
 |
| Wife no2 getting fleeced by some seagulls (aka hawkers), believe me their is a story!!! |
We caught another sleeper for the trip to Hanoi. It took 16 hrs and was pouring rain when we arrived. We finally found a hotel after inspecting about 10 in the Old Quarter which is where “everything IS apparently”. We think it’s where every motorbike in Hanoi is parked too. This place is not just bedlam it’s dangerous. Just walking in the street is a nightmare, you can’t stop or you will be run down, you have to keep moving or dart into a shop, café or restaurant where you then get harassed to buy something. It’s something that must be experienced to get the full appreciation.
 |
| The French designed History Museum |
This place is where “dining out” means just that; gutter views are the norm with inside tables commanding much higher prices for both beer and food. After much searching we managed to find an excellent midrange restaurant where our gutter view is from a balcony perched on the 3rd floor rather than 6 inches away like most. The food and beer is twice the price in Hanoi compared with everywhere else and haggling is fruitless. Most of the locals are more than happy to eat and drink in the gutter so this means very little incentive for change.
 |
| Sir, your table is ready!!! |
The streets of The Old Quarter are more like alleys and contain shops which make every conceivable household product. The shops spill out onto the footpath and at times onto the roadway compromising both pedestrians and vehicles. Each street was in the past named after the products which were sold making it somewhat easier to find. These days it’s more like a maze for tourists as many streets change name part way along and bisect each other at all different angles.
 |
| Street dining Viet Nam style can be great fun for some |
 |
| Looking out from within a cave while kayaking |
Halong Bay is similar to Phang Nha Bay in Thailand but about 10 times larger and much more beautiful. We headed to the isolated northern section of the bay and to our surprise was totally void of any other tourist operators other than ours. In 3 days we saw only 3 other Junks and avoided any interaction with them. The first afternoon started with the most incredible thunder and lightning storm as we weaved our way through the many limestone karsts and islands finally anchoring in a natural enclosed lagoon. The rain was so intense it was a virtual whiteout and with the lack of any electrical navigational equipment aboard the boat showed that traditional seafaring skills are well and truly alive in Vietnam. The Captain indicated that his compass was more than enough along with his experience to get where we had to go even with the 40kts squalls.
 |
| Our Junk Dragon's Pearl 3 - no speed machine but extremely comfortable |
The next day we woke to clear skies and was spent kayaking through numerous caves and then swimming off the side of the junk before visiting a local fishing village. All couples were picked up individually from the junk by a basket boat (hulls made of woven bamboo) rowed by a young lady from the village and taken for a guided tour then returned back to the junk. Next it was off for a most memorable experience as we anchored off on island with a white sand beach and cave midway up the mountain. The crew had arranged to have a barbecue style dinner inside the cave. We arrived from the tender and entered the cave just after dark with our guide Zoe to a triumphant applause from the staff before being seated and presented an absolutely fantastic gourmet 7 course (Vietnamese style) meal with icy cold beers. The cave was only discovered by the charter company in 2007 although inhabited by fishermen for many years in the past. The company relocated the fishermen at considerable expense to preserve the caves integrity as the fishermen were cutting off and selling stalactite and stalagmite pieces. The cave dinner is only available for these cruises and was a real treat.
 |
| Our cave dinning table |
After a very relaxing time aboard we headed back to base on day 3 with many of the passengers after hearing that we live on a yacht wanting us to commandeer the junk and take it back out to sea and prolong their experience indefinitely. The thought was very tempting and just proved how spoilt we are with our chosen lifestyle.
 |
| The cave entrance is in the trees on the right side, you can see thesteps leading up to it from the beach |
Back to polluted noisy Hanoi and another 2 days of city life till we fly out to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand on 24th July.
Beers and Cheers in this case Huda from Hue, bye for now.
J&J
