More Vietnam!

Vietnam has been incredible.  We headed along the coast from Mui Ne to Nha Trang.   Our first priority was to check out a buffet dinner that was recommended to us from some fellow Canadians and let me tell you it did not disappoint.  It was our little splurge.   We had fresh seafood - grilled on the spot - swordfish, prawns, scallops, mussells, cockels and more.  Then there was the sushi, fresh bread, salads and most importantly cheese!  We had a roast pork, beef wrapped in bacon, a shrimp dish, fresh fruit and to top it all off the most decadent chocolate truffle tart desserts!  We took advice from the experienced travellers, went when it opened at 6pm and stayed till 9.  I am pretty sure we had 15 or more plates each - not piled high!  We savoured every bite and made an event of it!

We spent an afternoon at the mud baths, apparently mineral mud that is extremely therapeutic!  When you arrive you shower in hot water and then they fill up this hot tub size pool with cool mud.  We shared the tub with a guy from England and a girl from Scotland and had a blast, spooning mud on ourselves and sharing travelling stories.  Then we headed to a marble area to sun bake the mud on and after 30 mins we showered off and then headed through this long tunnell with lots of hard jets, we didn't last too long in there before heading to the hot tubs around 40 degrees.   Finally we headed to the waterfall and the pool - although the pool is 38 degrees!  We had a great time with another couple as well and then headed to a microbrewery for a pint.  It was like the Vietnamese version of the Nordic spa.

One last day in Nha Trang was spent on a boat cruising the islands, snorkelling, eating a Vietnamese fiest and having happy hour in tubes overboard.   We then had a long overnight bus ride to Hoi An, which in the sleeper buses was pretty comfy.  The weather changed and we spent the next couple days exploring shops and cafes while the overcast weather took over. The prices were really cheap though, we went out for dinner with the same friends as above and had duck and noodles and PHO plus a couple big beers for 100 000 dong, which is about $5!

Our next desitnation was Halong Bay, an incredible area full of limestone islands, all jutting out of the sea.  Many are hollow with massive caves inside to explore.  We had two days on a "Junk" exploring the bay.  The scenery was surreal, as if it were straight out of a movie.

We explored one of the caves - along with 100 other people it seems - it was incredible with huge stalagmites hanging from roof. The first cavern was huge and beautiful, only to be followed by a massive cavern. We walked through many caverns with stalagmites hanging from the ceiling and glistening with the minerals. We emerged to an incredible view of the bay with all the Junks anchored around. The second day we explored the bay and saw a village that lives on rafts on the river and then took a boat through a low hole in one of the islands only to emerge in a huge hollow island with high walls of rock and foliage. The village ladies row boats up to the junks to sell drinks and snacks.

School on the water

 ack in Hanoi we stayed in a little place down an alley. In the morning the street was alive with a local market. Everything imaginable was sold on the streets! Live fish, frogs, meat, veggies, bread, noodle soup and more! It was sensory overload as people bartered, the smells and the entire scene.