Mountains of Marble and a Dragon Bridge

Reluctantly we left Hoi An (old town) to explore the beaches of Da Nang. Da Nang was only about an hour away and the trip passed the fabulous Marble Mountain, which we also wanted to visit, so we decided on taking a taxi that would wait for us so we could stop and do some exploring.

Awesome move. Marble Mountain is a cluster of five mountains named after the elements and the main tourist one, Thuy (water), contained some jaw dropping caves full of Buddhist carvings and icons. Get your walking shoes on and allow a couple of hours to explore the multitude of caves, walking trails, temples and gardens scattered across this mountain. Huyen Khong cave was my favourite as the scene opens up before you on entry, hugely expansive and high with a beam of light coming down from a hole in the top to illuminate majestically the sculptures and temples within.

Just outside is a rest area before heading to the stairs of the highest peak of this mountain. Elizabeth still suffering with her broken toe and using my hiking stick as a cane attempted to get to the top. As the steps became endless, steeper and less defined she questioned her ability to make it and sent me off ahead to see how much further. I sneakily kept finding better viewing spots higher up, if she could just get that far, until finally I reached the top. The view was breathtaking so I hurried down to share the news, which spurred Elizabeth on to make it to the top. Well worth the effort!

The view from the top

Just a few words of warning, The lady selling the tickets for the elevator ride up tried to tack on an expensive map without telling us, but we had been forewarned, and she quickly retrieved it once we complained. Also the famous cave here is the Am Phu Cave and it costs money to get in and is not that good, very ostentatious and fake looking with bright lights done up for tourists. If you make it to Huyen Khong cave and only have limited time I would skip it.

Dragon Bridge

Finally we made it to Da Nang, after exploring for an hour longer than we told the taxi driver. It was a large city, and we are generally NOT big city people, but it did have a few attractions for us. The beach of course, which was walking distance from our hostel and where the water was always warm and the ocean full of people. SOOOOOO relaxing and many friendly people. Also the Dragon Bridge that crosses the Han River and is, surprise, surprise, constructed in the shape of a dragon. It was a long walk from the hostel but an impressive structure with some nice areas along the river. Apparently on Saturday and Sunday nights there is an impressive show of fire breathing and water blowing but we came mid week and were not prepared to wait that long.

Da Nang

Hue

So after a few days of swimming we packed up and headed for the Imperial City of Hue. The Imperial City is a walled palace within the larger city of Hue and is its most impressive attraction. Building started in 1804 when Nguyen Anh took control of Vietnam, proclaimed himself Emperor and started the Nguyen dynasty. It was heavily damaged during the Vietnam war with the US but is still a pleasant day out with plenty to see. Lots of beautiful carvings and paintings, partly restored buildings, gardens and lakes.

We spent a whole day there and left just as it was starting to rain. We wanted to do a dragon boat ride on the river but as it was getting late we tried to find transportation. We settled for one of the recommended taxis after a tuk tuk driver tried to charge us a small fortune. We were unlucky with him as well since my phone GPS told me he was driving us the long way around. I told him I knew what he was doing but he still went a bit out of the way and then took us to a dragon boat company that he knew. It was expensive and short but a pleasant ride nonetheless. Long story short, be careful here, it seemed a bit dodgier than most of Vietnam.

Time to move on to one of our longest journeys so far, an overnight train to Hanoi, followed by a long bus ride to Sapa and the highest mountain in Vietnam.

From funky monkeys to old world charm...

Our next stop was the seaside resort town of Nha Trang. Again surrounded by taxis and motorcycles on getting off the bus, I checked my trusty google maps and found we were walking distance to our hotel. So we shooed the hordes away and set off by foot to find the Happy Angel Hotel. On arrival at the hotel we found they were offering a cheap boat trip for the next day on a boat called the 'Funky Monkey'. It sounded interesting so we locked that in, thinking a nice relaxing boat ride would be fun.

Hmm, the Funky Monkey lived up to its name. On a relatively small flat boat with probably too many people we set off on our day of adventure. They were one crazy crew who I think drank more than most of the passengers, but that did not detract from the fun and mayhem that ensued. Some of the highlights included:

The crew

• Swimming and snorkelling near the boat and the recommended way in was by jumping high off the side of the boat. The crew set up a makeshift free-floating bar and had an unlimited 'happy hour' with a mystery cocktail concoction. You did though need to be able to swim to the bar to get the drink.
• Much singing from the crew and a concert with the 'funky monkey boy band'. Not sure about their musical abilities but that was part of the charm. They were fully inclusive of the passengers, finding a variety of people from different countries to sing a national song. Unfortunately with Elizabeth's broken toe as an excuse I became the Australian representative and was forced to sing a rendition of Waltzing Matilda.
• Lunch was brilliant - they turned the wooden bench seats into one humungous table and kept bringing out food until we were bursting.
• A relaxing visit to the beautiful beach at Tranh with many options for activities, or just sit and watch the scenery like we did.

Lunch is served

Geronimo!

The Funky Monkey Boy Band

All in all that was the most memorable thing we did at Nha Trang as we continued our whirlwind tour of Vietnam the next day to the old town Hoi An. The name confused me most of the time I was there. I kept questioning whether it was 'Hoi' an old town or 'Hoi An' old town. I was assured it was the latter (but never convinced).

Thu Bon River in Hoi An

Travel was by overnight sleeper bus because Hoi An was a good 9 hours plus away. So after about 9 hours as we were sleeping restlessly and uncomfortably in our baby capsules the driver pulled up to the curb and just started yelling at us to get out. No 15 minute gentle warning, no sidle up to the curb with a gentle nudge on your shoulder, just 'get out. GET OUT NOW!' . Drowsily we pulled ourselves together and dragged ourselves out of the bus to be greeted by the customary horde of shuttle vehicles and their shouting owners. We shrugged them off, again found we were walking distance (thanks google) and set off for our family hotel.

Hoi An

The historic district of Hoi An (old town) is a World Heritage Site and an exquisite example of a South East Asian trading port complete with well preserved 15th century architecture and a variety of activities showcasing its history and culture. We fell in love with this little area and wandered its streets for hours, both day and night for two days. At night the lights came alive on the streets and on the water adding a completely different dimension and mood.

One of the many well preserved old homes

What also made it especially inviting was the fact that between the hours of 8 to 11am and 3 to 9:30pm, motorized vehicles were banned in the old town. This meant you could walk around without the fear of imminent death so prevalent generally on roads (and footpaths) in Vietnam. In the morning at about 10:55 the peace would be destroyed by motorcycles and the like tearing around like normal, marking the time to go home for lunch and have a nap before returning at 3pm. I would suggest they make the vehicle-free period 24/7, but even limited, it was a nice change.

We came away thinking that this would be a nice little haven for regular trips and our host told us of one couple from New Zealand who come and stay for a month every year.

Traditional dancing show

Buy your fruit and practise your haggling

Banks of Thu Bon River

Dragon on the bank of the
Thu Bon River

The Lanterns are all on at night

   

Bonus video if you made it this far. Me being forced to sing Waltzing Matilda.