After spending the last few days on a motorbike riding all day, I am currently writing this post from Nha Trang, a beautiful beach town where I hope to stay for a day or two. Spending a full day on a bike is tiring! The sun is incredibly hot and constant vigilance is required at all times because of the drivers here. We pull over frequently, usually once an hour, just to give our ancient motorbikes a brief rest so they don't overheat. A brief reprieve from the sun is also necessary for us -overheating is definitely a risk people people as well as bikes! By the end of the day we pull in dusty, dirty and exhausted, into the town we are staying, and never has a shower and bed sounded so good. I am really enjoying this type of travel because of the people and cities we go through, the incredible scenery we see every day and just the freedom of going where we want, and I would definitely rank this one of the best decisions (if not THE best decision) of the trip, but it certainly is draining. Oh well -I suppose that just means less money spent trying to find things to entertain ourselves during the day. It also makes you appreciate places more when you do stop.
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| Empty bar, free beer. What is this madness?! |
So: a few descriptions or highlights from the last few days.
Hue was an interesting town where we rejoined the majority of tourists (many of whom have purchased a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket with Hue as a major stop).We stayed in a hotel called "The Google Hotel", where for $8/person, we enjoyed a free breakfast, free fresh fruit when we arrived, free laundry, and free beer from 5 until midnight! Sometimes the prices of things in Asia blow my mind.
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| Hoi An at night |
Hoi An is a graceful and atmospheric town that was once a major port in the early 19th century. Because Vietnam was still under French colonial rule at this point, many of the buildings that still exist are in a beautiful and interesting French architectural style. However in the late 19th century, the river that Hoi An is located on silted up. Ships couldn't access the town the way they had before, and Hoi An was left frozen in time, without the continued development that inevitably would have come. In the 90's, a tourism boom began which transformed the city into the cosmopolitan and wealthy town that it is today.
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| Hoi An |
While in Hoi An, I enjoyed some of the best food I had had in a long time (a much needed change from my three times daily noodle soup!), explored the beautiful old buildings lining the river, and checked out the local day and night markets. I also had a few items of clothing custom made. Hoi An has something like 700 tailors, who can make anything your heart desires and for quite a cheap price. I discovered that it can be quite fun to have clothing made to measure. As per usual, I fit in some beach time, some socializing here and there, and a few lazy morning in the hotel's lovely in-ground pool -one of the first I've seen in Asia! All in all a lovely town -walking along the peaceful river at night with the entire town lit up by lanterns convinced me that this town is probably the most beautiful I've seen on my travels.
Nha Trang is a beach party town, and probably the most modern, slick city I've seen in some time. We only stayed here two days and although the beach was stunning and I enjoyed the atmosphere and food, the highlight was a trip to VinPearl, Vietnam's biggest (and only?) theme park. I kept running into the same people throughout Hue and Hoi An, and when we all found ourselves in Nha Trang we decided that spending the day on rollercoasters and at the waterpark was the best use of our time. The 7 of us spent the day joking around, riding amusement park rides and cooling off in some pretty awesome waterslides. My only regret of the whole day was the lack of photos, as my phone was in for a minor repair. Maybe not the most cultural of experiences, but one of the most fun and silly days I've had in awhile!
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| Nha Trang beach |
Next is on to Saigon, where I will sell my bike (so sad!) and bus on to Cambodia, before flying to Kuala Lumpur. Another change in the trip, in the style of travel, and in company, but that's the joy of this kind of adventure!
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