Our trip through Vietnam – We have made our way up from Mui Ne and we’re in Hoi An at the minute. From Mui Ne we went to Da Lat on a very long and windy bus ride through the mountains, which took about 5.5 hours. We didn’t get to go on a sleeper bus for some reason so we were pretty uncomfortable. We did however get to see some amazing views from on top of the hills.
In Da Lat we stayed in a hotel right next to the main street and the night market which was perfect. Our first night we went to a restaurant that had personal BBQ’s on each table so T was in his element, cooking away. We wandered round the night markets which were really cool and we found a bakery on our street which practically became our home for 2 days. Everything in there was delicious and so ridiculously cheap.
We hired a scooter and visited the Elephant waterfalls which were really pretty. It was a very dangerous climb down as the water from the waterfall sprays the rocks and makes them slippy. Of course, we both had flip flops on because we’re extremely clever like that. T actually lost his flipflops momentarily to some sinking mud he accidentally stepped in.
On our second night we met up with Sarah, one of my friends from Uni back in the UK. It was mad that we managed to be in the same place for just one day! We went to this bar called maze bar that is designed based on the name – it’s a maze. As you walk in you have to buy a drink and then you’re allowed through.
First off you head downstairs and the aim is to make it all the way to the roof top bar. There are number of passageways and staircases heading off in all kind of directions, some taking you round in a complete circle. After a few drinks it became more and more difficult to navigate our way around. We had such a good night and met some amazing people and of course we paid our bakery a visit on the way home to collect any leftovers that they were selling off.
From Da Lat we flew to Da Nang where we stayed for 3 nights. We went to see the Dragon Bridge at night time as it lights up and on a weekend and shoots out fire and water. During the day we tried to go to the beach as the sun was actually shining in Vietnam! It lasted a whole 15 minutes mind so we hired a scooter and went to visit the Marble Mountains.
There were 1000’s of steps for us to climb up and we climbed through a cave to reach the top. After an hour of wandering around we tried to find the exit where we had left our scooter but it was impossible. We arrived at the bottom of some random staircase to finally see a main road however we had managed to stray over a kilometre in the wrong direction.
The next day we hired another scooter (it was actually the same one) and drove along the Hai Van Pass. It was such an incredible experience and the views are breath-taking! We found a waterfall along the way which we decided to climb up. We left our shoes on a rock at the bottom, so we could make our way up through the water and took some photos at the top. We stopped for lunch in a small fishing village before making our way back to Da Nang.
We have now been in Hoi An for the last 2 days and we really like it here. Our hotel is really nice and the staff are so friendly – they keep giving us free fruits, its fab! Okay, strange – one of their staff has spotted me laying here by the pool and just brought me over some rice cakes, for free, ha. I love it here!
Today T went to visit the My Son Sanctuary and I was supposed to go with him, but I didn’t fancy spending another day on a scooter. I hired a bike and went for a ride around the rice fields. I managed to get horribly lost and it pissed it down for around 15 seconds but it was enough to soak me right through. Luckily, I found a couple who were trying to get to the beach and had google maps so I subtly followed them back to civilization. I stopped for lunch in this organic juice café and got my daily dose of fresh juice. Opposite was a shop I had been to earlier this morning to try and get a tailored made bikini and T found this bloody yellow and pink penguin shirt that he liked. I went over to buy it for him as a surprise despite the fact that it is horrendous.
On my way back to the hotel I ran into one of our friends form Sydney so I sat whith her and had a catch up. Were going into town again tonight to pick up the tailor made suit that T has bought. It’s a massive thing here in Hoi An, they’re everywhere.
The town is really beautiful on a night here, the streets are all lit up with colourful lanterns and there is a lake right in the middle full with floating candles and boats. Unfortunatly we leave tomorrow as we’re flying up North for our final week in Vietnam.
Click here to read my next post: Our Trip Through Vietnam – Part 2
