Week three

This week I understood why people love traveling in Vietnam.

We spent the first half of our week in Nha Trang, a costal city with a beautiful beach and a great boardwalk that you can meander along for hours.

And meander we did! We walked all the way along the shore to a semi-ancient temple (we think). Honestly I’m not 100% sure of the history of the place, but it was clearly a tourist hot spot, and we were able to use the restroom and take some nice photos, so top marks all around.

Much to our surprise, we saw tons of Russian tourists in Nha Trang. Many of the restaurants were Russian owned, and most signs were written in some combination of Vietnamese, Russian, English, and Chinese (with occasionally some Korean thrown in, as with the sign below).

On our last day in Nha Trang we took a half-day tour to a nearby park where we hiked to see a small waterfall and swim in a few natural pools that felt lovely and cool in the heat. The pools were also full of those little fish that eat dead skin, so if you sat still you ended up with a little school of them darting around nibbling on your back or toes. It’s a very weird sensation. Not unpleasant, exactly, but a bit disconcerting. Like a mini pinch that almost hurts, but then fades immediately.

After Nha Trang we took an overnight train to Da Nang, also on the coast, but further north (there are two ways to see Vietnam – south to north, or north to south. We’re going south to north). While there were some things to see in Da Nang we mainly used it as a central point to visit other places nearby.

For ease of adventures, we decided to rent a motorbike. I know! A motorbike on these crazy roads? (See week two’s post for an overview of the insanity that is crossing the street in Vietnam). What were we thinking? The first day with the bike we took it pretty easy, driving along a costal road to see a huge statue and temples in the mountains. Byron expertly navigated the roundabouts (which are really just free for alls with everyone honking for all the other vehicles to get out of their way), and I took the bike for a tentative spin on one of the mountainous side roads.

Our second day though, we did a full on road trip. We biked out an hour and half or so to My Son, a Unesco World Heritage site with ancient Hindu temples. While the architecture was impressive, I mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet afforded by the surrounding mountains.

We then drove another hour and a half or so (it should have been shorter but our motorbike is actually just a fancy scooter and maxes out at 50 km/hour) to Hoi An, a pretty little city with nicely decorated streets, tons of shops, and beautiful lanterns that illuminate the river at night.

It was another hour back to our hotel in Da Nang, and in a shocking turn of events, I voluntarily drove us on the motorbike part of the way. I drove the bike! And killed neither of us! Victory is mine. Plus, I was only mostly terrified, as opposed to 100% terrified. So double victory.

We finished our time in Da Nang with a much-needed day of rest, including a walk on the beach at sunset where I found some cool shells amidst much trash and a couple dead fish (really, the beach in Da Nang is prettiest if you focus on the stunning scenery and don’t look too closely at the details).

Of course, the elephant in the room for most of our trip thus far has been the coronavirus. Everyone is concerned and taking precautions, but some of those precautions have become extreme. Vietnam has done their best to ban tourists from China for the next several months. Some of the locals we’ve spoken to are unhappy about this (less money from tourism), but for others this outbreak has amplified anti-Chinese sentiment. We’ve even seen some stores outright banning Chinese visitors. It’s unsettling to witness such blatant discrimination, a reminder of how easily fear can override basic human decency.

Our travels through Vietnam continued today as we headed to Hue via the most scenic train ride I’ve ever been on. This has only served to amplify Byron’s undying devotion to train travel.

Thankfully our slow travel pace has given me plenty of time for art and knitting. Sadly I have yet to find a yarn shop. We did see one store advertising “sewing and knitting”, which lifted my spirits for a few glorious moments, until I got closer and realized it was actually a tailor shop. Still, I shall not lose hope.