We’ve done it! We cannot believe that this year has come and gone so quickly! We feel like we just blinked and before we knew it, it was over. We have loved every second of this trip. Looking back on it now, even the tougher times (of which there weren’t many) we now look back on nostalgically! Here are some statistics to give an overview of everything we have done:
We were away for 45 weeks. We visited 21 countries excluding South Africa. We took 14 flights, 118 long-distance busses/shuttles, 20 boats/ferries and we used 16 different metro systems.
Our top foods that we tried in no particular order were:
Chupe in Chile
Steak in Argentina
Satays in Malaysia
Pad Thai and Green Curry in Thailand
Rice Pancakes in Vietnam
Dim Sum in Hong Kong
Our top five countries we visited in no particular order were:
Guatemala
Ecuador
Chile
Argentina
Vietnam
So now that it’s over and we are completely broke, would we do it again? YES! This has been the most amazing experience! No price can be put on the things we have seen, the people we have met and the way our marriage has grown over these amazing 10.5 months.
We are now starting the next chapter in our lives. I start my new job on 4 January 2016 and Chris starts his dream job a week later. We are also moving to Cape Town which is an awesome new adventure. We cannot wait to catch up with our friends and family and to see our little cat Akira.
We hope you have enjoyed reading our travel stories and that the information we have tried to give has been helpful. If you are thinking about doing something similar, DO IT!
We knew Hong Kong would be expensive but it still hurt to spend US$10 on a beer! We decided to splurge out on our accommodation for our last four nights of our trip and chose a 4-star hotel. We were very disappointed to arrive to a tiny room that reeked of smoke. Accommodation is very expensive in Hong Kong and our US$70 a night “splurge” was actually just the normal going rate for a mediocre room! After battling with our disappointment we decided to go out for some food and beer and were horrified to see the prices. We were not as well prepared as we thought we were.
So be prepared if you are going to visit Hong Kong – the normal Southeast Asia backpackers budget is not really going to work here. We were, however, able to buy beers from the 7Eleven and eat some cheap meals here and there. To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:
Take-away slice of pizza = HK$35
Dim Sum = HK$15-30 for an order of 2/3 pieces. You’ll spend about HK$150 for two people
Beer at a bar = HK$60
Beer at 7Eleven = 2 for HK$14
Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$178 for the two of us.
Our flight from Vietnam was delayed by an hour so we only arrived in Hong Kong at 11pm. We caught the airport express MTR (HK$160 for a group of 2 people) to our hotel and were super excited to check into our luxurious room that we had spoilt ourselves to, for our last four nights. We were shocked to walk into a shoe box-sized room that reeked of smoke with dirty windows and no view at all, even though it was advertised as a “Harbour View Superior Queen Room”! We went downstairs as we were sure there had been some kind of mistake, but we were assured that all rooms were the same and this is what we had booked. Furious and disappointed we both went to bed promising ourselves to never over indulge in accommodation like this again. We have had much better rooms for less than a fifth of the price before!
Shaking off the bad vibes the next morning, we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel and then headed out for some city exploring. We jumped on the MTR to Central Station to catch the Peak Tram (HK$40pp return) to see the view of the city. We waited in the queue for about 30mins before we took the ride up. We were lucky that we went on this particular day as there were no clouds and the view of the city was great. After we had taken some photos we headed back down and took a walk through the city seeing Mo Man Temple and the trendy Soho district. That night we researched where good and cheap dim sum was without travelling too far. We ended up at Ding Dim Sum in Soho. It did not disappoint!
Peak Tram
Peak Tram View
Peak Tram View
Mo Man Temple
Mo Man Temple
Dim Sum at Ding Dim Sum
The following day we headed across to Kowloon on the MTR and went for lunch at the 1 Michelin-star restaurant, One Dim Sum. We had the most incredible selection of eight different dishes which only came to HK$150 for the both of us! Stuffed, we wobbled around town seeing Yau Ma Tei temple, Jade and Temple Street Night markets and the Museum of History (HK$10pp). The museum was very detailed, you could spend hours in here, but after an hour and a half we gave up and walked a little further on to Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade. We bought some beer and cider from a nearby 7Eleven and just sat and looked at the bay. It is really beautiful at night with all the lights. Especially at this time of year as all the buildings are lit up with Christmas lights. We were lucky to be here at this time of year too as there was a 3D light show every night on the promenade for people to come and watch for free as well as other light displays around the city that we went to see. We were exhausted after the show and took the Star Ferry back across the bay to go to bed.
Dim Sum at One Dim Sum
Temple Street Night Market
Heritage House Ice Castle
Bulgari Christmas Lights
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour Christmas Lights
Victoria Harbour Christmas Lights
We were meant to go north to the New Territories the next day but we were so lazy after our full day of walking around the city the day before. So we researched where the best Pecking Duck in town was and spoilt ourselves to a great lunch at Spring Deer in Tsim Sha Tsui. The meal was pricey at HK$600 but it was worth it, it was so good! We decided to go out for a couple of drinks that night and headed to the famous Lan Kwai Fong Street where there are many pubs and bars lining the street. We happened to come on the night after the biggest horseracing event of the year, so the street was packed. Luckily for us there is a 7Eleven right next to all these bars and everyone drinks on the street anyway, so we managed to join the party but saved a lot of money by buying our drinks at the 7Eleven!
Peking Duck at Spring Deer
Peking Duck at Spring Deer
We woke up thirsty the next morning but luckily we managed to arrange a late check out. We checked out at 2pm and headed back to One Dim Sum for our last dim sum in Hong Kong. We again had the most delicious lunch. We then headed to Tung Chung station to watch The Hunger Games to kill a bit of time before our 11:50pm flight. After the movie we took the S1 bus to the airport (HK$3.50). This journey is way cheaper than the airport express.
We are now at the airport waiting for our flight home! We can’t believe how time has flown!
To see all our photos from Hong Kong following the link below:
Vietnam has been one of the biggest surprises for us on this trip! We just fell in love with the country and were sad to leave it behind. We heard that people could be a little rude and that the beaches are not that great compared to Thailand but we couldn’t disagree more. OK, we didn’t really get to experience the beaches as it was either windy or overcast, but the people in Vietnam are some of the friendliest people we have ever met. Bump into a Vietnamese person who is learning to speak English and you won’t be able to stop them from chatting on and on! The food in Vietnam was also mind-blowing! Everything we tasted was phenomenal, from a breakfast of pho to local delicacies in Hoi An and Hanoi. The local food is so cheap and local beers are usually between $0.50 and $1.
Accommodation and transport in Vietnam were also on a different level from anything we had in Thailand and Cambodia. A private room is easily under $15 at a well-run hotel. Open bus tickets are the way to go in Vietnam. We saved a ton of money by buying an open bus ticket that took us all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi with six stops along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of the country. The museums and temples are well run and accessible and tours are not too pricey. There are a lot of options for tours and activities to do which we found great!
We had no issues with safety. As always just be careful with your belongings. A lot of people speak English, especially hotel staff and tour guides. Locals are also very keen to learn the language so be patient with them.
So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:
Canyoning in Da Lat
Cooking class in Hoi An
Visiting the Imperial City in Hue
Dark Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Halong Bay Cruise
Visiting Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
If you would like to see all our photos from Vietnam follow the link below:
We spent a fair bit of money on activities in Vietnam as there is just so much to do and we didn’t want to miss out. We also entered the final month of our 11-month long trip so we decided to go for broke! We managed to save quite a bit on accommodation and transport by mostly eating local food and with our open bus ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. You could easily do Vietnam on a tighter budget but then you wouldn’t really be doing all the exciting things like a cooking class, canyoning and a cruise in Halong Bay. There is no need to eat in expensive restaurants as the best food is often found at local street food stalls. Alcohol can be cheap in some places and expensive in others. The cheapest beer we had was in Hoi An at VND4,000 a glass and the most expensive beer we had was on the Halong Bay cruise at VND45,000 a can. To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:
Western meal from a restaurant = VND100,000
Pho from a local restaurant = VND60,000
Beer at a local restaurant = VND20,000
Scooter hire = VND100,000per day
Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$83 for the two of us.
We arrived back in Hanoi from Halong Bay at about 16:30pm and were knackered. We just had a quick bite to eat that night and went to bed early. The next morning we woke up early and made our way to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. The former revolutionary, contrary to his wishes (he wanted to be cremated), has been embalmed and is on display for hundreds of people to visit. The whole process is quite surreal. He is so revered in Vietnam and the respect this country shows him is immense. I walked in with my arms folded and was told by one of the many guards to hold them at my side. We walked in in a queue and were led around him in a square before being led out. After we saw Ho Chi Minh we chose to pay the VND40,000pp to walk around the old grounds where he lived. We got to see rooms where he entertained foreign politicians, cars he used to drive and the grounds where he relaxed and exercised. He was a man of very modest living, with little luxury for a man of his position as head of state.
Ho Chi Minh’s house
Ho Chi Minh’s car collcetion
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
After the Mausoleum complex we took a leisurely walk back to the Old Quarter to experience the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, known affectionately as the “Pearl of the Orient”. We walked through the busy streets taking in the ancient architecture, masses of electricity lines and crazy traffic of this 1,000-year old city. We walked past the war museum where you can see aircraft and military vehicles from the outside. We then walked past Hoàn Kiếm Lake before we headed back to our hotel. We booked tickets to go see the famous water puppet show that night for VND100,000pp. The show was at 6:30pm and lasted about 45mins. It is very cute and fun to see. What they can do with these puppets in water is quite amazing! The local musical instruments they play during the show are also very cool.
Fixing powerlines in Hanoi
St. Joseph’s Cathedral Hanoi
Hoàn Kiếm Lake Hanoi
Water Puppet Show Hanoi
Water Puppet Show Hanoi
Water Puppet Show Hanoi
Our last day in Hanoi we checked out of our hotel and joined a food tour. We were only a group of 3 people so we had a great private tour through the city. The tour was four hours and we got to try about 10 local dishes. The tour is awesome because we got to taste local food that we wouldn’t have known to otherwise taste. We were also taken to some of the best locally known restaurants that aren’t necessarily on TripAdvisor. We were stuffed at the end of the trip! Our flight to Hong Kong was only at 7:30pm but we decided to just head straight to the airport ($12 private car) at the end of the tour. So we are now waiting at the airport for our flight to Hong Kong.
Food tour Hanoi
Food Tour Hanoi (coffee with egg yolk cream)
Food Tour Hanoi
Food Tour Hanoi
Food Tour Hanoi
Food Tour Hanoi
We can’t believe our South East Asia trip is finished! Only four more nights in Hong Kong and then it’s home time!
We arrived at our hotel in Hanoi (My Moon Hotel) at 6:45am and sat down for some breakfast. We had to wait for our room to be available so in the meantime I decided to do some research on Halong Bay tours. The tour desk at the hotel was very helpful and told us that the weather was only going to be good for the next couple of days and they recommended we leave immediately for Halong Bay if we weren’t too tired. So at 8am we were fetched and were on our way to Halong Bay! The hotel was very helpful and allowed us to postpone our booking with them to two nights later. There are many different boat options with one to five star ratings, one or two nights on the boat and options to stay in homestays or on different islands. In the end we decided to do a three-day, two-night tour, with both nights on the boat through 4-star Swan Cruises. The cost including all meals, transport and activities for the three days was $209pp. The only thing this price doesn’t include is your drinks, which can be quite expensive on the boat (beer $2, wine glass $6 excl. 10% VAT).
The bus ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay was 4.5hrs. We arrived at the harbor and took a smaller transfer boat to our big boat. We checked in and had a great lunch. Every meal was in typical Vietnamese fashion which prioritises variety, hence we effectively had eight-course meals for lunch and dinner every day! We were full the entire time! While enjoying our lunch we were already on our way through the islands of Halong Bay. In total there are 1969 islands. The views of these limestone islands jutting out from the turquoise ocean are just incredible. We were also so grateful for the great advice from our hotel as the weather was absolutely perfect! After lunch we anchored and got a chance to kayak around the islands, through caves and into lagoons. We even spotted an endangered monkey! We then had a little swim before getting back on board. Every night they had drinks and snacks on the deck to enjoy the sunset. After dinner we also learnt how to play a Vietnamese puzzle game called Tri Uan, where 7 puzzle pieces of different shapes are used to make various different pictures such as a duck, dog or scooter. It is so difficult but we loved it so much we bought two sets for ourselves to take home.
Islands like this jut out all around Halong Bay
Swan Cruises boat
Kayaking through a cave to get to a lagoon
Kayaking through cave tunnels in Halong Bay
Swimming in Halong Bay
Sunset on the upper deck
The next day we woke up early for breakfast and then headed to Surprise Cave. Compared to the caves we saw in Phong Nha, Surprise Cave is a little overcrowded but still impressive to see a massive cave hidden in the side of one of the jutting limestone islands. All the other people on the boat were on the two-day, one-night tour so after the cave Chris and I were taken on a private smaller boat for the day. We had the best day, first visiting a pearl factory and then a bay where there were many small beaches we could kayak to. The pearl factory was so interesting. We both had no idea what goes into making a pearl. Every perfectly round pearl gets artificially made by inserting a rounded oyster shell ball into the ovary of a living oyster. A piece of mucus membrane from a donor oyster then gets added. This round shell ball then gets covered by secretion from the membrane over time, which becomes a pearl! A pearl takes anywhere from 3 to 8 years to form. We got to see the whole process from harvesting baby oysters, to cutting membranes from donor oysters to surgically inserting the membrane and shell balls into the living oysters. After the tour we got back on the boat and headed to Three Peaches bay that has many small beaches. We chilled on our own glorious, private beach for a couple of hours before heading back to the boat for another delicious lunch.
Surprise Cave Halong Bay
View of Halong Bay from Surprise Cave
Harvesting Oysters
Surgically inserting the oyster shell ball into the oyster’s ovary
Final product, a pearl!
Cruising on our private boat for the day in Halong Bay
Chilling on a private beach in Halong Bay
Chilling on a private beach in Halong Bay
That afternoon we headed back to the boat and met up with the new guests that had started their tour that day. We had booked the Honeymoon suite and were treated to a free bottle of wine, which we enjoyed on our private balcony outside our room. The following morning the other guests went to see Surprise Cave and Chris and I just relaxed in our room with the views of the islands outside our window. After lunch we headed back to the harbor. With heavy hearts we disembarked and headed back with the shuttle bus to Hanoi.
Drinking wine on our private balcony
We loved every minute of this tour. I visited Halong Bay in 2012 with my mom and although I loved that tour too the water at that stage was very polluted. Our guide told us that in 2012 Halong Bay became a Unesco World Heritage site and since then the government has been very strict with pollution in the bay. They have even relocated communities of fishermen, as their floating villages were a constant source of pollution. This has had a massive positive impact, as the bay is now really beautiful and mostly unpolluted! We are now in Hanoi enjoying our last two days in Vietnam.
Our open bus ticket didn’t include Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. So we went to Hanh Café in Hue and asked them if it would be possible to change our last bus from Hue-Hanoi to Phong Nha-Hanoi. They said this was no problem as they go through Phong Nha on the way to Hanoi anyway. So we bought a bus ticket from Hue to Phong Nha for VND220,000pp and booked our onwards ticket from Phong Nha to Hanoi for two days later. We caught the 7am shuttle from Hue and arrived in Phong Nha at 11:30am. We checked into Mountain View Hotel, a family-run hostel with private rooms for $14. Phong Nha is a tiny town with only one main road. The main hostel and place to hang out is Easy Tiger, but they only have dorm rooms. So we stayed in our nice private room at the hotel and just walked the 20m to Easy Tiger every night for some cheap happy hour deals and some intense games of pool.
The next day we hired a scooter and drove the 65km loop around the National Park to see Dark Cave and Paradise Cave. Our first stop was Dark Cave as tourist groups usually go there in the afternoon so we wanted to get in before the crowds arrived. We got there just in time to join a group of three other people. The VND350,000pp ticket includes a zipline down to the entrance of the cave, the walk into the cave with the mud bath at the end and a kayak back to where you start. You can then also do another zipline into the water and an obstacle course above the water if you like. They give you helmets and headlamps which are required as the cave is completely dark. After walking into the darkness of the cave for about 15mins, we reached the roughly 10m x 3m mud bath at the back of the cave. This was the best part of the whole thing. The mud is so dense, you feel weightless as you step into the deep mud. Just trying to get from one side of the mud bath to the other is a mission as you basically float on top of the mud. It was lots of fun! They have lockers at the entrance where you can keep all your valuables. Unless you have a waterproof camera it is not advised to take your camera in with you.
Scooter ride around Phong Nha-Ke National Park
Ziplining at Dark Cave
After the Dark Cave we had showers and changed into clean clothes we brought along. We then had a little lunch and continued on our scooter for about 10mins until we reached the entrance of Paradise Cave. The entrance is VND250,000pp. You can then decide to get a buggy to the entrance for an extra fee or walk the 10mins to the start of the stairs up the cave. We weren’t prepared for the 600m uphill walk to the mouth of the cave and were still stiff a couple of days later! The walk from the bottom of the stairs to the cave is about 15mins. We reached the cave and went in through a small entrance that, to our amazement, opened up into the huge cave. At 31km long with sections of 100m to 150m in height, this is one of the largest caves in the world. It was spectacular! Only the first 1km of the cave is open to tourists. After walking around the cave for about 20mins we made our way back to Phong Nha. On our way back into town we passed Easy Tiger and saw it was happy hour so we decided to stop for “1 drink”…
Paradise Cave
Paradise Cave
Paradise Cave
We woke up the next day with very sore heads. We had great plans to go for a hike around the nearby Botanical Gardens but instead we rolled out of bed at 2pm and just managed to go to Phong Nha Cave. The entrance into the cave is VND150,000pp and then you have to take a boat to get to the cave which is VND320,000 but can be shared by up to 14 people. We waited around for 15mins and managed to get a group of 8 people together so we only had to pay VND40pp for the boat trip. The total trip is about 2hrs with the boat trip taking about 45mins each way and about 45mins through the cave. We are happy we did this cave, as it was cool to go through the cave on the boat. They switch off the boat engine as soon as you get to the mouth of cave so it’s very peaceful as they row through the cave.
Phong Nha Cave opening
Phong Nha Cave
Phong Nha Cave
Phong Nha Cave
Our bus departed from Phong Nha at 9pm and luckily our hotel was awesome and let us only check-out at 8:30pm free of charge. So we had some pizza for lunch and then headed back to our room until we had to catch our bus. The bus ride was OK. We arrived in Hanoi at 6am and took a taxi straight to our hotel.
We were dropped off at the bus stop in Hoi An and took a taxi to our great hotel – Phuc Thao Hotel. We had to wait until 1pm to check in so we grabbed a couple of their free city bikes and headed to the historic center of town. Hoi An’s Ancient Town is a Unesco World Heritage site and is beautifully preserved. It dates back to the 15th century. Some of the roads have been closed off so you can only cycle or walk along the historic buildings and temples. We cycled around for a bit and then enjoyed some delicious dishes unique to Hoi An. We had white roses (prawns steamed in rice pastry) and fried dumplings which were delicious! That night we came back to the historic center to enjoy some local bingo which was really interesting. Instead of them shouting out numbers like normal bingo, here you pick a wooden tablet with three pictures on it. A lady then picks a stick out of a tube with a picture on it and sings the name of that picture out in a song. If you get all three pictures sung out you win and to my shock I did! My prize was a traditional lantern!
Cycling around Hoi An
Cycling around Hoi An
Delicious local food in Hoi An
Bingo in Hoi An
As we were so excited about the local food on the first day in Hoi An we decided to do a cooking class the next day (VND680,000pp). We were picked up at 8am by Thuan Tinh Island cooking school and were taken to the local market to buy the ingredients which we’d later cook with. We then boarded a boat and rode for 45mins up the river and through a coconut plantation to their cooking school. We first learnt the traditional way of making rice milk before we sat down and learnt how to make four delicious Vietnamese dishes. As with our Thai cooking class, it is amazing how easy these dishes are to make once you’ve been shown how to actually do it! We loved the fresh spring rolls and rice pancakes the most! The class ended at 2pm when we were taken home by taxi. We thoroughly enjoyed it!
Market – Thuan Tinh Island cooking school Hoi An
Boat ride to Thuan Tinh Island cooking school Hoi An
Hoi An
Thuan Tinh Island cooking school Hoi An
The next day we hired a scooter from the hotel and drove the 50km to My Son Sanctuary. The entrance fee is VND100,000pp and then you have to pay VND10,000 for parking. The ruins mostly consist of temples dating back to the 4th century and are located in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and streams. After the ruins we headed back to Hoi An to the beach where we indulged in two plates of grilled prawns. That night we just got a quick bite to eat before heading to bed.
My Son Sanctuary Hoi An
My Son Sanctuary Hoi An
Grilled prawns on the beach in Hoi An
We caught the 1pm bus the following day to Hue. The bus ride was comfortable and quick and we arrived around 4h30pm. That night we indulged in some yummy Indian curry again! Indian in Vietnam has been really good!
The only day we had in Hue we hired bicycles from our hotel and hit the road to the Imperial City or Citadel (VND150,000pp entrance). Hue used to be the capital of Vietnam and this was the palace of the emperors of Vietnam from the early 1800s. It was very elaborate with expansive grounds, a huge moat and temples within the walls of the city. We walked around the grounds and fed some fish in one of the ponds for VND5,000 before we headed down the road to Thien Mu Temple. This is free of charge to see but be warned that hawkers will shout at you to park in front of their stall for a small fee, which is not necessary if you just park across the street by the river. We walked around for 10mins before we headed back to city for lunch.
Imperial City Hue
Imperial City Hue
Imperial City Hue
Imperial City Hue
Thien Mu Temple Hue
Thien Mu Temple Hue
Both Hoi An and Hue were very rich in history and we enjoyed seeing the elaborate architecture of the past. We are now excited to be heading to Phong Nha where we will be doing more adventurous cave exploring and zip-lining.
The bus from Mui Ne to Da Lat (5hrs) was not pleasant. We were packed in like sardines and the windy road was nauseating. As soon as we got close to Da Lat though all was forgotten as the landscape is just beautiful. There are hills of strawberry farms and winelands which lead into the dense pine forest around a lake right near Da Lat. We caught a taxi to our hostel (Alan Hostel) and were immediately welcomed by a free family-style dinner. This hostel is so cheap for what you get ($12 private room with bathroom, breakfast and dinner included!). We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here as the family-style dinner really allows for you to make friends and socialise. A group of us from the hostel booked a canyoning tour ($29pp incl. lunch) for the next day.
We were collected at the hostel at 10am and drove the 15mins to the beginning of the hike into the forest. We walked for about five minutes before we were given a safety briefing and were shown how to actually abseil. We then walked a further 25mins where we slid down rocks into a big rock pool. Another 10mins walk and we reached our first waterfall to abseil down. This waterfall is 25m high and we abseiled straight through the waterfall. If this isn’t terrifying enough, about 8m from the bottom you have to jump off the rock and let go of the rope to fall into the water below! We were both pumped full of adrenaline afterwards! After that obstacle we were basically up for anything. We jumped off a 7m rock together and Chris dared to do the 11m run-and-jump. I was too scared! The last waterfall we did was called the “Washing Machine” as you abseil half way down the rockface and then hang while you are tumbled through a waterfall till you reach the water below. All in all we loved the day out and thoroughly enjoyed the company. That night we enjoyed the hostel’s dinner again and $1 cocktails before we headed to bed.
Jumping off the 7m rock together
Abseiling down the 25m waterfall
Natural waterslide
Chris going down the “Washing Machine”
Abseiling down the 25m waterfall
Canyoning Tour Group
The next day we took the 1pm bus to Nha Trang (4hrs). We were expecting to be packed into a shuttle bus again, but this time we were only five people on the whole bus. It was great! We arrived in Nha Trang just before 5pm and checked into our hostel. That night we walked to the nearby beach and had a couple of beers before deciding what to have for dinner. Deciding what to eat was quite funny as many restaurants display their weird and wonderful ingredients out in front of their restaurant. After seeing frogs, snakes, eels and a skinned crocodile we decided on Indian curry! We are not that adventurous! The following day it was pouring with rain as it is the rainy season now in Vietnam. So we stayed in for a while before heading out to Thap Ba Hot Springs. We were picked up from our hostel (VND60,000pp return) and taken to the spa where you can choose if you want a communal or personal mud bath. We opted for the cheaper option and partook in the commmunal mud bath (VND150,000pp). After the rather runny 15min mud bath we had a shower and then relaxed in their hotspring bath. We then headed over to their heated swimming pool where we enjoyed some beers. The outing was weird and we wouldn’t recommend it unless you really have nothing else to do (or it is a rainy day as in our case)!
Eel and frogs for dinner anyone?!
Mud bath
That night we decided to give the famous Nha TrangV nightlife a go. We first enjoyed some beers while getting a 45min foot massage. We then headed across the road to a corner bar where we sat on the sidewalk enjoying VND35,000 rum and pineapple buckets. We bumped into people we met at the hostel in Da Lat and I made a new New Zealander best friend! Needless to say we woke up with our heads exploding the next day. The lesson we learnt is that if the drink is cheap it has probably been made with very cheap Vietnamese alcohol! We did nothing the whole day except for popping out for some food. To make matters worse it was a gloriously sunny day, but we could not pull ourselves together to do anything!
The next day we had to check out early but our bus wasn’t until 7:30pm. So we bought tickets to Vinpearl (VND600,000pp) from our hostel and headed to the Theme Park island for the day. The ticket includes the cable car to the island, which is the longest cable car built over the sea. It also includes all the rides. We did all the slides at the waterpark before we headed over to do the rollercoasters and more thrilling rides. We also visited the aquarium and saw a 4D 15min film. We had a great day. We loved that we could do all the rides as many times as we wanted and that the only time we waited in a queue was for the cable car ride there which was only a 30min wait anyway.
Cablecar to Vinpearl
“Bungy Jumping”
Alpine Rollercoaster Vinpearl
Aquarium Vinpearl
That night we took the overnight bus to Hoi An (12hrs). The bus ride was comfortable enough with sleeper chairs. We are now in this beautiful, historic city enjoying some of the amazing local dishes on offer.
Chris and Ro go... 