Hue to the West Ho Chi Minh

Hue and Onward

This will be a short post before launching into an epic tale.

Hue was nice. Nothing special but nothing to be ignored either. Sorry Jenny I know you love it but it just couldn't compare to the other major highlights. With only one night and a morning to see the city we were pretty crammed but already exhausted.

Morgan had I decided to have a quite night and take little strolls o see what we would discover. When we got down to the lake or river (not sure what it was) we discovered swarms of Vietnamese. On the water were dragon boats lined up. Each had a similar entrance. The main body of the boat consisted of an area with chairs set up. The front of the boat had a massive dragon head painted in rainbow colors on either side. I was already regretting my decision to leave my camera behind.

In a short time we also took note on the many traditionally dressed Vietnamese men and women walking around. Within minutes everyone dispersed from the park and began loading into the boats. We were curious. What is going on and how so we become a part of it?

Immediately we walk down and ask a women if we can get in a boat. Well of course! It's a Vietnamese vacation tourist attraction so for a small fee we can get on. We take the first boat we see and are ushered to the back corner. No one else is a western tourist and no one else speaks English. We clearly just invaded their space. With awkward glances and the look of "why and how did you get on this boat" we took our seats.

Lucky enough there was an English speaking guide who was with the Vietnamese tour group in front of us. He explained that we were going to sail down into the middle of the water and would watch a performance. 

The show consisted of traditional instruments and the girls going turns singing some ballads. They were beautiful and their outfits were very special. The tops were passed the knee with slits up the side. They wore circular headdresses that matched the color of their tops. For the next hour we listened to a small performance of music in Vietnamese. If gou have never heard the vietnamese sing go youtube it right nos. The best part was the last song was between a girl and a guy. The entire bit laughed non stop while we sat clueless to what was going on. What am odd experience.  

The next morning we hired a guy to drive both of us around in the back of his motorbike. With our track record of getting lost I didn't want to take any chances. Nothing special to note other than it was funny stuffing three grown adults on a motorbike.

Around one o'clock we packed out backpacks and headed out for phong Nha national park.  I was super excited and had been waiting for this section of the trip which boasted some of the worlds largest and newly famous caves. 

On the road once again we decide we are going to go as far as possible. We would like to make it to phong Nha by morning. Since we are absolutely set on making it to phong Nha by early the next morning we send an email booking a two day hang en cave tour. Super excited we drive like the wind.

Up the highway we find the turn off to cut off the dreaded highway. Part way in we are faced with a decision. Do we take the Ho Chi Minh east or west? The east is windier than the highway but still a well taken route. The road has many villages and towns offering places to stay and plenty of gas stations. The west route is way less travelled and we would almost be guaranteed to be the only tourists on the path. The down or plus side depending how look look at it is that there are very few villages and no gas stations for a couple hundred kilometers.

I look at Morgan and as her how adventurous she is feeling. Obviously she is down for anything me we are in agreement to go to the west Ho Chi Minh. Traveling across Vietnam to the last turn off before the loa border we make a stop at the gas station. At this point we load up empty water with gas to last us the long haul. Luckily I had read somewhere that there are no gas stations anywhere on the road.

At almost four o'clock we turn off into what would be an incredible adventure we could have never predicted. Yes we new it was already four o'clock and too late to make it far. Yes we should've known better. Yes we are crazy. And yes I think in the back of our minds we wanted things to go wrong. But hey, where is the adventure in that.

Two hours in we had only passed two small villages and a million beautiful views. The roads twisting back and forth up hills and only a little down. It was clear we were going up way more than we were going down. The higher and higher we climbed the more beautiful the view got.

Whenever we would see small houses the kids would run after us screaming and waving. We obviously stopped to give them lollipops. Then we reached the end of civilization. The rest of our drive was up, up, and up.

Morgan and I had gotten fancy dresses made in hoi an. We had strategically left them on top of our bags because we thought it would be funny to take picture with our motorbikes in them. We came to a view point that had a pretty view. Not the best we had seen but still a view that could take anyone's breath away.

I stopped Morgan and pointed to the side of the road. We drove our bikes into the grass and places them next to each other. We quickly began to change into our ball gowns before anyone drove past. That was a joke since we were in the middle of nowhere!!! We realized that we couldn't be in it together so having both bikes was silly. So with our dresses half on and hiked up we tried to move my bike out of the way. It rolled a bit and got way to close to the edge for comfort. 

Finally with my bike in a good position we started to pose. The sun was setting quickly so we snapped away laughing uncontrollably. Who does this? Awkward and sweaty we form few good pictures ignoring the fact that we were dirty, makeup less, and even had socks on we were satisfied for the day. The bugs were eating us alive.

Quickly changing out of our dresses we were ready to get outta there and continue on. We tried to get my bike away from the ledge. No good. It was stuck on a rock and Se were worried about pushing it too hard and it falling off the edge.

Carefully we teetered it back and forth. Then we decided to pick of the back and turn it around. Successful in our attempts my bike was pointing the right way. We sat down and admired the view with the setting sun.

Then it was time to go. I hope on my bike and go to start it. Nothing. I try again. Nothing. I scream at it as if that will help. Nothing.

Tired and with night fast approaching I was stranded. My bike is in a grass patch next to the road broken. We are many kilometers in either directions from any town. There is no food in our packs and only half a water bottle. 

And that is only the start to my 30 hours of Vietnamese Bad Luck. If I only knew what those next 30 hours would hold I would've ran straight the opposite direction and Im sure morgan would have run away from me. Or actually I maybe would've welcomed it with open arms. Either way I could not have anticipated what I would experience over those next hours..... 

Reality

Reality

It's no secret I am having the time of my life. I make my choices based in what I want during my travels, something I wasn't good at in the past. If want I want doesn't hurt someone else then I go for it and do it my way. It leaves me feeling extremely happy and I love it. I don't want to miss out on opportunities and ever regret a thing. I bought a bike over a week ago on a whim. I had talked about it before leaving but it was one of those things that I never believed would en a reality. Something cool that I would never follow their with. When the opportunity presented itself I went for it without a thought. Calling my parents and telling them that evening was an amazingly funny moment.

So here I am leaving Hoi An taking the famous Hai Van pass. We followed the highway for Hoi An to Da Nang and obviously got lost a few times. The road didn't seem too perspective. And the it opened up to a gorgeous zig zag drive. As we climbed the hills the road drops away in my left to sparkling blue waters. 

Breathtaking. I'm not sure even how to describe it. There's a reason why the typical backpacker in Vietnam opts to rent a scooter for the one section of the trip. They do it here because its fun, it's beautiful, and you feel invincible.

Stopping at one of the top points of the hills we take a break at a little stand. Women set these stands upon the hill tops overlooking the water. They transport cold drinks to sell to tourists and most have hammocks strung up to relax on. The stand we chose had the most cheeky women I have ever met. I'll confess to buying two bracelets, one to represent Jenny and one to represent Morgan and my bike trip. A fellow traveler was carrying a guitar and one of the ladies took it and sang the happiest of happy birthday songs I ever witnessed. Glorious and out of tune this woman delivered the performance of a lifetime in my opinion.

There isn't much else to say about the pass other than its beautiful. I loved every single second. Driving had become easy and it was fun to swerve down the mountains. I was on top of the world.

The last stretch of the drive to hue is back to city traffic but I was so happy with the previous drive it didn't bother me.

Then we saw the crowd and bikes and cars stopping. Approaching the congestion that clearly just formed seconds earlier we were greeting with one of the most terrifying scenes of my life that should only belong in movies. Broken glass and groceries were splattered across the road and two motorbikes smashed on the ground. 

I've passed a few car crashes in my life but you never see the bodies and I usually pass them plenty of time after. Also the entire situation is then only handled by medics and cops. Reality is we are not in a western country and things don't operate the same. We stop and assess the scene in dead silence. Men rush to the body that lies face down in the street. A few cars are still moving to keep traffic going. One of the men tending to the body runs to the nearest moving car and taps on the hood. Without a second thought the car stops and another bystander opens the back door.

The body of what appeared to be a middle aged man is then lifted by four people by his arms and legs. He is carried straight to the car and put in the back. Unbelievable. These people don't even stop to think they just act on how to try to save someone's life. No time to wait for ambulances or cops! The most incredible thing was that the first car they tapped immediately dropped whatever they were doing to help this other human being. This would rarely ever happen at home. It could and it might but here it is standard protocol to act towards everyone like you've known them for life.

I'll never know I'd the man survived. In my mind I like to picture him recovering and going home to a family. But the reality is that probably never happened. That day and the image will forever be ingrained in my head. His lifeless and bloody body being carried across the street changed my attitude in many ways for the following days. The pool of blood in the road disturbed me.

First, I know the highway needs to be travelled the least amount possible for safety. Second, I need to be aware always while driving. Third, and most importantly, yes the accident happened on a motorbike which is a slightly dangerous activity but I need to live every second of my life. I can't get time back. Whether it be a motorbike or a random accident time is precious and I need to remember that. The reality is I am alive having an amazing time but anything can change my future in a split second.

Hoi An- Hottest place on earth!

Sun stroke!

To sum up the next morning of driving all I have to say is: hot, hot , hot!!!

Coming out of the mountains the cool air vanished and we were hit by the sun and heat. As the grounds flattened we entered longer straight stretches that gained more and more traffic. Within two hours we were in full on ah1 traffic nightmare. My confidence in driving had vastly I proved but I was still not fully comfortable. We missed the hot an turn off three times and thought we were going to pass out. The sun was literally cooking us. I have never wanted to reach a destination more in my life. We finally realized we couldn't get to the road we needed because we were on the bypass part of the highway and not the business one.

Realizing our mistake we sped off to the right turn off to get on the right highway. We were women on a mission and would not stop until our destination. This was not because we were determined but more in fear that if we stopped we would not be able to continue on.

Dropping sweat we reached hoi an. Looks lovely but in our miserable state all we wanted was an air con room. So many were full and we finally landed on one when our British Chinese friends spot us. They come running up and want to get a picture of all of us on our pics. Morgan and I let out audible grunts of protest. I. Need. Air. Con. And. Water! We end up taking the picture which I have to admit I enjoy having it now.

After dropping off my stuff and chugging water we went straight for food. The traditional dish in hoi an is cau lau which is a pork, noodle, salad, and soup mix. Delicious. Stomachs content  I set off to explore the city while Morgan slept off her exhaustion. We had planned to spend this one full day and leave in the morning but I could already tell that was not going to happen.

Day one was spent with a very diverse group. I met them while sitting on the hotels steps outside. We ate lunch down one if the shopping streets. The lady who worked there was incredible. We immediately became friends. I ended up eating there five more times!

Next came the shopping for that evening, the whole next day, and the next day. Hoi an is a shopping Mecca. If you can dream an article of clothing they can make it. The streets are lined with tailors selling fabrics to make your dream dress or suit. When you enter the typical store either has samples to choose from so you can see the style and then choose the fabric. Or many will sit you down upon arrival and hand you a magazine to choose from. Lets just say they love James Bond suits.

I was not going to have anything made except a traditional dress. A Canadian girl and I tried as much street food as possible on the way to the main market. I chose a cute little stand that had gorgeous fabric. I looked through and found a remarkable blue fabric with oriental designs that changed to pink in the light. The lady fitted me and said it would be ready for thirty dollars at my hostel by the evening. No way! So cool!

If you haven't already guessed I spent the next two days shopping and having clothes tailored. I had all of mine done by the same lady. A tiny little thing, she was super friendly and loved to talk. On day two Morgan I picked out beautiful coats and I had some dress pants made. After we paid I sat for two extra hours learning about the Chinese conflict from her. She explained to me her views on the situation and taught me so much.

In the evening the waterfront swarms with tourists and vendors. The streets glow with beautiful lanterns and the river glistens with floating prayer candles. The vibe is incredible and it was an experience to just sit and watch it all go by.

All in all I loved hoi an. It was very touristy but had an amazing charm that shouldn't be missed. I also can't complain that I'm coming home with an entire tailored wardrobe. 

Storm Runners

Continuing on the Ho Chi Minh trail was more of the same and still amazing. Whenever we would enter a city a giant red banner would greet you and one would wish you well leaving. The roads in the cities were usually the same. Lined with a section of lights in the middle and Vietnam banners and communist banners usually lined parts of the roads. I have been so shocked with the modernity of the cities in part of Vietnam. I am not sure why but I was not expecting to see any of these towns built up like they are. 

Halfway through the day we reached the point where we had to separate from the hi chi Minh and take a minor road to cut back across to the coastline. This led to many more winding up and down mountain hills and small villages again. Many of the villages were tunic minority groups. The women had black skirts with embroiled patterns and could be seen carrying heavy loads on the side of the roads. The very old ladies carrying stacks and stacks of grass in baskets were incredible to watch. They have to be super strong.

In one of the villages we stopped to have lunch. We chose a little place that looked like they would have food. We walked in and sat down on the stools. Morgan ordered two bowls of pho for us. After eating the woman came and joined us. She was extremely hard to read and I could not tell if she was mad at us or like us. She started out by telling us things in Vietnamese. We when tried to say we didn't understand she would slap our legs. Ouch! Do you hate me or are you joking.

She went and ripped a page off the calendar and began to write in vietnamese. I pulled out my ipad and typed it in. Google was losing things in translation because none of it made sense. Some of it was comical coming up about maritime chickens and other nonsense. This continued for awhile and the slapping got harder and harder. Come on lady! You arent going to slap the answer into me. Slapping is not going to make me understand! Convinced she hated us we tried to make our get away. This is always the hardest part.

It turns out she loves us!! She decides to motion for pictures and more pictures. Hugging us and pinching our cheeks and smiling. Ok then. I take the paper so that I can have someone translate it later.

Back on the road we enter a stretch with no towns for awhile. The drive is one of the best so far. There is fog hanging around the top of the mountains giving the entire experience a mystical feeling. We stop on a bridge to take some gorgeous photos and take it all in. Just as we sit back on our bikes the rain starts. Why does this always happen!?

Since we are directly in between towns we have no choice but to drive forward. Lightning strikes and thunder rings out every so often. It doesn't seem too close but the rain is super heavy. Laughing the two of us continue driving and hoping to make it to the next town which is 30 kilometers of mountain roads away soon! 

I look to my right and then it happens. Lightning strikes a tree!!!!!!!! The road of thunder is immediate and my heart skips a few beats. My entire body shakes from the sound. Morgan was ahead of me so I drive as fast as possible to catch up. As I pass her I scream "lightning just struck that tree we have to get out of here!"

Terrified I drive without thinking. The sooner we get to a town the better. I really really don't want to get struck by lightning. I felt like I was running from an ax murderer. The distance signs kept saying we were getting closer and closer. Now I was praying they would have a guesthouse. I couldn't believe my eyes when we pull up to the town and in neon lights it says guest house. We quickly check in, drop our wet bags onto the floor, lat in bed soaking wet and hysterically laugh.

In the evening once the rain calmed down we went and ate the worst dinner. After that we walked around town and joked around talking with a lot of the locals. On the way back I was crying ice cream. There was a sign and I excitedly walked over to purchase some. The lady said no ice cream and pointed across the street. Oh well I guess I didn't need it. The place she pointed did not look like it would have ice cream but it was worn a shot. Sure enough under the counter there is a cooler and she was selling ice cream. My night was made!

Celebrity status!

Before departing our little town we went out for some morning coffee. Everywhere we walked on the street heads turned and stared at us. Little kids pointed and waved. We drank our coffee while a little old lady sat next to us just watching.

Waving goodbye we set off again. The road began to open up I to a major highway in no time. Buses swerving, dirt flying, construction, and motorbikes cramped the road. One look at Morgan confirmed my thoughts, we have to take the long way and get in the Ho Chi Minh trail for sure. The turn off could not come soon enough!

As soon as we found it the traffic dwindled. For a couple hours we drove straight cutting across west towards Laos and away from tourism. Soon the only things we passed on the road were a few cars and motorbikes and many cows. The views were beautiful with mountains in the distance and beautiful farm lands on the flats we were driving in.

For a late lunch we stopped at a tiny town we were passing through. Restaurants are usually built right into the owners house and they whip out some plastic stools. Since we wanted a quick stop so we could get back on the road we opted to buy some snacks and a drink from a store. These are also built right into the owners houses. After we have a few snacks Morgan asks to use a toilet. Five minutes to by and then ten minutes. Ummm where did she go? I walk towards the house they had ushered into no there she is sitting on a stool with a mom and child. Oh man they have us now. I'm shown to another stool and we sit and chat. We learned all about her child and how she is not married but is looking for love. 

We try to leave many times but she slaps our legs and tells us to stay. Stay stay stay! No no no. Yes yes yes you stay with me. As much as we would've loved to stay with this lovely pair we still had a good distance to go before reaching our goal. We say our goodbyes but only after they get pictures with us.

Back on road we are greeted by tons of dirt roads and cows upon cows. At one point while trying to navigate through a herd of cows I nicked one. No hard done I swear. The best moment is when we turned a corner and a whole group took up the entire road. I'm not talking five or six cows. I mean an entire herd of cows blocked the road. Not even budging the cows just did their own thing. I tried honking and yelling at them. Then a little vietnamese guy pops up out of no where in the middle of the pack. Laughing his head off at me he pushes a little path through them for me.

Finally reaching pleiku we are surprised to find its a pretty developed city unlike the villages we had been driving through. We find the first hotel we can and check in. Immediately we Rock Paper Scissors to see who gets to scrape the dirt off them first. I win!

After getting clean I do a quick google search to see what there is to do for an evening. Ummmmmmm travel fish is kind enough to tell me there is nothing. It says the trickle of seldom tourists should eat at certain restaurant because its popular with the locals. Well considering its a city I doubt we are going to find it so we decide to take a stroll and eat at the first place we find. To our shock it was the first place we found!!!! All heads turn and stare as we take our seats and order the chicken and rice dish. The place is packed and the food is delicious.

After dinner we go to a market to pick up some snacks. While there I debate buying flashlight. It might come in handy since my bike light is broken. I consider it and decide to get it. We also pick up lollipops to hand to village children and so,e little kid vietnamese books. Some of the things for sale in the store are bizarre. It's interesting to see the different types of toys they come up with.

Before heading to bed we decide to chill at the coffee shop next to our hotel. We expected it to be a small hang out place. But with everything we do it wasn't what we expected. It was actually three floors of jam packed action. People were dressed nicely sipping coffee and cocktails. We were ushered up and up and to the back corner. As we walked through everyone people took out cell phones and snapped our pictures. So this is what it feels like to be famous? So funny because we are both wearing our dirty baggy backpacker clothes. While we sit drinking our iced coffee the one table of two guys stares and stares and stares some more. I'm pretty sure these guys know my face better than me and have an entire phone full of pictures of us. We clearly are not on the main tourist trail anymore.

Go look in that building!

Go look in that building!

Bright and early we were ready and out of our beds for our scuba diving. I never thought if get to dive again on this trip so it was a bonus that I'd get to do it in Vietnam. Amelia hasn't come home until late so she decided to pass on diving. She did however let us borrow her go pro with the new red filter! 

Diving was such a different experience than in Koh Toa. They did everything for you so much so that it got to be a joke. The whole bcd was ready me they even lifted it onto my back. The diving itself was very cool. Although there wasn't that much to see fish wise the coral was stunning. We got to see a bunch of lion fish as well and many groups of fish hiding out in the coral that would hide when we got close.

My favorite part by far were the little colored Christmas tree plants. These suckers are cool!!! They are all different colors and when you get close and wave your handle swim over them they suck themselves back into a hole. The second dove had even more of these and I was like a little kid on the playground.

By the time we got back it was already one o'clock. We had been planning on starting our two day drive to hoi an. The plan was to go out of the tourist zone and go to the Ho Chi Minh trail. But after diving, coming back, finding our friends, showering, packing, and getting a map it was already 4. We figured two and a half hours of daylight is better than nothing. With a tip from our hostel worker with advice on where to stop we set off.

We followed the coast line for the first hour. My driving was improving and the sights were beyond stunning. The crystal clear water set against giant rock hills was just beautiful. Morgan and I could not stop smiling. The roads were clear of traffic and we cruised along.

After an hour we met up with the ah1 highway. Not fun. Trucks are constantly taking over the road and passing each other. There are potholes and construction everywhere and it's super dangerous. I now know why everyone warned us not to get our bikes until hoi an. We had to brave the highway enough until we could get to our turn off point.

Unfortunately night began to fall and we were no where close. Morgan pulls over n suggests we find a place to sleep. I pull out my map and realize we are in the town the hostel worker suggested. What luck! We ride up and down and find that there are a total of two hotels. I mentioned that I saw a beach resort so we back track a few minutes to find that.

When we get there the place is almost deserted and its not a resort, just a restaurant and some hammocks. We park our bikes and head to the beach to get look. After debating sleeping in a hammock we hear a very strange noise. What is that? It sounded like a high pitched cat being strangled. I spot the source of the noise and its a small building with some flashing lights going off insane.

Jokingly I bet Morgan to go peek her head in. Without hesitation she runs off towards the door. Oh no! What did I do now? She gets up close, hesitated for a second, and then opens the door. She turns back around and informs me that they are singing karaoke. I run up and also poke my head in. Inside is a group of older men and one lady eating fruit and singing karaoke at the loudest level possible.

One of the men motions for us to come in. Before you know it the both of us are sharing fruit and chatting with these guys were barely speak English except the one. He had lived in Texas for a few years and was eager to practice with us. For about an hour and a half we listened to them sing. If you have ever heard vietnamese karaoke you know how entertaining it is. They sing as loud as they possibly can while the words flash on the screen with random backgrounds such as the London bridge or Empire State Building. I'm pretty sure Disney even made an appearance.

Somehow we for suckered in to singing hey Jude together. We sounded half as loud and the song was twice as slow. Although they clapped for us they def thought Morgan had a better singing voice. Our Texas friend then took a shot at singing the same song. It was comically to watch him pronounce the words not matching up with the beat! I loved him!

Before making our departure we were forced to sing bohemian rhapsody and take some pictures with them. We set off hugging goodbye to finally get our hotel. We checked in and dropped our stuff off to find some food. Sure enough right next door are our new friends getting ready to eat. They ushered us over and served us some rice, soup, and squid. Super yummy! They wouldn't let us pay and offered for us to stay with their family once more. We politely declined so they walked us home. Still mesmerized that white people would be staying in their town. 

Morgan and I got into bed and couldn't stop laughing. What had just happened? We wanted a true adventure through Vietnam and were clearly getting it. Never in a million years did I think this would happen! 

Bears, snakes, and ostriches Oh My!

Nah Trang

This place is considered the Capitol of scuba diving in Vietnam. After such a long drive and meeting up with our friends Amelia and Elliot we decided to sleep in and book an afternoon dive. Once we got up and were ready it was already eleven. So late in Vietnam standards. We head out to book some scuba spots and found out that they only do morning dives. Since we were planning on leaving the next day it seemed like we weren't going to be able to.

After a little discussion we decided to push back out trip a half day and leave after diving. Since we had an entire free day now we sat down at breakfast to decide what to do. I had heard that it is possible to go ostrich riding so I told the others. There was a small interest so I set off to figure out how to make it happen.

We would have to take a twenty minute taxi, then a boat, then walk across a small island to find the ostrich farm. Ok! Sounds easy enough for me. I rallied the troops and convinced everyone to go.

Eliot was in charge of getting us a taxi. He is the ultimate bargainer. He will bargain things that can't even be bargained and is quite determined. He managed to get us a decent taxi price.

The ride there was a lot of fun as our taxi driver, and Elliot, played a lot of loud vietnamese music. Once we arrived at the boat station we boarded our small private boat. With the entire thing to ourselves we acted like a bunch of animals. You would never guess we were adults. We were climbing all over the boat and got scolded by the captain a few times. 

There was a section of the island we boated through that was bizarre. All around the water were small floating shacks. Many of the home owners were sleeping in the hammocks on their docks. It was just weird to see. I can not imagine living like that.

Orchid springs island itself is even more bizarre. At first it seemed like we had found some remote island. However after walking further in a massive Russian tour group appeared. Then we see a bear in a dress being paraded around as well as an elephant. It was a sad exploitation of the animals. I am guilty of holding the giant snake.

We finally found what we came for, the ostriches. Two of them were walking around freely. The one bit Amelia on the back when she wasn't looking and the other was trying to rip apart Elliot's flip flop. These things are scary! Why did I think it would be fun to ride one?

I bought my ticket at a whopping two dollars and fifty cents and mustered up the courage. They cornered the ostrich in the back and I had to climb up the side of the fence and hop on. And just like that I'm ostrich riding around the pen!!

Afterwards we went to explore the rest of the island and find the waterfall listed on the map. To our surprise there was no waterfall because it had been switched off for low season. So weird. Why build a fake waterfall?

The island was draining our energy. The combination of heat and the oddities around us gave us a weird vibe so we decided to get out of there. Back on the beach we figured the island could maybe redeem itself with a little swim in the water. Not even that was good! The ground was rocky and when you got out further it was sinking mud. When we got out of the water a few of the people were covered with what looked like oil. Yuck! On that note we got on the boat and called it a day.

We're Off The Grid!

We're off the grid!

So I bought a bike. The thought still seems unreal to me. Last night we went to the night market and it was glorious. So much sea food being cooked in little pits on the side of the road. Vendors galore selling things I dot really need. But the best find of all was the corn. Last year I had this hard corn in Nepal which was the greatest thing in the world. I've never figured out how it gets that was but its amazing. I haven't had it since and I found it. I was in heaven!! The end of our night finished at this amazingly delicious but cheap bakery. If it can be made they have it there. I bought my self a cake the shape of a Vietnamese girl. Then ate it with my fingers in the street hehehe!

The first part of the day was spent putting off leaving. Are we really going to do this? Two girls alone who have never biked just driving through an entire country. Not a small country but a large country?

I wanted to see the crazy house so we decided to practice driving to that. Big mistake. We all got separated and lost. Not to mention the addition to cars and other motor Ike's to the equation made it twenty times more terrifying. 

I was the only one who made it to the house. It was pretty interesting, the thing was constructed with staircases all over the place. I felt like I was in a theme park. Very bizarre and so out of place but worth the visit.

Getting back to the hostel was a disaster. I have no map and just relied on what looked familiar. I mentioned earlier how the roads are layered on hills and just plain confusing. After exploring the whole city from being lost I somehow managed to navigate back to the guesthouse.

Morgan and I packed up our bags by strapping them down on the back and had a quick lunch.

This was it. It was time to say bye to Jenny who I had been with for so long. It was so sad that I decided to name my bike after her but call it Jennay! Think Forrest Gump!

I hopped on ready to take on the world. Feeling super cool on this thing I started it up and confidently waved goodbye and took off.

Or at least I tried. Two feet in I stalled. Well that was embarrassing. Lets try that again.

I started the bike back up, waved goodbye, and set off. This time I was good.

With only my ipad map to guide us we plugged in Nha Trang and set off. A little sketchy at driving I was terrified in the traffic. There are very little road rules and I swear everyone just turns whichever direction they desire. Most turn signals do not work, mine included, so there is just a lot of pointing.

The drive out was beautiful. Checking the gps frequently we were finally on our way. It seemed to be one road for the next tour hours so I packed my ipad away and enjoyed the view. The smile on my face was huge. Here I am in Vietnam riding a motorbike across the country. Does it get any cooler than this? I don't think so!

About an hour and a half in we check the map. Oh no!!! We are not even close to the path we are supposed to be on. Actually according to the map we are on a non existent road. I look to Morgan and ask her how adventurous she's feeling. 

Oh well lets just keep going and see what happens. The road slowly goes into the hills and becomes a windy path. The views are breathtaking. On one side the road drops away into a steep valley with the mountains in the distance. We curve along the roads for a few hours before descending into the valley.

The sun starts to go down while we are on the flats and I see a storm brewing. Hopefully we can make it in time. But no with my luck we obviously won't. It looks like we are driving straight into the pouring down rain! We speed ahead and Morgan is a little in front of me.

Then it happens. Put..putt.putt.put....nothing. I sit for a minute thinking. We never put gas in we must have run out. Ok hopefully Morgan will notice and turn round. She can go get gas and save me. 

The sky opens and rain pours down. Really?! Really!!!!! No not now. I start walking my bike down the road because I might as well cover some distance. After about fifteen minutes I see Morgan coming back for me. We decide to wait for help.

Within minutes a man pulls to the side to help us. Yeah!!! No English but he knew my hike wasn't working. We check the gas and its still halfway full so that's not the problem.

Then anther man stops. They discuss for a minute or two then look at us. The new man points to me and points to my bike. Ok? What do you want me to do? He keeps putting them motions for me to sit on it. What good is that going to do? But I do as I'm told. 

I hop on the bike and watch the man pull his next to mine. Then all of a sudden I'm moving. What? How is this happening. It turns out the second guy actually is able to push my bike using his bikes power and his foot on a part of my bike. These guys re geniuses! About 4km in the rain later we arrive at a house. We pull the bikes in and are offered chair.

For the next thirty minutes we sit with a family looking at picture on my ipad. The family chicken clucks around and jumps on my bike at one point. Ummm so what are we doing here? Not entirely sure. But the rain is calming down.

Pointing back at the bike we get back on and travel being pushed again through the darkness. Where the heck are we going? We turn down a side street. By this point it's pitch black and neither of our bike lights work. Lucky for us our new friend has a bright headlight so we can almost see the road.

Halfway down the road we turn around and to back to the house. Extremely confused I push my bike back into the overhang. 

It turns out this is the mechanics actually home and he just got home for work. We had gone to look for him just now but I guess we passed him so that's why we turned around. Too funny.

Within fifteen minutes they have my bike up and running! Wahooo. It cost me a whopping 5 dollars to get it fixed. Thanking the family over and over again I exchanged bracelets with the one little girl and we got back on our way. Within an hour we reached Nha Trang, found our friends, checked into HQ hostel, and ended our first day of our bike journey!!