April 2, 2013

This morning we woke up early to go on our canyoning adventure.

We were picked up from our hotel by a lively group of 3 young Vietnamese guys. Our main guide spoke English quite well, and was pretty hilarious. He joked about how tired us westerners are in the morning - over here everyone seems to wake up at dawn, we were yawning and asking for coffee at 8:30. He joked about one of the other guys being a ladyboy. He joked about two friends being on their honeymoon. Etc, etc. It was early.

We drove about 45 minutes out of the city and into the wilderness. There were three pairs of tourists - one couple from England / US, two friends from New Zealand and Australia, and Tomas and I. We were given harnesses, life jackets, helmets. And then we had a very quick, vaguely incomprehensible lesson in how to repel down cliffs.

After practicing on some steep hills, we were "ready" to go into the canyon. I didn't feel ready.

But I survived! (I'm the one on the left.)

We landed in the water. We had been told we would get wet today - but we weren't exactly told the extent of it. Basically, we were trekking through streams and waterfalls in our shoes and clothes. That kind of wet.

At points, we had to lay down and go over the waterfalls, water slide style. Had to. Got to! After some initial trepidation (Wait, aren't there rocks? Will I get sucked under? Really? We go down backwards and head first?) it turned out to be great fun.
After some more trekking (and wading, and floating) we got to a much bigger waterfall, where we were meant to repel down the waterfall itself. It was so. Scary.

You are holding your weight on this rope and trying to walk backwards down a vertical rock face. The vertical rock face is slippery. It is also covered in water. The water is rushing over you, trying to push you down the waterfall. You cannot let go. There is water pouring into your face and your 5$ sneakers were the wrong choice but you cannot let go, you are in this, you lowered yourself into a damn waterfall and now you have to follow through.
It was exhilarating. It was incredible. When you get three meters from the bottom, you let go and fall backwards into the water. Splash! I'm alive! I did it! Holy shit!
At the bottom, our guides prepared a delicious and much needed lunch of ban mi, vietnamese sandwiches. I was too hungry to take a picture before eating. Here are the dregs...
After a satisfying lunch, when we were just about dry, it was off again through the jungle. We got to a cliff, and this time, the plan was to just jump off of it. Oh! Haha! Yeah, we just jump? Ok.
I felt less than graceful. I have never jumped off a cliff before. Not literally. It is insane how long it takes you to actually hit the water. It was such a crazy adrenaline rush, I practically ran back up to jump off again. So cool!

We floated down the stream a bit more, and got to the last repelling of the day. This one was truly nuts. From the top, you could not see at all what the cliff was like. You could hear the waterfall, but you couldn't really see it. The instructions from our guide made no sense. Yet, over we went.
Once you got far enough down, the water start hitting you so hard it makes you spin on the rope and lose your footing. The locals call it, "the washing machine".
Yep. The Washing Machine.

Afterwards, soaking and exhausted, we climbed out of the canyon for about 30 minutes. The day's only casualties were my terror, and our guide's right shoe, both left in the waterfalls, somewhere.

In the evening we went out for drinks with two of our fellow canyoners. It's amazing how fast you make friends under the right circumstances.

Tomorrow morning, we are off to Nha Trang, a coastal city with a big strip of beach. Back to relaxation mode!

Until next time,
Jessica


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Location:Dalat

April 3rd - 5th

We took an early bus to the beach city of Nha Trang. We arrived pleasantly early, in time for lunch. Though we generally opt for local food, this time we caved and had some pizzas. Melted cheese was SO satisfying. Oh man.

We quickly realized that Nha Trang is fairly touristy and a big city. Full of Russians. The menus are in vietnamese and Russian. There are russian signs everywhere. All the white people are Russian. It feels like some weird dystopia.

After lunch, we still had time to go to the beach. The beach was ok - we've been spoiled in SE Asia, and now are not easily impressed. The beach itself was nice enough, but the water was speckled with garbage which was kind of gross. Didn't swim much, but spent some time relaxing on the shore.

That night we went out for a delicious dinner at a lovely little restaurant. One of the tastiest I've had in Vietnam, but it gave me really bad food poisoning! I spent the night vomiting... and stayed home all day the next day watching tv in bed. Disappointing. But the air con and the horizontal day was much needed.

The next morning, on our third and last day in Nha Trang, we went on a boat trip for some snorkelling, swimming, and a floating bar. We were treated to a hilariously terrible musical performance, where one of the boat's crew members dress up as a lady boy and sang us some songs.



We met some really fun English boys. We tired some decent snorkelling. We jumped into the water from the top of the boat, and the crew threw everyone floating rings that we held together, creating the "floating bar". One of the boat's crew had a bigger floating ring that he could fully sit in and pour drinks - he made us some kind of vodka punch that we all drank in our floating fortress. It was pretty hilarious, and pretty random, and pretty fun.

We got back to the pier at sunset. That night, we packed up our things and got ready for an 11 hr overnight bus to Hoi An.

Overall, I kind of failed at taking pictures of Nha Trang.... But I was sick and bedridden! Hoi An is meant to be very photogenic, so if I survive the bus trip, I will be sure to take extra photos in the next few days.

Internet is sketchy again, but I will post more next time I find a decent connection!

Jessica


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Nha Trang

March 30 - April 1 - Mui Ne

We left Saigon around 8 in the morning for Mui Ne, a beach retreat 5 hrs or so out of the city. The bus was the same reclining bus that we had to Saigon, which is quite pleasant! I actually enjoy our bus rides of late - they've been relatively short, and I'm super into my book (Game of Thrones, book 5).

We arrived in the late afternoon. Outside Mui Ne is a charming little fishing village.



Mui Ne itself is definitely a resort town. The whole place is one long street parallel to the ocean. Resort after resort. We drove by some very fancy places before the bus dropped us off on the cheaper end of the strip.

What I hate most about travelling these days (after months and months!) is getting off the bus. We don't book accommodation ahead, so we have to wander the new city looking for a place to stay with our backpacks and everything. We stand out like sore thumbs, and the locals hassle us, trying to get us to stay at their hotels. We are generally so brain dead and discombobulated after getting off the bus that it gets really annoying. Mui Ne was particularly hard because of the heat! Eventually we found a really basic place for $10 a night, set our bags down and went to the beach. Finally!

We spent the late afternoon on the beach, until the sun set.


We grabbed some dinner at a nearby market, and then called it a night. Bus rides are exhausting, even when they are comfortable.

The next day, we rented a moto and drove out to some sand dunes. First, there were red sand dunes.



They were INCREDIBLY hot on the feet.



Next, we drove another 20 km out to find white sand dunes. The landscape was incredible - it's called the Sahara of SE Asia.




In the distance, we spotted giant white sand dunes. Almost there!


The white dunes were bigger than the red, and walkable in bare feet.



We went sand sledding, which is more fun that it sounds.... ice sledding is far superior.




We played around in the sand.









On the way back, THIS HAPPENED. SO RIDICULOUS! Hahaha.



Yeah, I rode an ostrich. It was SO MUCH FUN. I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Actually it was far more comfortable than riding a horse. Like riding on a feather pillow.... Though the bird itself was a bit terrifying.

We got back to town just on time to catch the sunset.



We had a lovely dinner, and then spent the rest of the night relaxing, interneting, and planning our trip onwards.

Today we got on another bus, bound for Dalat. It was not a sleeper bus. It was not a tour bus. it was a tiny, tiny, inhumane hot little bus that took us on very winding roads through the mountains for 4.5 hrs.

But finally, we arrived in Dalat.



So far, i love it here. It's high enough in the mountains that the air is actually COOL. What a relief after a month of 30+ weather! I am wearing jeans right now for the first time in months, and it feels great.

This evening we wandered around a bit, had dinner, and booked an activity for tomorrow... We are going "canyoning". Basically, we are being taken to some cliffs, tied to some ropes, and told to climb down. I'm terrified. The last one of the day is not only a cliff.... But a WATERFALL. We will be repelling down waterfalls. I think it's pretty crazy, and booking this tour may have been a serious lapse in judgment. I guess we'll see tomorrow!

Wish me luck.

Jessica


Posted using BlogPress from my iPad