Day 49 - Untouched

Waking up for sunrise sounded like a great idea at 8pm the night before, but I cursed myself when the alarm rang at 5.15am. Ben was already awake and realised that it was not exactly pitch black outside, meaning we had probably missed the best of it. Since we were already awake we figured we might as well check out the market, which Hùng had recommended along with the nearby temples.

When we arrived, we were surprised by how small it was, but then we remembered the island has a mere six thousand inhabitants and until 2014 did not have access to the electrical network. In the end it was a good opportunity for a bit of people-watching, and an even better opportunity to get lost on the way back, since our half-asleep selves did not remember to drop a pin before leaving the house. After a bit of walking around, being occasionally greeted by children on their way to school, we luckily ran into our house.

A quick breakfast was followed by a 12km bike ride around the island, which was scenic and thoroughly enjoyable until the heavens descended upon us in the form of torrential rain. I led the way in taking cover at a random establishment, but after everyone had a sip of herbal tea Hùng announced we should crack on as we were already wet and the rain was not going to stop. Unable to argue with such flawless logic, we moved on towards one of the most stunning yet absolutely deserted beaches I have ever seen (the rain had stopped by the time we arrived, which helped). Once again, we were amazed that we had the place to ourselves and felt confident that, in ten years’ time, it will be as busy as Halong Bay.

After boarding our boat for the last time we were treated to two more hours of incredible scenery, with the rocky formations emerging out of the water abruptly as if they had actually fallen from  from the sky hundreds of years ago. I am proud to have stayed awake for about ten minutes of it, spending the remainder of the trip catching some sun and giving my eyes some much needed rest.

After everyone headed off to one more night in Halong Bay we were treated to lunch on the boat, together with the two Austrian girls who were coming back to Hanoi with us. Although I only kept the details of one of the British guys (who  were extremely excited to hear Ben worked at McLaren, proving the tried and tested theory that working in F1 is the best way to pick-up straight men), it was great to get to know everyone, from the German lady who seems to have travelled half of the World in the past 24 months and hopes to get fired when she gets back home, to the Lebanese guy who did AcroYoga with his girlfriend and spoke quite a few words of my mother tongue, as he has a Portuguese friend at work, in Indonesia.

The bus back to Hanoi was as comfortable as it had been the day before, although the lack of a piercing hangover made it slightly more bearable. Nevertheless, I still wished my legs were retractable during those five hours. As on the way there, we stopped at a shopping centre filled with fake activewear offerings, overpriced snacks and carved wood furniture. While I can understand the first two, I am very curious about whether anyone has ever purchased a gigantic armchair halfway through the most uncomfortable bus trip in the World, and if so whether they managed to get their seat on said bus replaced with it. If so, I may have been interested.

As we got to the train station reasonably early we decided to grab something to eat nearby, and due to a limited range of options within walking distance we ended up in an extremely local place called Phùi Quán. Our choice of dish was fairly easy, as we stuck to two of the three options that did not include the words “frog” or “pigeon” on the English description. Even so, my choice featured an unspecified “minced meat” which, although it did appear to be meat, was definitely not minced. After congratulating ourselves with the fact that the beer was only 20,000 Dong (I know, we also giggle every time the local currency is mentioned) we realised it was only available at room temperature and hen we asked for “cold”, we were brought an ice bucket. While the real test of Phùi Quán will be this train journey from Hanoi to Hué, which will hopefully not be spent relieving our stomachs from their contents, it already stands as the most bizarre culinary experience of our stay in Vietnam so far, which has otherwise been full of revelations. After only three days, Ben and I have decided that deep fried spring rolls are the Vietnamese version of India’s Masala Chai and will struggle not to order some whenever they are available...

Cheers,
J-Wowww