Day 13-15

Day 13
Despite getting very little sleep due to the fact that Vietnamese railways are not the smoothest I arrived in good spirits in Nha Trang!

Arriving at our hostel we managed to check in early and then head down to the beach for some breakfast which was delicious, after this I had a quick power nap before boarding the boat for today’s activity!

With the music pumping we stormed away from the shore and instantly it cooled down by a few degrees which was incredibly welcome! We soon arrived at a small fishing village where we moored and then had to walk across very rocky pontoons. Once we arrived we saw nets and areas where the village had caught a number of things from sea snails, to lobsters, crabs and fish. This fishing village was beautiful with all the boats bobbing in the sea and the small island village it was idyllic! We then watched the wives of the fishermen repairing the broken nets with a needle and thread which looked like a painstaking pastime!

We then visited two snorkelling spots which were really fab! It was nice to see coral that still had its colour and hadn’t been completely bleached with vibrant blues and pinks it was really gorgeous! We saw clown fish, starfish and even a sea snake amongst some of the many species there, a really fab few hours!

To finish off the trip we ended up at a lovely swimming spot where we could jump off the boat and enjoy the sun before having a bbq cooked for us on the boat with a huge mixture of things including a fish that some of the boys caught!

A really fun activity and I was one of the only ones on the boat that didn’t get awfully sunburned and suffering with heatstroke so I did well on that front!

An early night to bed tonight to get catch up on the hours missed on the train!

Day 14

Today we had a few hours in the morning free so we headed to a nearby hotel that had an infinity pool 40 floors up with a 360° view back over the city and the ocean which was lovely. After a few hours there we hurried back to the hostel to meet the rest of our group to go to the mud baths!

I was expecting the mud to be more like paste than murky water but it was all part of the experience I guess! It was quite a process, you had to shower then sit in the mud baths for 30 minutes, then go through the “car wash” which is literally like a pressure wash, then the mineral water for 20 minutes before finally going to the cold pool for the remainder of our time! It was a lot of fun and my skin did feel a little smoother afterwards but I didn’t find it massively relaxing so a once in a lifetime experience rather than a regular for me!

After this we then boarded our next night train which was a bit nicer than the last one to travel near to Hoi An and then catch a bus to our hosts in hoi an. I slept for about 5 hours so better than the last train but still feeling knackered after!

Day 15

After 5 hours sleep I wasn’t feeling that refreshed but after a short bus journey to hoi an and a nice smoothie bowl for breakfast I was feeling a bit better about the rest of the day!

We started off exploring hoi a with a local guide called Mr Tom who took us on an orientation walk for an hour or so. Even though it was only 10am it was already 35°c and very humid so we were very hot by the end but it was lovely to explore the city and it’s really picturesque I think at night it will be particularly pretty! It’s got a great atmosphere here really buzzy so I think it will be a really fun couple of days!

We then headed to the tailors that our guide recommended as there are hundreds it would be impossible to choose from without a recommendation! The lovely ladies in there talked me through different designs and fabrics and in the end I got measured for a halter neck dress so once I get it back ( I think as early as tomorrow which is insane!) I will share with you all! I’m really excited to see the finished product and it was a really fun experience! Also it only cost around £85 which for a tailored dress is extremely good value!

We are also having a “shit shirt night” tonight where we each get assigned someone else in the group to buy a hideous shirt for that they have to wear out on our night out tonight! I’m not looking forward to seeing what I have but it was fun to look around the markets to find one for the person I was assigned!

Eliza and I then went for a dip in our hostels pool to cool off as we were boiling before going for a quick nap before the activity in the afternoon.

So there’s a cycling tour this afternoon but as many of you know I can’t cycle! So I paid a little extra to follow along in a cylo which basically just means someone cycles me around! Very embarrassing but it was so much fun I just got to sit there and enjoy all the views without being hot and sweaty so for me it was a win win!

Our guide took us to rice paddies, local farms, and took us through the city it was so much fun! We then got into a basket boat which is basically a floating bath tub and they take you on the river it was so much fun, they then spin you around and honestly we were so dizzy by the end but we had such a ball!

We then boarded a boat to cruise down the river with some music blasting and a bit of dancing it was brilliant. We lit little lanterns and put them in the river which the locals do for good luck but I just felt bad that we were putting them into the river! Not very good for the environment I’m sure!

Arriving back we met up with the rest of the group for our “shit shirt night” and went out for drinks.もっと詳しく