Hardcore sweating!!!

  Hoi An, Vietnam
Sunday, September 20, 2009

Hire van  picked us up at 10am to visit some surounding areas.
 
 We headed north to Danang stopping first at Marble Mountains. It is this limestone rocky outcrops where there are caves, pagodas & lookouts over the Soth China Sea & China Beach, There are 5 of them but only one that you climb & visit. It was another unbelievably hor day & climbing up hundreds of steep roughly cut stone stairs had us pantiung for breath & sweating like I never have before.
    
 Seriously we were as wet as if we had been swimming & it was running in my eyes & stinging! Crazy!

After many rest stops we made it up the stairs to some great views & then in several caves where there was shrines to all types of things. They seem to worship a lot of stuff here - Ancestors, Buddhism, Confuscism, Taoism to name a few!!. Was my kind of place with cobbled windy paths going off in all directions begging to be explored so I could discover what was around the corner!!! Nathan was very patient knowing it is one of "my things"!!!




Stopped off at China Beach where the Americanns had R & R during the war & where every hotel chain in the world is now building a MASSIVE resort, to Hai Van Pass north of Danang.


Really windy mountain road with great views of the mountains going down into the seas & lovely white sandy beaches. Up at the top of the pass  we were attacked by sellers & after escaping their clutches we went & explored some US & French bunkers from the war.


Driving home we went through Danang which is 3rd or 4th largest city in Vietnam & on a bay & a beach. which had some small surf. The vietnamese only use the beach before 7am or after 4.30pm when it is cooler so it is deserted all day.

We checked out the beach just 5km from Hoi An ( where we could have ridden our bikes to yesterday but it was too hot!!) Nice beach with lots of palm trees creating shady areas & poaces to eat.

The van cost us $35 for 5 hours.

Picked up Naths shoes he had made & then chilled agasin in a cafe. I had a Hanoi speciality for lunch called " white Rose" which was yummy ( can't describe). While Nath was on the computer I walked around & enjoyed taking lots of piccies of street life & pretending to be a photographer. Discovered a patisserie & had a divine chocolate mousse & lemon tart. This town has hundreds of atmospheric restaurants - would keep you busy for months trying them all