Hôi An

Thursday 9th April

Fishing nets over the river

A day in Hôi An. We cycled into town via the coast, a much better route than travelling along the extremely busy main road. Once in town we were in the middle of the market, noisy, smelly with an amazing array of every kind of food, more of that later.

Detail from door panel

The plan was to visit the ancient parts of the town which consists of twenty two sites, one ticket allows a visit to five of these which is probably enough for all but the most dedicated history buffs.

Monkey

First up was the Japanese Covered Bridge, built in the early seventeenth Century this is one of the iconic buildings of Hôi An.

Japanese Covered Bridge

It's free to cross so we didn't use up one of our tickets here. At one side of the bridge are stone Monkeys and on the other, are stone Dogs, these symbolise when the building was started and finished.

Dogs Head

Tucked in a quiet backstreet was the Nguyên Túòng Family Chapel, a small building with not a lot to see, but a famous family in Vietnam as there were three brothers who were all famous writers.

Nguyên Túòng Family Chapel

The Museum of Trade Ceramics was next up, quite a nice building with a load of pottery from mostly the sixteenth to eighteenth Century, no pictures here as it was not very photogenic.

Phùc Kìên

Phúc Kiên Assembly hall was next, after lunch, this was built in 1757 and was more like a temple.

Roof of Phùc Kìên

We retraced our steps to Tân Ký Old House, it's old but so were many of the shops we visited en route!

Dragons Head

Finally we found Quan Công Temple, this was built in 1653, was similar to Phúc Kiên Assembly Hall but also contained some more pottery and bits of ships.

Roof of Quan Công Temple

The whole day was more interesting than it sounds and we finished it off with a very nice curry at Ganesh restaurant (but also the most expensive meal we've bought so far in Vietnam).

Pots, not old at all!

Tomorrow it's a four thirty morning start as we visit My Son for dawn.

Escape from Phong Nha

Wednesday 8th April

Today's the day, after three Months in Phong Nha we are escaping to Hoi An (Hoi An not Hanoi) for five nights. The train leaves Dong Hoi at seven forty in the morning so we have to be up at five thirty in order to finish packing in time to catch our lift from Oxalis.

Hard Sleeper

The only seats available when we booked were 'Hard Sleep Air-con', these are fairly hard bunks, six to a cabin but fortunately there is no one else in the cabin with us so we have space to stretch out.

Because of the early start we had no breakfast so it is a relief when, ten minutes into the five and a half hour journey, a lady comes round with a trolley with limited snacks. We opted for a large rice cake thing possibly called "Nép-Chà Bòng", or maybe that's what's in it, either way it's quite tasty with a few green chive like herbs, a bit of chilli and some root stuff that looks like a bit of cotton!

Breakfast

The first three hours of the journey (as far as Hué) the scenery was mostly rice fields with the occasional small town. 

View from the train

After Hué there was a long stretch of suburbia followed by a more open landscape and finally we followed the coastline which was rocky with some stretches of empty beach.

Deserted Beaches

We arrived at Da Nang bang on time (one pm) where we were picked up by pre-arranged taxi and then taken directly to the Hàn Thuyên Homestay, our home for the next five nights. I don’t know if we said something to annoy them when we booked, but they’ve put is in room 101!

Room 101, oh dear!

By now we were pretty hungry so we hopped on the bikes provided  by the Homestay and headed into town for lunch, it was hot cycling in the sun but we eventually arrived in the town where we chose a reasonable looking location which claimed to provide Local Hoi An Cuisine.

Time for Lunch

I had “White Rose” Rice Dumplings, which were more like rice ravioli filled with Shrimp Paste and Pork, with Crispy Garlic Shavings and some Nuoc Mam (Fish Sauce with Chillies).

White Rose

Ruth had Wontons, crispy fried with a small bit of unidentified meat in the middle. Both dishes were very tasty and were just what we needed although the prices were not Phong Nha prices!

Wontons

After lunch we wandered around the town a bit, trying to get our bearings and to find some restaurants that we have been recommended. 

Island Ferry

We couldn’t find them so once it got to time to eat (again) we just settled for a nice looking Vietnamese place for local beers (Larue), Stir Fried Squid with Chilli and Lemongrass (for me) and Mango Salad with Prawns for Ruth. No pictures of the food this time as I forgot (too busy with my beer). The food here was possibly the best we've had since arriving in Vietnam.

River Boat

No plans and nothing booked for tomorrow so we'll have to play it by ear, but also get ourselves organised for the next few days. Definitely a trip to My Son and maybe one to the Cham Islands for some snorkelling.

Get off my bike, you can't have a lift

When cycling in Phong Nha, the local kids often try to hitch a ride, if they are quick enough, we let them.
Other hitch hikers are to be discouraged!

Let sleeping snakes lie

Critters

Some of our previous posts have included pictures of the local/jungle/cave wildlife, here are a few more that we've managed to photograph along the way (and some we haven't!).

We sometimes see Langur Monkeys, I think they are Delacour's Langur Monkeys, these are found only in North-central Vietnam and are one of the rarest and most endangered primates on Earth. The striking black and white Langur has a white lower back and outer thighs (and tail I think) and it is sometimes referred to as "Vooc Mong Trang", meaning the Langur with the white trousers. Difficult to photograph, even when you can see them, you mostly get pictures of trees.

Some Jungle, but I can't see any Monkeys!

As previously noted, you get spiders in caves, we found this one on my last Son Doong Trip, it was deep into the cave so it may be a new species but it is coloured so probably not! When we saw this one it was just finishing a meal of Cave Cricket. The body was just over three centimetres long so if you account for the legs the spider would be six to ten centimetres across, no where near as big as the Giant Huntsman Spiders that you sometimes see.

Cave Spider

We haven't got any Cave Cricket pictures so maybe when we have some we will do a "Critters II". You also get spiders in the jungle, most of them are fairly normal but the picture below is a bit different. This one is (I think) a Giant Wood Spider, the body is about five centimetres long which makes it quite big and scary by the time you include the legs. The web is incredibly strong and I'm told (not necessarily reliably) that it is a bird eating spider, whatever the truth is, the web is certainly built to hold a heavy object. The internet says that they are not harmful to humans, but I'm not getting close enough to find out.

Giant Wood Spider

Here's something that is normally very difficult to photograph as they don't ever stay still long enough. This Dragonfly had somehow got into the cave so it was attracted to our lights and kept landing on people to hitch a ride, it followed us to within sight of the entrance so hopefully it will get out. At the moment there are thousands of these about, some are quite plain but there are some that are a shocking pink colour, very striking, but they won't stay still!

Dragonfly

Similarly difficult to photograph are the butterflies, there are also thousands of these about, usually near a water source but as soon as you approach they all fly off.

Butterfly 'Hide and Seek', come and find me Dick

Fortunately they are attracted to Dick Ellis and will settle on him, even if he walks around. I've no idea what type of butterflies these are, just those that like Dick.

Can this one tell the time?

Slightly more sinister are the Hammerhead Slugs, these are actually a flatworm (known as Bipalium), references state that these are predatory i.e. they eat other worms and that their secretions are at least distasteful and at worst extremely toxic, always wash your hands after playing with one of these. We've seen various types up to about five centimetres long, but the one pictured below was deep into the cave and only about one centimetre long. At the rate at which they move it would have taken it approximately five hundred years to get out to daylight.

Hammerhead 'Slug'

We see bats in the cave, but they would be impossible to photograph unless you got extremely lucky, we got lucky, though not so for the bat as it was dead! In that state I would guess that it's not harmful to humans.

Resting Bat

Here's a little Frog that lives in Doline One, it's sat on the Phytokarst so not the most comfortable of seats. It's green and small, not much more to add about this one.

Small Green Frog

Last but by no means least, Leeches. These little bloodsuckers are everywhere, especially after a bit of rain. They wait on the path, detect your body heat and latch on to your shoes as you pass then make their way to some flesh before finding a cosy spot to settle down for a meal. As they bite they inject a local anaesthetic so that you can't feel them and an anticoagulant so that their meal is not interrupted. When full they drop off or if found you can pull them off (some burn them off or add salt) either way you continue bleeding for a while.

Large Leech

Unlike ticks and mosquitos they do not carry any nasty diseases so apart from a bit of bleeding, as long as you clean the wound like any other cut, they do no long term harm. If you spot one (or pull one off) you can get it onto your hand by putting your nice warm finger near it, then you can roll it around your palm until it gets confused, dizzy or travel sick at which point it can no longer grip onto you (for a while), you can then simply flick it away or put it into a fire if you are at camp (you don't want it coming back later).

Dizzy Leech

Nang Hai

This inconspicuous plant is definitely one to avoid. The bushes can be very tall, but that does not make it stand out in the jungle so it can be difficult to spot. Fortunately our porters will point it out when they spot it.

Nang Hai

The leaves are often full of holes but this is also not a definitive way to recognise the plant.

Why is it important to avoid the plant? If you touch it you get a sting similar to that from a stinging nettle, only much much worse, it lasts for up to five days and if wetted or immersed in water then the pain is intensified. To be avoided.

Tu Lan, Hung Ton and Hang Kim

Monday 16th March

Cliff near Tan Hoa, potential Via Ferrata site?

This was another preparation trip for the Spanish TV film, on this part of the film Andres has to do some abseiling so we had to set up two abseils where the camera man could descend alongside Andres to film him. The chosen locations were Hung Ton Cave, close to the current ladder and Tu Lan Cave, next to the pitch that is used on the four day tour. To get to Tu Lan we had to go through Hang Kim.

Rigging the pitch

After a seven 'o'clock pickup from our house we set off from Tan Hoa at around nine, the team was just Ruth, Myself and Yo, a porter who was carrying our lunch.

Ruth and Yo

Another roasting hot day with temperatures above 30°C so we were glad of the early start and made it to the entrance to Hung Ton Cave before it got too hot. From the entrance it was about five minutes to the pitch, the rigging was a bit awkward so we took about an hour to complete the rigging but by the time we had finished we had a fine fifteen metre free hanging pitch, descending alongside Stalactites all the way.

We exited via the swim, this time the water was the perfect temperature and a welcome cool down. From the exit it was a short walk to Hang Kim with its three swims to emerge near the entrance to Hang Ken where we stopped for lunch, coincidentally meeting Watto and Dick who were having lunch with the Tu Lan four day tour.

Ruth at the Hung Ton pitch head

After lunch we went to Tu Lan and rigged a route close to the current pitch before retracing our steps back to Tan Hoa, arriving just before five pm. A very enjoyable days caving, one we would like to repeat without carrying drills and ropes.

Part way down the Tu Lan alternative pitch

BBQ Sunday

Sunday 15th March

It's Sunday, it's sunny, it's hot, and our neighbours are having a party. Unfortunately there is karaoke .........................  fortunately we have not been invited but sadly the singing is loud, very loud.

A power cut occurs and appears to save the day but no such luck, within ten minutes they have a generator up and running, adding to the noise and spewing exhaust fumes into our bedroom.

Up on the roof

Could be worse, at least we have a BBQ up on the roof of the other cavers house to go to. The house is the tallest building in this part of Phong Nha and the views from the roof are fantastic.

Cooking, lets get this party started

We started off with Gin and Tonic while we waited for a bucket of ice to arrive, then it was cold beers with the usual selection of BBQ foods, chicken, pork chips and spring rolls with the local spicy dip, called 'Chao' (I think that's how it's spelt).

Food is ready

Seamus, who also lives in that house and manages the Easy Tiger Hostel, bar and restaurant, was there and gave us Easy Tiger discount cards which entitles us to 20% off food and drink which will come in handy and coupled with our locals rate at the Bamboo Cafe should cut the cost of living even further.

Setting Sun

We stayed to watch the sunset before heading back for an early night as we have a 7 am pickup tomorrow morning for a day trip to Tu Lan.

Sunset, time for bed