882 Miles: From Hanoi to Dalat
So its been a while since we've written an update (this is Alex btw), and I just wanted to share some things about what we have been up to for the past few weeks. Its been quite the rush at times, moving from place to place and seeing so much of the countryside of Vietnam (a country that is longer than California!).
From Ninh Binh in the north, we took an excruciating 10 hour night bus to a place called Phong Nha. Phong Nha is famous for its beautiful national park and some of the biggest caves in the world! We explored a cave that was 7 KM (that's a little less than 4.5 miles - everything is in KM here, and one time I said something in miles and got some bewildered looks) and we went on a group tour of a cave ominously named the "Dark Cave". The Dark Cave was unique because in the very back of the cave is a "room" full of the same kind of mud that spas use to treat your skin and make it smooth. Imagine being up to your shoulders in just mud! It was a really unique experience.
Paradise Cave is a huge cavern that spans over 4.5 miles!
From there we took a bus to Hue which is known for being the former imperial capital of a certain Chinese dynasty (don't ask me which one, the English information signs at tourist attractions here are just atrocious). Apart from being the first typical Vietnamese city completely free of backpackers and drunk Australians running crazy everywhere, I would say Hue was unmemorable, but I think Rachel will disagree and I will let here write about it if she wants. Hue was nice because it lead to one of the absolute highlights of our trip so far....
Driving the Hai Van Pass!
A quick note on motorbikes before describing the pass. The motorbike plays a central place in the life of the Vietnamese. As our taxi driver told us this morning, Saigon has 9 million people and 7 million motorbikes. People here use them as chairs, beds, and to ferry around families of four (a routine sight that never fails to amaze). Therefore, we discovered early on that being able to drive and travel on motorbikes is vital to our experience here. Accordingly, I have gotten a... ahem, crash course in riding them here. This allowed us to ride the route between Hue and Hoi An known as the Hai Van Pass.
This route is famous for its scenery and did not disappointed as we snaked around curve after curve up the mountain pass with the glimmering pacific ocean to our left and the Marble Mountains to our right. It was a breath taking experience that cannot be fully described with words - unfortunately it was quite a cloudy day, so we only have a few photos and a video!
Jumping for joy during our Hai Van pass journey
What Else?
This post is getting a bit lengthy and you people probably have things to do. There are, in fact, a ton of other experiences that we have yet to share: getting fitted for incredibly cheap tailored suits in Hoi An, rappelling down waterfalls in Da Lat (photos here!), and the absolute chaos of Saigon. We'll get to those in posts to come and you can always check out the photos we upload as we go for more updates on our travels. Moreover, traveling itself is a huge part of the experience and there are a hundred little things everyday that amaze and stimulate us as we go. Little moments like sharing a moment with a Vietnamese person in their typical everyday life, meeting literally hundreds of people from all over the world, or simply trying to cross the street (something that's so heart wrenching that I may have to write a post on it). Anyways, we will be saying goodbye to Vietnam and making our way to Cambodia in the days to come which promises to introduce new culture, new people, and new adventures!
Going down
We made some friends