The driver said that we would be able to climb the 3 kilometers within an hour which gave us an impression that it would not be so much of a climb but rather a casual walk… we were wrong, it was a climb. As we got towards the top the sulphur got more potent but the sulfur clouds sure made the scenery beautiful. I had a “Gorillas in the Mist” feeling that was only heightened by the fact there were actually monkeys in the trees.

Near the top one of the sulfur miners became our friend and decided that he would show us the sulfur mine itself. After a little hesitation we decided to follow him down the steep edges of the crater walls.

Inside we were able to see how the sulfur is harvested and the weight these men carry, (up to 70 or 80 kg or around 175 pounds). I believe the have some of the strongest calve muscles in the world to be able to traverse the craters inside and then descend the steep mountain. They only get paid about 600 IDR per kg.

Also at the base was a large, blue, warm lake.

Here is a picture of the extremely nice miner/our guide into the mines.

Oh… and I guess I should mention this… the road to get there not so much a road more like a river bed… we had to get out and walk…

Very interesting experience!

We arrived to the base of Mt. Bromo around 11pm after a 14 hour bus ride from Jogja. We got off the bus, and I was instantly FROZEN. I knew it was going to be cold, but I was definitely not prepared. We got to our room, which felt more like an ice box, then decided the best thing to do was to just sleep. So we did, for a good few hours until it was 3AM and we were up, ready to go see the sunrise!

So we first got into the jeep (which we paid extra for), thinking we were going to be driven to the view point…it turns out, the jeep only takes you about half a kilometer up the mountain. From where we got dropped off, it was a good 20-30 minute uphill until we finally reached the view point, just in time for sunrise!

As we were admiring the pretty view, we looked to our right and there it was, Mt. Bromo, RIGHT in front of us! Because we had arrived after dark the night before and the hike up was pitch black as well, we didn’t realize that all this time, it was right there!

We snapped some pictures, drank some hot coffee, and just snuggled while we watched the beautiful, BEAUTIFUL scenery. Waking up at 3am in an ice box was pretty rough, but it was just amazingly stunning and absolutely worth it! 

Next, contrary to what we had been told earlier (that we couldn’t go up Mt. Bromo because of the recent volcanic activity), we were driven to the base of Mt. Bromo, where we were told we can walk up to the crater. The place was completely covered in ash, but that added to its overal coolness.

The walk up to the crater was not the most pleasant. There was ash EVERYWHERE. In my eyes, in my nose, in my lungs…probably not the best for my body…but when will I ever get the chance to walk up to the crater of Mt. Bromo again?

Covered with ash, we returned to our room, hoping to wash off all the ash before got back on the bus to go to Ijen…only to discover that the hot water was no longer working. So, instead, we ate a quick breakfast (included in the tour but quite crappy – plain bread with hot tea that smelled like dirty fish tanks) and got back onto the bus to head further east of Java.

I’m slowly but SURELY understanding the joy of hiking…how can you not, when after a long hike up you’re rewarded with such uncomparable beauty?

In Jogja people are friendly, the Art is beautiful, and the history and ruins are outstanding. From Jogja you can go to many great ruins and historical areas. We did our fair share of some ruin delving and our favorite places to go were: The Water Castle, Borobudur, and Prambanan.

The Water Castle -

The Taman Sari Water Castle was the royal garden of the old Sultan’s palace. The area has been for the most part untouched and left for you to explore. This adds to the fun because the many different areas of the old ruins are scattered throughout the houses of locals. Sometimes it felt as if we were intruding a little (which made it more fun actually).

Borobudur-

Borobudur is a UNESCO site and it is pretty easily understood why. The fact that people individually carved al of the stones and fit them together in such an epic fashion is something truly to be awed at. We managed to get out there for the sunset which was quite beautiful.

Prambanan -

Indonesia has been subject to three religions throughout its history. Now the majority are Muslim, but before that the majority was Buddhist (Borobudur) and before that Hindu. Prambanan is the huge Hindu ruins and our favorite. Grand is scales and amazingly rebuilt it is truly a spectacular sight.

We also had delicious Mie Goreng (fried noodles) from a very nice man on the street.

And when you’re in Indoneasia you can forget the doughnuts.

OH… and we bought some Batik art. It is where layers of wax are put on in designs and then the cloth is dyed leaving the waxed areas void of the color change.

We found out later that we bought it from the “Batik Mafia” named this because they buy art from the main center and then resell the art for a much higher price. We found out that the cheapest place to get the art is from “The Art Center”, the original factory. That being said we love the art we bought and were willing to pay the price increase because we wanted that exact piece.

Drinking deliciously strong Vietnamese iced coffee along with crispy French bread and eggs. Feeling the cool morning breeze while watching the view of Hoan Kiem Lake. Seeing old women practicing Tai Chi while old men stroll through the park, chatting away. Such a blissful way to start the morning.

 Number 4 – Kayaking through Halong Bay

Although the Halong Bay tour felt a little too structured and overwhelmingly populated with tourists, it still didn’t change the fact that the scenery there was absolutely beautiful. Easily the coolest place I’ve ever been kayaking!

Number 3 – Exploring Hoi An Old Quarter

Hoi An is such a cute little town with old charm that walking/biking around the old quarter was so memorable! We found a quiet cafe on the second floor of an art shop owned by an extremely friendly lady and spent quite some time there, just hanging out, reading our books, and blogging.

Number 2 – Fresh Seafood at Bai Dai Beach

The seafood at Bai Dai beach near Nha Trang was SO good! They had tanks of live fish/squid/shrimp and we were able to literally pick out which ones we wanted to eat! The restaurant owner spoke zero English so there was a lot of finger pointing and gesturing involved, which was also pretty amusing. He even grilled the squid for us! The seafood there was to die for!! The ride out to the beach from Nha Trang was also very very beautiful.

Number 1 – View from the top of Mua Cave

One of the most stunning views I have ever seen! It’s a pretty strenuous walk up the 300 plus stairs above Mua Cave, but the moment you reach the top, you forget about the pain in your legs or the sweat that’s dripping down your face because the view is ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING!

Whether it is on bike or on foot, day or in the evening, exploring the old city is something that just can not be missed. The streets give off a relaxing vide and are full of beautiful old architecture. In the evening lanterns light the streets and people flock to the quite riverside bars and restaurants. Exploring the old city was a perfect way to soak up history and enjoy delicious sweets and relax. (rendezvous Art Cafe is a fantastic place to relax on a second story balcony of an old wood building. The owner is also extremely friendly!)

Number 4 – Meat!

If you are a vegetarian in Vietnam then I feel a little sad for you, the meat here is amazing! Grilled, boiled or stewed is just to die for. In Hoi An we had meat in a Clay Pot (MUST TRY) and it is the most succulent meat I have ever had the pleasure of devouring. But if you are a vegetarian, Clay Pot eggplant also to die for!

Number 3 – The Drive to Bai Dai

Although Bai Dai beach was amazing for me the drive was better. I like driving motorcycles and being able to drive along the high ridged coastline on a little scooter was a highlight. The water was beautiful and the view fantastic. I’m always in awe of nature!

Number 2 – Cafe Pho Co in Hanoi

I love cafes, good views, and delicious coffee and so when you find a place with all three it is just amazing! Cafe Pho Co was hard to find but once found became one of my favorite places. There are two high stories that look out over Hoan Kiem lake and the busy street. They don’t have air-conditioning but it is ok because usually there is a breeze that blows in just right to cool you off. Oh and they also serve beer so it makes a great place for evenings as well.

Number 1 – Mua Cave in Ninh Binh

NUMBER ONE has to be Mua Cave in Ninh Binh. You have to drive a motorcycle on a dirt road to a place that really seems in the middle of no where. And then when you get there you realize it is not the cave that is interesting but the 300 stairs to the summit of a large towering limestone cliff. The climb is a challenge and many breaks were needed but the view was unlike any I have ever seen. It makes you feel and the world truly is awesome!

Those are my TOP 5 for Vietnam… a close 6th and 7th are… The Nha Trang Sunrise and AK47 shooting…

Upon arrival, we decided to avoid Pham Ngu Lao, THE backpacker’s district and instead took a cab to Co Bac/Co Giang, after learning online that there were plenty of guesthouses around that area, but a lot less tourists. Indeed, the area was QUITE local…barely any foregners…but also not very foreigner-friendly. We later stumbled onto Pham Ngu Lao during one of our walks, and definitely regretted not staying in that area. Sure, there were WAY more foreigners, but at the same time there were WAY more cafes, restaurants, tour agencies, bars, etc, which added to the convenience factor. In this instance, we wished we had just done what most backpackers do: head to Pham Lgu Lao for acommodation.

We booked a Cu Chi Tunnel tour at the only hotel around our guesthouse that had such services for the next day, and so we went to sleep that night in our dingy fan room with a big hole in the wall (from where there used to be an AC). The next morning, we got picked up by a huge bus filled with fellow travellers, with a bitter ex-Navy Vietnamese tour guide who lectured us about the history of the Vietnam War for a good 40 minutes. “LISTEN TO ME!” he would yell…as the whole bus went quiet…We finally arrived at the Cu Chi Tunnel and was greeted by a heavily biased Anti-American documentary film about the Viet Cong guerillas.

After the film, we walked around the area, while our tour guide showed us different traps the VC used to use against the ”stupid, fat Americans” (our tour guide’s words, not mine!) . It was pretty interesting listening to the different tactics the VC used, and how a lot of their traps were made based on incorporating basic human instincts and reactions.

Then, by far the most exciting part of the whole tour! Shooting AK47s! The entire place was SO heavily populated by foreigners and everything was so touristy, that it really took away from the fact that the Cu Chi Tunnels were once a place of great signifiance to the VC resistence to American forces or that the guns were actually used to kill. Instead, I was more worried about hurting my ear drums from all the shots being fired.

Cam, along with all the other guys, had such an ecsatic expression after he was done shooting. I guess all men fantasize about shooting an AK47. Who knows.

I, on the other hand, didn’t have nearly the same reaction…

The shots were too loud…I didn’t even see where my bullet went (clearly, as I had my eyes closed when I shot)…and the gun attacked my shoulders when I shot, which left me in pain and high nerves.

After the AK47 shooting, we were directed to the entrance of the tunnels. It had been widened for tourists, but still was extremely claustrophobic and pitch dark in there…

The rest of the time in HCMC, we…

Went to the Ben Thanh market to do some souvenir shopping:

Ate some Papa Roti, the Father of all buns (the name really does tell the truth – possibly one of the fluffiest, yet toasty buns I’ve ever had):

Sat back and watched the crazy traffic:

Had cupcakes at a local bakery:

And had a beer at the rooftop bar at the Sheraton and watched the sun set:

To start off we checked into Nha Quyen Hotel which was pleasant and the people running the establishment were very friendly and spoke English well. We were given a map and soon realized that we were smack dead center of the area labeled: “Night Life”. Yay (sarcasm).

The map also provided another helpful hint: we could pretty easily drive to a place called Thap Ba Hot Spring Center that boasted cleansing mud baths. So off we went!

Although the place was quite crowded and the architecture made you feel a little like a zoo animal being herded to its wallowing hole, the experience was quite fun. There were three steps to the treatment:

1 – Mud Bath

2 – Power Spray

3 – Hot Mineral Bath

Overall we felt cleaner than we have in a long time.

DAY TWO -

The next morning we got up at 5am to watch the sunrise, and it was worth it!

There were a lot of local Nha Trangians up stretching and swimming in those wee hours of the morning.

We heard wind of a beach that was just a little South of Nha Trang that was quieter. So we got on another bike and drove the scenic route to Bai Dai Beach.

 When we got there it was not necessarily quieter but definitely lacked foreigners. There are a bunch of restaurants on the beach and we were able to literally choose the living sea creature that we wanted to consume. The most tender squid we have ever sank our teeth into.

The beach was beautiful and the water was clear.

We also were able to collect some awesome seashells.

All in all Nha Trang was a pleasant surprise and we had quite a splendid time!

If you’ve ever been to Hoi An you know that there are about 1,ooo tailors in that small little town. A lot of them are quite talented… however we have read some horror stories about not so good ones as well. That being said Kha Huy is one of the good ones. The woman who runs the shop is super kind and she seems to really know how to make something fit. When Kanako was trying on her clothes the woman would fuss over what would look better for her. wonderful place and when i return to Hoi An (which someday I will) I for sure will find my way back to Kha Huy.

That is her in the background.

What made it even better was that on our 2nd day there….IT WAS CAMERON’S BIRTHDAY!

Birthday breakfast! We started off the day with omelettes and bread AND bread with nutella! yummmm..

So then after breakfast we rented bicycles and decided to bike to the beach, which was 4km away. We read our books for a while, played cards, and just soaked up the sun…

Hungry for food, we biked around to find a nice restaurant for lunch and found a fancy-looking Vietnamese restaurant on the river, with a cute little garden!

We biked back into town and explored the old city, which was definitely one of our favorite things we did while in Hoi An. Looking at the unchanged old architecture and the slow pace way of life of the locals was really relaxing. Even though there were just as many tourists as some of the other places we’ve been to, it seemed like everyone here was more mellow, more slowed down, adjusting to the pace of the town.

Upon our exploring we found a cute cake shop so naturally went in to get some birthday sweets!

As the sun began to set, we strolled down towards the river and took a moment to just watch the sun go down (and take pictures of it) (oh, and also drink gin & tonics)

We proceeded to celebrate more with a few beers and pina coladas, a game of pool, and hanging out listening to Jack Johnson.

“Hoi An is one great place to have a birthday!”, says Cam.

And now I have a confession to make. I could not resist the temptation of ridiculously cheap tailored clothing…so I got 3 dresses tailored!

When would I ever wear the last dress? I dont know. Was it a compulsive buy? Probably. Worth it? DEFINITELY!

After seeing me overjoyed by the cheapness of tailored clothes here, Cam decided to get a pair of pants for himself as well! My compulsive shopping might be a bad influence but hey, now he has a pair of nice tailored pants! One day I hope to come back to Hoi An, empty suitcase in hand, ready to fill it up with tons of tailored clothes!

After taking a long nap we got on a bicycle rickshaw and headed to the old citadel.

The citadel was in my opinion kind of eh… the history is quite interesting but coming from Ninh Binh it really felt like it lacked the “awe” quality. But very cool none the less.

We then realized how hot it is in the Vietnam central highlands and decided we needed to do one our favorite activities: sit in a coffee shop and relax. However, after 1 and 1/2 of walking what seemed like 100 miles in the hot sun we could not find one! So we settled for a quick walk though BigC to get the AC and then a foot massage.

My feet were in a lot of pain and were (as you can see) quite dirty.

DAY TWO -

We went on a boat tour around Hue to some of the pagodas and tombs around that Hue is famous for. We decided that we would rather rent a private boat and take our time relaxing on the river rather than the guided tour of many different pagodas.

Thien Mu Pagoda

The car that I’m standing next to is the car that  Lam Van Tuc drove down to Saigon in 1963. He stepped out of the car at a busy intersection, sat down, and lit himself on fire in protest to the persecution of Buddhism in South Vietnam. Here is the link to see the famous photo (the car is in the background)  http://www.flickr.com/photos/banzainetsurfer/3388703307/

Tu Duc Tomb

Our favorite of Hue because it is just so large and we kept getting the feeling we were in a Hayao Miyazaki film. Very serene and epic.

Our boat people made us a little lunch for the way home… mmmmmmmh… Spring rolls.