Shocking night's sleep. Too warm and humid, but the AC wouldn't go above 18C, which is too cold to sleep by. Also it's the closest I've come to Hanoi belly so far, but in realty I think it's just too much food and my body is saying "no". Loudly and fruitily. I could have got up to the second floor without using the stairs.
We were woken to the gentle hiss of the ocean waves, the whispering of the sea breeze though the palms and the timid chattering of camera shutters. A coach load of Japanese tourists had arrived over night and would be joining us for breakfast.
Breakfast was a bit rushed because we had to be packed and out front for the taxi by 8.15am for the trip back to the airport and off to Nha Trang.
Angela and Kyra decided they wanted to go back to the shoe shop on the way (which wasn't) to try and get the $50 back for Jonah's shoes, both pairs of which now didn't fit thanks to a lack of communication. Pointless of course, but there's nothing the girls like better than a heated argument with a native first thing in thing morning. We waited in the taxi outside in a no parking zone with a fretful driver, while they were quietly and studiously ignored by the store owners. Givit now have a donation of two pairs of size 13 NikAdas trainers.
The taxi driver pulled out all the stops to get us to the airport in time. The roundabouts were taken with a single long horn blast all the way around. Hollywood would have been proud of some of the stunts he pulled to get us through the rush hour traffic (which is much less severe than Hanoi, but hectic nevertheless.)
Kyra vented her anger at the shoe shop by giving them a poor review on Trip Advisor before leaving the airport.
Big surprise at the airport because we were flying on a turbo prop, not a jet. Mixed feelings about this because the last jet we boarded to go to Hoi An was stifling inside before we took off. It's always comforting to be told after take off that the auxillary engine is broken. Both engines we were quite definitely working on the turbo prop; quite the conversation killer.
Got to Nha Trang and the taxi rep squeezed us all and our luggage into a seven seater taxi. We then went on one of the most scary rides so far. Up until now, our taxi rides have been like rollercoasters. Pretty scary, but ultimately you know you are going to be safe because you know you are bigger than everything else. This was an overloaded suzuki on a twisty ocean cliff road going way too fast. He used the full width of the dual carriageway road to take corners, not because he was Michael Schumacher, but because the car was severely under steering at the speed he was going. No amount of protest would slow him down. The roundabouts were particularly frightening.
We arrived at the hotel in the rain. Fortunately it had only just started raining, because it I don't think we would have made it down the cliff road in the rain. The hotel was not really what we were expecting. The Nha Trang Beach Lodge sounds so beachy, wooden and friendly.
We're on the 12th floor in small rooms where they've squeezed in extra beds for Christopher and Ruby. The sea has gone brown from the rain. There does seem to be a cafe over the other side of the main road on the beach.
It's a bit Camp Granada at the moment; chucking down with rain and apparently nothing to do. The hotel rummaged up a couple of spare umbrellas from lost property and we headed out to lunch. We found a small cafe called Flavours which served surprisingly good food at a very good price.
We decided that we need to buy ponchos on the way back to the hotel. Your feet are going to get wet regardless and the umbrellas won't do as good a job as the ponchos. But as it turned out the rain cleared up. Maybe later.
The girls went into paroxysms as we spotted a "Super Market" called Amart. I reckon these would go down well at home. Everything you need under one roof. Our dinner is now going to be a dig in tea of cheese, bread, ham etc. The girls were delighted with their $6 gin purchase. The boys ended up getting a 2L thermos flask of non-specific beer from a local bar for a couple of dollars.
Came across my favourite shop combo so far on the way back to the hotel: Beauty salon and laundry. That perfect sweet and sour combination you also see in vietnamese cooking.
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