Indochina Day 19 Beach & Marble Mountain

Wednesday June 15th

I had thought of going on a snorkeling trip this morning, but Kee Ann did it yesterday and didn't recommend it as it was expensive and he didn't think it was very good. So, I decided to rent the scooter again this morning and headed off to the beach. I hung out there for a couple of hours, enjoying the sun, the water and watching people. Then I decided to set out explore.

I set out south along the coast towards Da Nang. This area is going to be developed for resorts and the road is a dual carriageway and in good condition. I rode for about twenty minutes before a scooter with two women on it (see the photo) pulled up beside me and asked “Where I was from?” “Where I was going?” And had I heard of Marble Mountain? I signalled that we should pull over so I could figure out what they were on about. They were two sisters and kept telling me I should check out Marble Mountain because it has a number of pagodas, temples and caves on it. Can you say FOMO? So, I asked if they would lead me to it. No problem. We drove for another fifteen minutes and I could see the mountain. We pulled off the highway onto a road in a small village at the base of the mountain and parked in front of a shop of marble and stone carvers. Well, I could see what was coming next. Anyway, I left my scooter there and they showed me where I had to go to buy the entrance ticket.

There were a couple hundred steep steps to get up to the first area. There I found a large white Buddha, and a temple with people sleeping on the floor in it. There were a couple of other paths that lead to other temples and pagodas. Then I found a path that led up more stairs to the entrance of a cave and more stairs up and through the cave to another level. The whole mountain is laced with caves, some of which are very large. Finally climbed another bunch of stairs to a viewpoint that was quite nice. But from there I could see there was another viewpoint that was higher yet. The only way to get to it was down again and up a different route. When I got there the view was spectacular (see the two photos). Interestingly, the caves here were used by the Viet Cong as a hidden location for a hospital during the war.

Then I began the long descent and walked back to the shop. As I suspected the two women wanted me to “Have a look and buy something”. So, I looked around and explained that I wasn't going to buy anything, because it was all very heavy and not suitable for a backpack. So, they showed me small stuff and I saw a couple of little Buddhas (made of jade and tiger eye) that I thought I might buy to add to my collection of things from around the world. I asked how much they were. $30 and $40US!! I told them I wasn't interested and began to walk to the scooter. Then they began the haggle dance. They asked me what I would pay and I told them I wasn't prepared to pay more than $10 for both. We haggled, I stood my ground, one got angry and left, but I wound up with both for $10 with necklaces too! The whole process took about fifteen minutes and I had a lot of fun too.

Then they got back on their scooter and told me they were leaving (that's when the photo was taken). So I got on mine and followed them back to the highway and we all turned right back towards Hoi An. I followed them at a distance and was surprised when they pulled off to a little patio restaurant/bar in front of a shop and flagged me over. They wanted me to come in and buy them a drink because I'd got such a good deal! They went in and sat down and a third girl came over and asked me where I was from. I asked how much a beer was and was told 15000 dong, or $0.75. So, I figured, what the heck, I'd buy one round and get to talk to more locals. They were very funny and we were joined by a bunch of male taxi drivers that use that restaurant as their taxi stand. The one girl spoke English very well and we had lots of laughs. She accused me of being cheap! She was the same age as Danny, so I said I'd give him her name. I stayed for over an hour and then continued my ride back and they stayed there. Another example of how the Vietnamese are very attuned to making money and trying to fleece the tourists.

Got back to the hotel in time to meet up with the group for dinner. We went to a terrific restaurant in the old part of town on the river. It's run by three ex-Intrepid guides. It's in a large colonial building and the food was excellent. I had green papaya salad, and tuna and veggies in a hot claypot and two large beer for 180000 dong, or less than $10!

After dinner they went for more drinks and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep, as I want to get up early.