HUE TO HO XA, VIA THE VINH MOC TUNNELS
We got our bikes fixed and then decided we better get going north
and back to Dong Hoi to return my scooter, the poor guy who rented it had been
majorly stressing as I was supposed to have it back about 10 days ago. He kept ringing me and I would be like ‘yeah
yeah, I’ll be home in a couple of days’.
I meant it too but plans kept changing, I felt so sorry for him, he was
holding no security on the bike and I’m sure he thought he was never going to
see it again!
We got going late though and stopped by at the Vinh Moc Tunnels,
built during the Vietnam war and housing over 300 local people for nearly 6
years. 17 children were born underground
here as they sheltered from the heavy bombing.
This place is a must see if you are in Vietnam, amazing to see the
inginuity and determination of these people and the conditions they endured.
Our late start meant we wouldn’t make it to Dong Hoi that night so
we stopped in the tiny town of Ho Xa, it was actually bigger than we originally
thought but we had stayed on the outskirts of town thinking that was it.
Getting food was again hilarious, after finding somewhere with beer, at room temperature, we set about organizing dinner. The old lady had zero English and even our limited Vietnamese was useless here. After much confusion for about 10 minutes she simply handed us a pan and let us loose in her ‘kitchen’.
Getting food was again hilarious, after finding somewhere with beer, at room temperature, we set about organizing dinner. The old lady had zero English and even our limited Vietnamese was useless here. After much confusion for about 10 minutes she simply handed us a pan and let us loose in her ‘kitchen’.
When we were done, even she was impressed with what we had whipped
up and I have to say, it was pretty bloody good. We had a fairly quiet night here though and
once again had no hot water, it was far too cold to have a shower otherwise so
once again we were feral and simply went without.
On to Dong Hoi the next day and the poor scooter guy gave me a
huge hug and couldn’t wipe the massive grin off his face! I said to him ‘I told
you to relax mate, I’d bring it back’!
He was so happy he didn’t even notice the big scratch up one side where
I dropped it one day. I was taking a
leak on the side of the road and mustn’t have put the stand down properly, I
heard it go over but there was nothing I could do.
A quick check of the local bus schedule and I made a dash out to a
little terminal and jumped a crappy bus bound for Phong Nha. It was slow, crowded, uncomfortable and hot –
I felt right at home!
When I stepped off the bus out the front of Easy Tiger there was a big cheer from a couple of the guys that worked there, they figured they would see me again one day, just not so soon! They just laughed, I’m not the first person to fall in love with place. So here I sit at the Cavern Bar, finally caught up on all the stories and completely up to date. Think I’ll go have a beer!
When I stepped off the bus out the front of Easy Tiger there was a big cheer from a couple of the guys that worked there, they figured they would see me again one day, just not so soon! They just laughed, I’m not the first person to fall in love with place. So here I sit at the Cavern Bar, finally caught up on all the stories and completely up to date. Think I’ll go have a beer!
Our 'kitchen', mama was so impressed with our cooking, she had a go at her own batch
