Marble Mountain, Da Nang

The white sands of Hoi An's An Banh beach continue for 30km up the coast to Da Nang, Vietnam's third biggest city. We caught the local bus to a hotel 4km out of the city center and spent two nights there.

During our time in Da Nang we had a constant battle with the number 1 bus. First we paid 20,000VND each ($1/£0.60) to travel all the way from Hoi An to our hotel (approximately 25km). The next day the same bus tried to charge us 35,000VND each to travel 3km to Marble Mountain (more than the cost of a private taxi), but after some arguing, accepted just 5,000 per pax. The following evening the same bus tried charging us 35,000VND to travel 5km into Da Nang city center. It seems different bus drivers have a different idea of how much the 'tourist tax' should be!

The highlight of our trip to Da Nang was Marble Mountain (Ngũ Hành Sơn), half way between Hoi An and Da Nang. From the road it looks like a giant rock rising out of the ground, adorned with an ugly elevator that is quite at odds with the ornate 6 level pagoda over looking the coastline. As the name suggests, the mountain, along with a scattering of others in the area, is made of marble, and the streets surrounding its base are lined with sculptors carving out huge statues Buddha and Ho Chi Min, the two Gods worshiped in Vietnam. 

Pagoda, Marble Mountain.

After paying the entrance fee of 15,000VND ($0.75/£0.45) we climbed the stone steps up the mountain and were amazed to discover an enchanting maze of caves, grottos and hidden temples. At first glance I would never have guessed that Marble Mountain contained so many hidden wonders. Narrow staircases carved into the rock lead us around tight corners, through hidden passageways to reveal vast caves decorated with beautiful carvings of Buddha. Each cave was different, one lead us up a vertical tunnel onto the top of the mountain for a 365 degrees view of the area, with Da Nang to the North and Hoi An to the South. The final cave was as big as a cathedral, with a huge Buddha statue lit from above with natural light filtering in through a gap in the top of a cave. It was impressive, a great spot to pass a morning exploring.

View West from Marble Mountain.

View North, towards Da Nang.

Spot Ric? Buddha carved into the rock at Marble Mountain.

During our time in Hoi An and Da Nang we've been constantly followed by groups of young boys banging drums and dancing around in dragon costumes. Our hotel receptionist tells us it's part of a festival that lasts for two weeks, terminating on the first full moon in September. The children dressed as dragons are said to bring good luck to the homes, hotels and restaurants that they enter, as long as the proprietor offers them a generous donation. Over the past two weeks the drum banging has escalated from small groups of children making a racket to full on parades displaying some impressive gymnastics. Below is a video taken from a display outside our hotel in Da Nang.

Amazing Bangkok, Amazing House!

We finally made it to Thailand, home of the bum gun, gender ambiguity and my favourite kind of food. It may have taken us six months longer to get here than originally planned, but we're here, I'm excited to get back into some writing. 

Our Egypt Air flight was comparable to Ryanair. It sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half at Manchester Airport, leaving us with only 30 minutes to dash for our connection in Cairo. We flew to Bangkok where we stayed three nights in the ironically named 'Amazing House Guest House'. The only thing amazing about it was the price, at £5 per night.

I love Bangkok, in spite of its stifling humidity, for its distinct neighbourhoods that are so different to one another that you can feel like you're in a different city just by hopping across town in a taxi.

Bangkok, from the Chao Phraya River.

To get around we mainly used the river taxis that run up and down the Chao Phraya, at only 15Baht (30p) a time they're far cheaper than any tuk-tuk or meter taxi and it's a great way to see some of the sights along the river, such as Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and numerous other temples. There are four different lines that operate on the river, each with a different colour flag, we used only the orange boats as they seem to be the most frequent. 

River taxi.

We took a river taxi to China Town (Yaowarat), one of the city's oldest districts. Be warned that the boats don't hang around; you have to fight your way off during busy periods, else be stuck at the back and miss your stop - like we did! From the boat pier narrow winding streets lead past mechanic's work shops and heaps of engines to Wat Traimit. On the top level of the four tiered temple is a 5.5 tonne solid gold Buddha, the largest seated, solid gold Buddah in the world! (Entrance fee: 40baht, no short sleeves/short pants)

Solid gold Buddah at Wat Traimit

6% beer and duck noodles, mmmmm!

From the gold Buddah we crossed the road through China Gate to one of the cities most vibrant night markets. Both sides of the street were lined with food stalls, the pavements packed with groups of friends and families packed around plastic tables and chairs. It was so bustling that passers-by had to walk on the road. The market was a dizzying mix of bright lights, delicious smells and mystery foods. We settled on a bowl of hoi sin duck noodle soup from a stall conveniently set up outside a 7-Eleven shop, where we could get cold beers from inside and enjoy a blast of aircon every time the door opened! After that we had pork noodle soup - some of the nicest pork I've tasted, and finally finished with a scoop of home made tamarind ice cream. Most of the dished are priced between 30-50baht (60p-£1).

China Town food market.

Another famous Buddah of Bangkok is the 32m high gold-leafed statue at Wat Indraviharn, about 20 minutes walk north of backpacker central Khao San Road. We managed to get in for free as it's low season and the ticket office was closed! Outside the temple there are women selling tiny cages stuffed with birds, "Give freedom to the birds for good luck", and nearby there are similar women with plastic bags containing terrapins "Give freedom to the turtles for good luck". It's hard to know which is worse, paying the £2 to set the animals free and financing the cruel trade, or not buying them and allowing them suffer on.

Signs indicated that we should leave offerings of "eggs, flowers and fish of the mackerel kind" at the feet of the giant Buddah.

Big Budddah at Wat Indraviharn.

The clouds cleared on the day we visited Wat Arun, and the temperature reached a scorching 40 degrees. We used the river taxi again to get to the temple and paid the 50baht entrance fee. I'd come prepared with my sarong to cover my exposed legs but that wasn't enough for the prudey guard who insisted I cover my shoulders too. Unprepared to hire a scarf, I not-so-discretely whipped off my skirt from under my sarong and used it as a shawl. I don't know if the guard was amused, impressed or offended at my resourceful technique but he let me in with a sly smirk. The temple is really beautiful, decorated with a porcelain mosaic and depictions of the Buddah. We climbed the very steep stairs up to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view.

Wat Arun.

Looking north from Wat Arun.

Once the sun had started to sink behind the sky scrapers we venture out again to the Siam district where my parents will be staying in the New Year. Siam is the modern, expensive area of town where we cooled off in air conditioned shopping malls and felt drastically under dressed compared to the city's upper classes. On the streets surrounding Central World shopping centre we found a Korean market!  We felt strangely at home surrounded by Korean food stalls, clothing and make up.

Siam district from outside Central World.

Mt. Taejo Hike

Another day, another mountain...

Up behind the big Gakwonsa temple and Gakwonsa temple you'll find a spider's web of hiking trails frequented by Cheonan's large population of middle aged hiking enthusiasts. Me and Ric decided to give it a go one sunny Saturday at the end of September.

Just what you need half way up a mountain, exercise machines and a hut complete with toilet roll!

Chair shaped tree: like.

After an intense but mercifully brief 25 minute climb we reached the starting point of four or five hiking trails which sprawled out in every direction. Deciding the right was as good a direction as any we headed off into the trees.

The path continued for around 3km, up and down the ridge of the mountain until we reached a clearing in the tree and a stunning view over Cheonan. I particularly enjoyed Mt. Taejo due to the lack of steep inclines (much kinder on the thighs!). It was a beautiful walk and it smelt of pine trees and autumn.

At the top of Mt Taejo

Deciding once again to descend down the other side of the mountain (we'll never learn), we discovered a whole new part of Cheonan that we didn't know existed. First we came across the main offices for Kyobo life insurance! Half way up a mountain seemed a pretty random place to build your head offices but I must admit the view was great! Further down and yet more random Korean attractions: Taejosan park, a park exhibiting war planes, tanks, a sculpture park, pond, football pitch, badminton court and even a derelict artificial ski slope!

Random Taejosan Park

How to get there?
To Gakwonsa and the start of our Mt. Taejo hike: take to 24 bus from opposite Shinsegae, get off at the last stop and walk up the hill.
To Taejosan Park: Take the number 15 from outside Shinsegae or the number 51 from Cheonan station and get off at the last stop.