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.

Kampot

After five nights in Phnom Penh we took the bus to Kampot. The 170km journey took a tedious five hours and we were relieved to finally have a bed for the night in Kapot Pepper Guest House. Kampot is a small town close to the South coast of Cambodia, surrounded by salt flats, pepper plantations and the locally named elephant mountain range.

Ric at Kampot's Durian Monument. Durians are an asian fruit that taste like gone off melons. They also stink and can be smelt from several meters away.

Lilly pond in Kampot.

Kampot’s main attraction is Bokor Hillstation 1080m above sea level. The hill station has been a much disputed area since its construction in 1920. It was first occupied by the French who built luxurious mansions and a casino that still stand today, abandoned and supposedly haunted. During the Asia-Pacific war the Japanese took over the hill station but where defeated by the Khmer Rouge in the early seventies. By the end of the seventies the Vietnamese took over the mountain and finally, left it to the Cambodians. We took a tour up to Bokor on possibly the most miserable morning we’ve had so far. The entire mountain was shrouded in a mist that hid the dilapidated buildings until we’d walked right up to them. The abandoned casino and Catholic Church looked spectacularly spooky in the swirling mist, with the wind howling through the doorways. Unfortunately we didn’t have any sort of view over the surrounding land but we did stop at a nice waterfall.

Spooky Bokor Casion.

The Catholic Church built by the French.

At the waterfall.

Included in the tour was a sunset river cruise. After the weather we’d had in the morning we had no expectations of a sunset but boarded the wooden catamaran and settled in for a relaxing cruise up the river. As we travelled further out of Kampot we passed fishermen on their way out to sea, they didn’t look particularly thrill to be spending the night on their old wooden fishing boats in the open sea. After an hours boat ride we stopped and some of the more daring passengers (Ric) jumped into the river and splashed about with rubber rings whilst the captain and his family ate their dinner. To our surprise the monsoon clouds parted and we were rewarded with the most stunning sunset we’ve seen during this trip. The river cruise was really a highlight of the day for us; it was wonderfully relaxing and we sat comparing travel stories with two English girls off the tour.

Beautiful sunset.

It’s easy to walk around Kampot and take in all the sights (of which there are few), but it’s really worth getting out into the countryside and seeing some of the surrounding area. We took a tuk-tuk to Phnom Ch’nork caves where a local nine year old girl asserted herself as our tour guide and directed us around. It really wasn’t necessary to have a guide, the area and the cave are very small, but she was a cool kid; she spoke brilliant English and made some witty jokes.

Our cute little guide, overlooking rice fields outside of Kampot.

Children in the village by Phnom Ch'nork cave.

One night we ordered food in our hotel restaurant, deciding to treat ourselves to a rather expensive burger instead of the usual fare of rice of noodles. I went for a bacon cheese burger and Ric ordered a maxi burger. When the burgers arrived I had bacon, cheese and bread but no burger. Ric’s maxi burger was two fried eggs on a bun. He was furious and stormed into the kitchen to find his burger, after all $5.50 for an egg butty is extortionate. After a confusing exchange with the manager, the chef was able to resolve the problem; she held up a burger bun and said “yes, burger”. Something had been lost in translation somewhere along the line.