Hoi An, Vietnam - 2016

We enjoyed Hoi An very much last time we were in Vietnam, and looked forward to come back to this ancient city. As it worked out, Hoi An was our last stop this time. We saved the best for last!  Our plan was to spend some time at the beach and visiting Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our first day, we rode bikes to Cua Dai Beach, a little over a mile from our hotel. In 2008, Cua Dai Beach had a wide white sandy beach. Because of the serious erosion, this white sandy beach was gone. Instead, large sandbags were placed around.  We went a bit further and glad to find a beautiful beach, An Bang to enjoy a few beach days.

Cua Dai Beach

Cua Dai Beach

An Bang Beach.  

Our borrowed bikes.

An Bang Beach

Traditional basket boats for rent.

Lunch at the beach.

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As nice as An Bang beach is, nothing beats our own beach at Surf City, NC!

The Ancient Town of Hoi An did not allow cars.  It was strictly for walking and bicycles.  Hoi An is known for its lanterns.

Entrance to Hoi An Ancient Town.

Hoi An main street

Along the riverfront at night.

Lanterns for sale.

Japanese Bridge built in the 16th century.  The only known Japanese covered bridge with a Buddhist Temple attached to one side. 

Traditional xich lo drivers at work.

The lanterns look beautiful at night.

We stayed at the same hotel eight years ago, Aurora Riverside Hotel.  It was just as nice this time around.  The location, breakfast, and views were all we could ask for.

View of the reviver from our hotel.

The view from our back window.

Rice paddy view from our back window.

We had a great time in Vietnam. There have been lots of changes in big cities in eight years.  But Hoi An remains much of the same. We will be back!

Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park, Vietnam - 2016

Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003. The park is south of Ha Noi and borders Laos. It has about 885 sq km of hundreds of cave systems. Only three caves are opened to the public with limited access.  Phong Nha Cave has been open to the public for several years.  Paradise Cave opened in 2006 and Son Dong Cave in 2014.

We flew to Dong Hoi and stayed at a hotel there. From Dong Hoi, we booked a private tour to visit two caves: Phong Nha and Paradise.  The park is about 60 km northwest Dong Hoi and takes one and half hour to get to Paradise Cave. Paradise Cave extends for over 30 km and is the world's longest dry cave. Only the first kilometer is open to the general public.  The next seven kilometers are open to experienced cave spelunkers.

In the cave, every time we turned around, there was another beautiful site.

Entrance to Paradise Cave.

Going down into the cave.

Tien's favorite, 'The Christmas Tree".

In the afternoon, we visited Phong Nha Cave by boat.

The boats lined up to go to Phong Nha Cave.

Cave entrance.

Inside the cave

It was a treat to see these two amazing caves.

The following morning we went by mini-van to Da Nang and then on to Hoi An by bus.

Can Tho, Vietnam - 2016

Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta. The city is nicknamed the "western capital" and famous for its floating markets and picturesque canals. It was generous of Nam and Nguyen to let us use their car and driver for our two day visit to this exciting city.  The traffic leaving Saigon was bumper to bumper because of the long holiday weekend. We went along with the flow.

Our first stop was Cai Be in the Mekong Delta where we took a boat tour.

House boats on the river.

Produce market.

Bananas and a coconut drink from one of the produce boats.

An apiary on the Mekong Delta

Fresh honey.

Going to the farm village.

Jack Fruit on the farm.

Papaya tree on the farm

Small boat exploring one of the canals.

Small boats waiting for passengers.

Rickety bridge over a canal. 

We spent the night in Can Tho.  The following morning, early before the sun was up we went to the floating market.  We were lucky to get a boat because of the holiday.  Most of the boats had been reserved.

Glad to see the floating market.

Dawn on the Mekong Delta.

Produce wholesaler.  

Watermelon boat.

Jack fruit for sale.

Breakfast boat.

Serving noodle soup and grilled sausages for breakfast. 

Banana boat.

Restaurant boat.

On the way back to Saigon, we stopped in My Tho to visit Vinh Trang Pagoda.  This is one of the best known pagodas in the delta.

Vinh Trang Pagoda 

Happy Buddha at Vinh Trang Pagoda

Reclining Buddha

We stopped for banh xeo at a popular restaurant.  The banh xeo was so big, one of them would have been enough for both of us.

Our favorite lunch. This is a special banh xeo. It had bamboo shoots, beansprouts, chicken, pork, shrimp and other various seafood.  

It was a nice two days in the Mekong Delta.  We were glad to have a private car for transportation.