Hoian beach and people

HoiAn or How to spend a perfect day on the beach?

After finishing of my morning business with the tailor: some small amendments here and another shirt there, I went with my Swiss friends down to the beach. Renting bicycles we cycled down to the local beach. There they have a perfect business model: you get a free sun umbrella and big chairs to relax in. As service in return they want you to eat something at their restaurant which is a pleasure because the food, well basically the fish is just excellent and you overlook the sea. marvelous. dreamlike.


When we arrived the beach was pretty empty though in the late afternoon it starts to fill up with the locals: boys and girls come with their friends, families come after a long days work (Vietnamese start a day very earlier around 5 am) and, most importantly, the women who sell fish. It works like that: they open a small local restaurant by putting down carpets and blankets or tiny plastic chairs and tables. They carry everything to make a perfect fish dish with them and you even get some cold beers, if you fancy. Very nice.

While the sun is slowly setting, the light getting more and more soft, the heat of the day vanishes, and the smell of grilled fish fills the air you just feel happy.

Dalat or What do you get for 22 $ in Vietnam?

For 22 Dollars you can get a 3 star hotel room in Hanoi, if you are unlucky without a window. You can also get a day long ride on a motorbike to the usual local tourist sides where people will try and sell you things you don’t want, need and like. OR for 22 dollars you can get a big adventure. Leaving early in the morning the hotel in Dalat I went with my two Swiss friends along an adventure I wasn’t quite prepared to.


We went together with two adventures Vietnamese guys in a natural preserve to do some abseiling into waterfalls. Yes, crazy. I know. First we learned how to rope you down on a very short hill, second we roped down a quite steep rock and as third test we went down a rock of 24 meters finishing off in a water pool. Ok. By that time I had learned to keep my legs straight and apart and my body in 90 degree to the rock. What an amazing feeling. Just never look down. Always up. Buh, just thinking of it I get adrenalin rush.


Moving from one site of the waterfall to the next was through wild bush, no path, I was imaging that snake Ka and Mogli would jump out of this jungle any minute. When we reached the first waterfall I was quite a bit nervous and asking myself what the hell I’m doing here. Well, I put myself together, went as the first one and just loved it. I had to concentrate quite a bit though at the end it is the most intoxicating feeling. We did a couple of more waterfalls, had some lunch and finished off with a slide through the so called ‘washing machine’, a truly devilish waterfall. Brrr.

I think I spent my 22 $ wisely. 