The Sound of Silence

Khaly and I were workout skippers and it felt SO good to sleep in! The bed at the hotel was amazing and soft and I realized how much I miss my down comforter at home. We dragged ourselves out of bed to shower and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. We were picked up around 7:45am on a tour bus for Indochina Sails. There was a couple already on the bus (Alexis and Andrew from Chicago) and we went to pick up two more groups. One was a family from Singapore with a 4 or 5 year old son (why you would bring a child on this trip I have no idea). We also picked up a couple from Mexico and off we went.

It wasn’t long into the trip when I realized this kid was going to drive me crazy! If spending 4 hours on a bus in crazy Vietnam with an annoying kid isn’t good birth control, I don’t know WHAT is! He wasn’t crying (so it could have been worse) but he was non-stop talking, singing, etc. His parents didn’t seem to even notice that the entire little bus was trying to sleep. At every bump and every turn he kept saying, “Train tracks? Train tracks?” I felt bad that this kid was driving me crazy, but Khaly and I booked this trip to relax and get away for the weekend. However, I didn’t feel as guilty when we got there, dropped his family off first, and EVERYONE was talking about how annoying he was! We all laughed that he was going to be sad that there were no train tracks where he was going. We were, however, all relieved he was NOT on our boat!

We waited in the little “waiting” room for the boat to be ready and at about noon we made our way on! It was beautiful! Khaly and I were in room 104 and it was amazing. It had two twin beds, a mini refrigerator and bathroom with a shower. It really was very elegant and we were happy to know the pictures were not deceiving.

The staff was already eager to speak to Khaly in Vietnamese! Once again, I couldn’t get away from feeling “invisible” and just sitting there while she had a conversation.

We were able to unpack a few things before we went back to the dining room for lunch. The lunch was a set menu which I didn’t enjoy too much because there was a lot of fish! Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought my snacks so I knew I wouldn’t go hungry!

After lunch we arrived at our first stop, Titop Island. We had to take a small boat to the island, and walk the 430 stairs (like I need to be reminded I am not in shape..) to the top! It was very beautiful and worth the walk for the incredible pictures we were able to take! We had some extra time at the bottom again so I was able to sit on the beach. However, the beach was nothing special (and neither was the water) so it wasn’t worth a swim.

The weather was comfortable..but a little hot for hiking and a little cool for swimming. We then came back to the boat and had a little over 30 minutes while we traveled to our next destination.

Since we did have some time, I could NOT resist the urge to take a nap! I think since this was really the second day since being in Vietnam I haven’t done much, my body was taking advantage of it! This bed was SO comfortable and fluffy (unlike all the beds in Asia) so we both rested for a bit before our next stop, Bat Cave!

We decided we wanted to kayak (and the kayaking was really the only reason we both wanted to go on this trip). The spot we anchored was BEAUTIFUL. We were completely surrounded by huge limestone rock/mountain type things.

Khaly and I were the last ones to get our kayaks, and the main tour guide man was talking to Khaly in Vietnamese. She said something to me about how he was going with her and I would have a guide as well. I thought Khaly and I were going to go together, and was surprised that every person had a guide with them! Alexis and Andrew (our new friends) were in front of us and they were going together, so I told Khaly I was confused. Turns out the guy just wanted to go with her and was going to put me with his friend. NICE TRY BUDDY! Khaly and I couldn’t tell if he was hitting on her (he does have a family, etc) or really just liked the idea there was someone on the boat who spoke Vietnamese. We both politely told him we would like to go together.

Sadly, we weren’t very good kayakers. It took us a while to get into a rhythm (without feeling like we were going to tip) AND we were surprised how quickly our arms were sore!

Being on the water was the most beautiful and peaceful experience I have felt in a while. At one point I turned to Khaly and said, “Do you hear that?” She looked at me puzzled and said, “Hear what?” and I replied, “My point exactly!” No horns, no garbage, no smells, no dirt, no ants, no dust, no “Motor bike? Where you go?”, just silence! THIS is what we needed and why we decided to take this trip. The scenery was beautiful and we kayaked around for about 45 minutes and through a cave before returning back to the boat. While we were sad that experience was over, our arms told us it was about time to stop.

We both showered off the salty water (and I had to change pants..apparently I am an aggressive paddler and soaked my pants!) and rested for a bit. There was still a bit more time before dinner so I took that time to do some reading and write postcards. I was so enjoying the peacefulness and quietness of the boat.

We arrived at dinner and I was so happy to see it was a buffet! They had a LOT of options, although you know me, I didn’t like most of them. I did, however, try crab leg (I really will try anything) and it was ok! Tasted just like lobster but without the melted butter (which is, of course, the best part). They had an AMAZING rich chocolate mousse for dessert..BUT only enough for everyone to have one..BOOO! I really enjoyed the fruit so that was the bulk of my dinner. Oh yeah, and rolls, they were good too!

They had some evening activities to do (some movie..board games and the bar was open) but Khaly and I were content to take a shower, read a bit and hit the sack!

Hugs and kisses from a place filled with silence.