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Bali!

The last 10 days of the trip I spent in Bali, Indonesia. Bali has a few very different sides to it, from the busy, hectic, touristy south part, to the remote, mountainous, mostly uninhabited north part. I spent the first 5 days up north on various oceanfront resorts. These days were filled with reading by the pool, yoga, endless tasty buffets, and few adventures (hence why I haven’t blogged in a bit). The last 5 days were spent with my friend Nick in Ubud in the middle of the island, then at a resort along the southern coast. Here are a few tidbits from the trip, going backwards in the timeline:

Nick and I had just finished our 5 days in Bali. It was a relaxing, entertaining, enjoyable time and we’re sad to leave. We’re in a taxi on the way to the airport, and all of a sudden the guy’s car goes limp. The engine makes some heaving sounds, and putters out. He tries to start it. No luck. Uhh what do we do now? He tells us, “no more petrol!” Sooo… you ran out of gas? Looks like it. He goes, “you push?” Is this guy asking us to push his taxi? Looks that way. Ok! VERY luckily, there’s a gas station no more than 40 yards ahead. So, we get out of the car to the chuckles and honks of many cars and motorbikes around us (we’re on a 3 lane road). The light turns green and we push with all our might, in somewhat shock at what’s transpiring at the moment. We get the car rolling pretty nicely, until we hit the inclined ramp of the gas station. Shit. We push and push, nothing. A very friendly motorist gets out and helps us up the ramp, and we get him to the gas pump. The taxi driver muttered a “sorry” and filled up his gas tank, and on we went!

Our last night together in Bali, Nick and I headed to the southwest coast to check out this bar we’d both heard about, called “Rock Bar.” Essentially, a resort has taken advantage of their rocky coastline, and built a bar into the rocks so guests are overlooking the ocean as the waves crash into the rocks beneath and in front of them. We got there at the tail end of the sunrise to an incredible view. The bar is immense, stretching for what seems like a mile along the coast. Further, they’ve built layers into the bar, so some are higher than others, and there’s even a large circular tower-like area to have dinner literally sitting over the water. It’s absolutely incredible, and for anyone visiting Bali, I’d highly recommend it.

Nick and I saw a poster for a “flying fish” walking around Ubud and decided immediately we had to do it. It’s essentially a large inflatable raft that you lie on and you’re pulled behind a speedboat or jet ski. Once the boat goes fast enough, the raft is hoisted into the air and you’re “flying” through the air attached to this raft, as high as 40 feet! It was as thrilling as it sounds. After we finish, the staff dropped us off in shallow water for us to wade back to shore. As we’re walking back, Nick lets out a SHARP yell, and grabs his leg. Not good. He’s been stung by something nasty, and one of the staff pulls it off the back of his ankle. Over the next 30 minutes, Nick’s pain gets worse and starts moving up his body to his upper leg and back. Not good. We need to find a clinic. We head to the nearest one (literally a block away) and he’s immediately ushered onto a hospital type bed. No questions. No forms. No insurance. Nothing. They want to inject him. He says no. They give him some pills to swallow telling us he’ll feel better “within the hour.” He’s in pain and we’re worried. Within 20 minutes of taking the pill, his pain is significantly reduced. PHEW! One passport photo later, we were out of there and sticking to the pool for the rest of the trip!

On the very southern tip of Bali, there’s a beautiful temple that’s constructed along the coastline. It’s a breathtaking view to watch the waves crash into the walls, and we enjoy a drink along the coast. As we’re walking along, we run into a Luwak coffee shop. These are common in Bali - essentially the luwaks, which are in the cat family and look like a mix between a ferret and a cat, eat the coffee bean, their stomachs have an enzyme that improves the taste of the coffee by removing some of the acidity, and then they poop out the bean. The shops then collect and disinfect the beans (so we’re told) and brew coffee with it. This coffee shop, however, is unique. They have luwaks hanging out around the grounds! There are 4 of them, and Nick is in heaven. I should explain: ever since Nick first saw a Luwak, he’s wanted one. As in one as a pet. These luwaks are hanging out on the tables and counters, and you can play with them as you please. Nick quizzes the guy on what it’s like to own a Luwak for his hopeful future with 1 or 2. This guy has 9. Yes, 9. He also has a MASSIVE bat. He says it’s a flying dog. This needs further research. Regardless, we spend over an hour with the luwaks, holding them, petting them, and learning about them. One nibbles on my ear (see pic above). I have to pry Nick away onto our next destination.

On my way from the north of Bali into Ubud, my driver hit the brakes hard. Why? Well, you see some people let their chickens run wild, and some but them in these wooden cages to keep them from escaping. One of the chickens in its wooden “cage” was attempting a great escape. By that, I mean walking inside its cage as if it’s a hamster wheel, and had now made it into the middle of the road. Don’t worry, we waited for him to finish the crossing before we resumed.

While I was still in the north of Bali, I decided I was in need of a haircut. I walked into the “town” that was next to my resort. This town is one lane each way, has 2 ATMs in the whole town (both were broken for the first 3 days I was there), has no sidewalks, and the “gas station” is a table with water bottles filled with gasoline. Hopefully that paints a decent picture of what this looked like. I can’t imagine more than 5,000 people lived there. I saw a sign for “salon” so I walk over. A young girl tells me that her mom is out and won’t be back for a few hours. Damn. I ask if there’s anyone else to cut hair. She nods and points down the street. Great. I walk and walk. No barber. I ask someone else. I’m pointed in the same direction. Finally, I stumble upon a sign that says “barber, 30 meters” and has an arrow pointing down a small alley. Okay! I walk down to find essentially a hut that has a “Barbershop” sign over it with a picture of David Beckham. Works for me! A guy comes running from down the street and clearly, he is the barber! He tells me it will be 20,000 IDR, which translates to roughly $1.40. I think I can afford that. While I can’t communicate what I want at all, he does a pretty good job! I gave him $4 and told him to keep the change, and he nearly hugged me.

If you’ve been following the news at all, you know that earthquakes have been rocking Lombok for the last few weeks. Lombok is one island over from Bali, and the earthquakes there can be felt on the island of Bali as well. My 4th night I’m woken up at 11pm by a pretty big earthquake. It’s as if someone is shaking my bed and won’t stop. It lasts for over 30 seconds and it really has me “shaken.” I go out to the main area and nearly the entire resort is up, watching the news. I eventually go back to bed. The earth shakes again. And again. And again. I download an app that tells me when there is an earthquake around the globe. There were 13 earthquakes that night!! Over the next week in Bali, I’d feel a few more, and they’re very unsettling!! While I’m now gone, hopefully the earthquakes settle down for the residents there :/

At the resorts up north, they offer a sunrise dolphin watching tour. At 6am, I get on what looks like a canoe with long pipes that run horizontal to the “canoe” and each about 4 feet out from the center point for stability. The “boat” has a motor, and he tells me to sit in the middle. Guess I’m along for the ride! He drives the boat straight out into the ocean for over an hour. Is he going to a specific area where the dolphins are supposed to be? Are we hoping to just run into them? He makes a right and we continue parallel to the coast. The sun rises over the horizon for a gorgeous sunrise. Back on the coast, you can see the massive mountains that protect Bali’s north coast, complimented by a huge volcano! I’m told the volcano, while active, is not a threat. Right. We turn back the other way, still parallel to the coast. It’s a beautiful morning out, but I don’t see anything. Finally, he yells something and points to, what is, sure enough, a school of dolphins! We follow them for a while, and they even put on a bit of a show for us, jumping fully out of the water from time to time. I thought they only did that at Sea World! We follow the dolphins until we’re distracted… we see a bunch of fish jumping out of the water, and he tells me they’re tuna. Time to go fishing! His version of fishing is taking a fake lure and some fishing line and dragging it behind the boat. No rod, no leaders, just line and a hook. Great. He hands me the line. What in the hell am I going to do if we actually catch a tuna! There is no way my hands can pull this thing up. We troll and troll. No bites. We see more fish jump. No luck. While I did want to catch one, I’m somewhat relieved for my hands’ sake that we didn’t!

Overall, an amazing trip to Bali. There’s so much to see: the island is big and diverse, from vast white sand beaches to jungles to mountains and volcanoes. I didn’t make it to the west side at all, and imagine there’s significantly more to see. Everyone I met was extremely friendly and welcoming, and while the south is fairly challenging to navigate due to the traffic and narrow roads, I definitely recommend it as a place to visit and will surely be back!

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Bali pics!

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Fish Market + Orangutans

The last few days of the Borneo tour were great, but nothing big stands out that’s worth its own post. We had a day and a half camping in the jungle where I got to sleep next the hum of a roaring river, and the last day back in Kota Kinabalu was a full day kayaking and snorkeling. For that, we had a beautiful sunny day, and we ended it with drinks on the beach watching the sunset, and a dinner at a local fish market.

The fish market in Kota Kinabalu is a SCENE. Local fishermen bring in the day’s catch and sell it to local vendors, who then try to sell it for meals on the spot. As in, you point to what you want and they’ll cook it for you. And they had EVERYTHING. 20 different kinds of fish, two kinds of lobsters, shrimp, calamari, multiple kinds of crabs, a few things I couldn’t identify. The place is a zoo, and luckily we had our guide Hasif to walk us through it all. We decided on a mixture of red snapper, lobster, shrimp, and calamari. Hey, when in Borneo. As this guy piles all this seafood onto a scale, I’m chatting with a friend on the trip about negotiating. There are 6 of us eating - we decide the goal is to get it down to $100 flat for everything, so we’ll start at $80 and negotiate. The guy weighs all the seafood, does some math, and comes back that it will be $85. Total. We’re stunned. Do we still negotiate? It’s nearly 12 pounds of food! (They weigh it all before they cut it up and filet it, so 12 pounds of food probably turns into 4-6 when all is said and done). We take it. What a deal. It’s cooked perfectly and we enjoy a seafood feast for our last night together as a group.

After the tour, Lauren and I decided to go check out the Orangutans in Sepilok, a 40-minute flight away. There’s a rehabilitation sanctuary there, which sometimes isn’t what it sounds like, but this one does seem pretty legit. There are no fences or nets or cages, and the orangutans are free to come and go as they please. There are two “feeding times” where they put bananas and coconuts on a platform, and the orangutans can have their fill. The goal is to keep the food as constant as possible so the orangutans get bored of the food, and venture out on their own. Makes sense.

To view the primates, there’s a long wooden boardwalk that makes a big circle throughout the sanctuary and passes by the feeding area. Lauren and I just miss the morning feeding time, so we wander around, knowing we’ll catch the afternoon one. As we’re wandering, we notice there are sanctuary personnel every 50 yards or so. They’ll all carrying long, thin wooden sticks (as if that’s going to do anything). There are also various temporary barriers they sometimes close if they feel it’s too dangerous to walk on a certain part. We learn that because the sanctuary isn’t enclosed, “wild” orangutans can come and go in addition to the ones being rehabilitated, and the wild orangutans not accustomed to being around humans. Thus, they can feel threatened and potentially attack at times. Great.

During our stroll around, one of the areas is partitioned off. We ask why. “There’s a wild male.” “Cool! Can we see him?” “Try to go around the other side.” Ok! We turn around and go back where we came from. Because it’s a circle, you can only really see so far in front of you. So, we walk slowly, constantly checking our surrounding to make sure we aren’t surprised. As we get closer to where he should be, there are a few guards there telling us to stop and wait. Rawr! I want to see his guy. We wait and wait. What do we think, this guy is just going to come walking down the boardwalk? The guards tell us to “wait here” while they go check out the situation. They leave us and walk towards where the big male is supposed to be. We wait. Other people come up. We tell them the deal. They wait with us. We wait some more. Then, we see the three guards running towards us pointing the other direction and yelling “go go go!!” But I want to see him!! I’m holding my ground. I figure as long as the guards are between us and the monkey, we’re okay. The guards are still running towards us and now yelling “RUN!!!!” I stand there JUST long enough to get a glimpse of the male and he’s HUGE! He’s on all fours and, yep, marching down the boardwalk towards us. My heart rate jumps to probably 200 and we turn and run with the rest of ‘em.

I don’t think we were actually in any real danger, but it was a bit of a thrill. We went back in the afternoon to see the feeding where a mom and her baby showed up, and a bunch of smaller orangutans climbing tree to tree, rope to rope. Really a neat sight, and no more potential attacks. Phew! On to Bali for me!

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Katie and Tom STRUGGLING the day after Mt. Kinabalu. Our legs were incredibly sore from a very challenging and rewarding climb

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Mt. Kinabalu - Part 2 (go read part 1 if you haven’t already)

I’m awake before the alarms. It’s 1:30am. My head is pounding. I hear the wind outside howling, sweeping past our hut and slamming into it. What I don’t hear is rain. Do they close the summit for wind? Priority 1 for me is to feel better or I won’t be able to summit anyway. I get some caffeine, peanut butter toast, and Advil in me. I start feeling better. I’ve actually slept pretty well all things considered, waking up a few times, mostly due to being cold. It’s colder than I thought it would be up there, and my layers are barely holding up. I drink hot tea and get some more food in me as I start to feel better. I figure I can give it a shot and if I start feeling worse, I can always head back down to base camp. We’re told the summit, while windy, is open - it’s the first day all week that it’s not raining! Time to go.

Because we’re a “fast” group, our guide tells us we should leave at 3am to be at the summit for the 6am sunrise. Just after 3am we depart the hut bundled up in every piece of clothing we’ve brought, and headlamps over our hats. We ascend up stairs, and more stairs and rocks, and steep slopes, sometimes using ropes on the ground to help us keep our footing. Outside it’s 45 degrees, with winds sustained 20-30 mph, gusting north of 40mph. New goal: don’t get blown off the mountain. Visibility ranges from seemingly unlimited to just a few feet, depending whether we’re covered in a cloud or not. With our elevation, the incoming clouds pass through us. When it’s clear, the stars are absolutely amazing, and we see many shooting stars in the sky. It’s a pretty surreal environment, and hard not to get caught up in it.

We’re told it’s 3km to reach the summit, which sits at just over 13,400 feet. We climb and climb. Katie in our group feels a bit light headed, but the rest of us are doing ok. My headache is completely gone. Thank you Advil! We trudge onwards in the cold, windy, pitch black early morning. We pass the 7km sign. The 8km sign. We’re almost there. We see the first light of the day rising over the rocks behind us. The crescent moon rises just above the rocks to our right. I take a picture, but the phone doesn’t do the view justice.

At this point of the climb, it’s mostly a steep incline of pure rock, and it looks like we’re on another planet. Maybe the moon. Around 5:30am, we get our first glimpse of the summit. It keeps alternating between cloud-covered and perfectly clear as we near. We’ve timed this right. Around 6am, we reach the summit as the sun just starts to appear above the lowest clouds. It’s an incredible sight, and one of the best sunrises I’ve ever seen. We’re all trying to catch our breath from the climb while taking in this breath-taking sight. We take pictures. Our hands are frozen. We high-five each other excited about our accomplishment. We got lucky as hell with the weather, and we all survived the ascent together.

We spend about 25 minutes at the top enjoying the scene. Unfortunately, the time to descend has arrived. We need to make room for other groups, and we also have a huge descent ahead of us. We climb down a few thousand feet enjoying the incredible views of the awakening city and rolling green fields below us. At the 11,000 feet mark, we begin the Via Ferrata. For this, we harness up and follow a different guide. We split up into two small groups, and he ties our small group to one another. We climb over rocks, across and up ladders, and scale rocks on all fours to duck away from the wind. It’s a really cool experience, and we have a blast.

Back down at base camp, it’s 10am and we’ve having breakfast #2. I don’t think I’ve ever burned that many calories before 10am, and the average food tastes incredibly good. We reminisce about our summit from hours earlier, and discuss the state of our legs, which are all shaky. As in, cannot stand up without them shaking. Problem is, we still have a 4,000 foot descent!

The entire way down, we combine distracting ourselves through word games and fun questions, and enjoying the view. I ask Edwin to tell us a “fun fact.” He says “no.” Can’t win them all. Our legs are definitely feeling it, and it’s all we can muster to get down in one piece. Back at the base, we take a picture with a sign that reads “you are successful climbers!” We celebrate with a round of Snickers candy bars.

What a climb! Honestly, had no idea what I’d signed up for when booking this trip. But, one of the best outdoor experiences I’ve had. After looking at our tracking apps, we conclude the metrics they’ve laid out are completely off. It’s more like 6 MILES to base camp (not 6km) and another 2.5 MILES to the top. I ask when the last time they mapped it out. I’m told “sometime in the 1970s.” Might be time for a refresh guys!! So, the entire climb up and back is about 17 miles, and on the second day we did a total of 11 miles, with 3,000 feet of vertical up and 7,000 feet of vertical down. More than I’ve done in a day by FAR. And, my legs for sure let me know of that the next day. We could all barely move, and nobody wanted to see even a stair.

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Pics of the summit, via ferrata, and descent of Mt. Kinabalu

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Mount Kinabalu (Part 1)

As I mentioned in the last post, our guide Hasif had been talking about “the mountain” since day 1. The more he talked about it, the more we looked forward to it but also made us nervous. He talked about all kinds of adventures on Mount Kinabalu, from groups not making it to the top, to rain preventing summits, to an earthquake a few years ago that left him and his ground stranded at 12,000 feet for days, to altitude issues, to muscle soreness or groups taking FOREVER to get down. It’s the highest mountain in SE Asia, and it sounds like an adventure. We’re excited.

After a bit of a rest and relax day post biking, we’re up early to drive over to the base of the mountain, which sits at 6,000 feet above sea level. As we approach, we see Mount Kinabalu outside the car window, and we see why Hasif is worried. It looks massive and intimidating (see pics below).

We meet our guides, James and Edwin. James is at the front, and Edwin brings up the rear. These guys are local and fairly short, but had MASSIVE calves. The plan is to hike up to “base camp” today. The earlier we get there, the more time we have to rest and relax before the big day following. James tells us the climb is about 6.5km (~4 miles) to base camp. Also, we’re starting at 6,000 feet, and base camp is around 10,000 feet. 4,000 feet of vertical in 4 miles? We’re not sure how that’s possible.

Also, the climb starts DOWN for the first few hundred meters. What is that! We then start up and it essentially feels like a never-ending staircase. It’s a beautiful day out, and we’re hoping this is a sign of good weather to come - nobody in the last 6 days has been able to summit due to rain. People on their way down are wishing us “good luck” as we ascend. We’re in the rainy season here in Borneo, which is supposed to end August 11th. The day today is August 9th, and we’re supposed to summit on the 10th. Will it end one day early for us?

We trudge upwards. We stop each KM for a quick bathroom, water, and snack break. At the 4km mark, squirrels attack us as we try to eat our lunch. James is chatty. Edwin, not so much. I keep trying to crack Edwin. We continue on. We play word games. The distance between the KM markers seems varied. There’s no way this is accurate. Two hours in. Three. Porters pass us. Yes, everything at basecamp is manually walked up by “porters” who are paid by the KG. They’re carrying everything from eggs to laundry to large pipes. It looks insane. I’m having a hard enough time with just my 10kg backpack.

The incline is intense: it’s a combination of steep hills and a TON of stairs. Some of the stairs are man-made built wood. Others are natural rock. They’re all uneven. A lot of the stairs are slippery from the prior days' rain. All in all, the climb to base camp takes us a little over 4 hours. They say it’s 6.5km. I KNOW it’s more. But, we don’t have WiFi to check our trackers. My phone says we climbed 350 floors. We’re now well above the cloud level (see pics below), and the view is incredible.

The plan for tomorrow: wake up ~2am. Yes, 2am. Start climbing in the dark with our headlamps. Hit the 13,400 summit at 6:20am for hopefully an incredible sunrise. Then, climb down to do the “Via Ferrata.” I’d never heard of this before, but it’s essentially a ropes course on the mountain. You’re harnessed in, moving carabiners from one rope to the next as you climb up, down and sideways on a very steep part of the mountain. What’s cool also, is this is the highest Via Ferrata in the world, sitting at about 11,000 feet above sea level! Once we finish the Via Ferrata, it should be around 9-10am and we will descend back to base camp for some food, before we begin the intense downhill stairmaster climb down to the bottom. Big day! Need lots of rest and most importantly, to feel okay.

There are two things that change quickly with this climb: temperature and altitude. It’s quite cold up at base camp (we started in shorts and t-shirts sweating, and now we’re all in hats, gloves, heavy jackets, and multiple layers), and I’m really starting to feel the 10,000-foot altitude after that rapid ascent. I’ve drunk a ton of water for the past few days and today, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I keep hydrating. Dinner is in a building that’s 147 steps below our hut. We know this because our sore legs needed to know exactly how far it was to get food. Now we know why Hasif was worried. “Dinner” is an early bird special at 4:30pm. The food is actually very tasty. We get a safety demonstration for the Via Ferrata for the following day. We play cards. We drink tea. My headache isn’t good. I know it’s the altitude, and I just keep drinking water. I’m exhausted from the day’s 4,000-foot climb, and with sore legs, and hopes for feeling better, I get into my sleeping bag in essentially a camp bunk around 6:30pm. I don’t remember saying goodnight to anyone. 

To be continued…

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Part 1 of the Mt. Kinabalu climb. Includes view of the mountain from the base, view from “base camp,” Edwin, our “before” picture and a group selfie!

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Is the Da Nang water blog the latest you posted?

Was off the grid in Borneo for 10 days. Catching up on the Borneo trip today!

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Borneo Trip - Mountain Biking

After a fun weekend in Kuala Lumpur with my friend Nick (Nick moved to KL 4 years ago with Kaiser) and Swish (a college friend who lives in NYC for those who don’t know), Swish and I departed for the Malasyian (north) part of Borneo. Fun fact - Borneo is an island is SE Asia, and is actually made up of 3 countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei! We have signed up for a 9 day hiking, biking, and kayaking tour through the jungles of Borneo. We don’t know what to expect from the group we’ll have, to the tour guide, to how intense the activities will be. We’re along for the ride!

After an easy and uneventful trip, we arrive to a rainy Borneo. Not a good start. We meet our tour guide who is a young local named Hasif. Hasif seems fairly easy-going and jolly, which is great for a guide as long as he knows his shit as well. We meet our fellow tour companions and it’s only 5 of us total! A British couple on their HONEYMOON (yes, they wanted an active honeymoon that included other people) who currently live in Munich and a single British woman who’s a lawyer in the BVI. They’re both a few years older than Swish and I. We’re happy!

The first full day is a day of biking followed by a homestay. Generally I think I’m in fairly good shape, so I’m not too worried about the activity. We’re told it will be 35km (~22 miles) on a combination of roads and trails, up and down hills. We start out on the roads, going through some small villages, alongside farms (they farm a TON of rubber here), and stopping at some temples along the way. After a local lunch, which consists of mostly rice (this would be a common theme), we turn off the road onto some trails. So far the biking has been fairly innocent, but it is unbelievably humid out. If you look at a map of Borneo, it’s JUST above the equator. Maybe a few hundred miles. And oh you can feel it.

After lunch we turn off the road onto a rocky trail and this is where it starts to get more interesting. It’s hot as hell, we’ve biked maybe 15 miles or so already, and it’s getting hard. The trails are narrow, rocky and steep, both up and down. We pass over narrow swinging bridges. Some of us bike across. Some of us walk. The hills are getting steeper. They’re so steep going up that it’s hard to keep our front wheels on the path unless we lean very far forward. This is by far the most intense mountain biking I’ve done, but I feel up for the challenge. A few times I lose my balance going up and have to get off the bike, walk to a flatter spot, and try again. Luckily, the group is fit, but this proves to be one hell of a challenge for all of us.

As you can imagine, the down hills were just as steep, and it was hard to pull the brake hard enough to go at a comfortable pace. I usually only use the back break going downhill to avoid flipping over my front wheel, but it’s not enough, and I have to use both lightly to go slow enough. On one of the steepest downhills, I start gaining too much speed, quickly pull the breaks but I pull the front one too hard and the next thing I know I’m headed face first over my handle bars. I see the ground ahead and brace myself for a fall, ducking my head to tumble over, bracing my fall from hand to arm to hip to legs. Luckily, I’m able to avoid too much force with any one body part, and besides a few scrapes, I’m totally fine! Maybe we’ll take it a bit slower now…

We arrive to our homestay and it’s nicer than expected! It’s a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, there are chickens and dogs and cats running around the green fields in between the simple houses. We’re staying with a family who has a fairly large 1 story house, with electricity, fans, and running water. Win! We hang around the house while they cook dinner, playing cards and having a few beers to celebrate the day. A cat walks into the room, kills a massive grasshopper, and runs away with it, presumably to give it away as a present. Par for the course.

After a nice dinner, we’re hanging around the house when our guide goes, “I think it’s about to rain.” Not more than 2 seconds later, we are startled by what sounds like the force of God coming down on the house. It is raining SO hard you cannot see more than a few feet in front of you. We’re also inside a tin-roofed house, so you can barely hear yourself think it’s so loud. The rain is coming down in massive sheets like I’ve never seen before. We all go out on the patio to watch - it’s really quite a sight. And an hour later, it’s gone!

A successful first day, and have many more activities to look forward to. One thing Hasif keeps talking about is “the mountain.” He’s worried about the mountain because he hasn’t done it in a while and hasn’t been training. He asks if we’ve been training. We have not. The mountain, the mountain, the mountain. What kind of trip did we sign up for!?

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A day of fishing off the coast of Hoi An, Vietnam

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A Day on the Water

After an early wake-up on my last full day in Da Nang, Vietnam, I took a motorbike down to Hoi An (~35 minute drive from Da Nang, where I was staying). During the busier hours, it’s faster to take a motorbike taxi because they weave in and out of traffic, whereas during slow hours it’s faster to take a car because they go faster. Makes sense.

I board a beautiful speedboat (2 big outboard engines) with a staff of 5 and another 7 Vietnamese tourists. Luckily, these tourists and some of the staff spoke some decent English, and they were very inclusive. We even took a bunch of pictures together!

One of the things I love about Vietnam is they’re very lax about a lot of things. In the US I feel like we’d get a talking to about boat safety, when to wear life jackets, all that stuff. Here, we just go!

Once we leave the dock, we absolutely fly out to Charm Island, a well known, beautiful island off the coast of Hoi An. It’s known for having thousands of swallows (birds) and the Vietnamese come and steal their nests, and sell them! He tells me a big nest goes for $8,000 USD! Now, there are people living on the island to protect the nests. We saw some of their houses - they’re literally built into the rock on the side of the mountain! They have to climb up the massive rock formation to get back and forth from their house to the boat, to get to the “mainland.” Can you imagine?

On the ride out, we pass a much larger boat that is net fishing. They’re reeling in their net as we pull up, and they have tuna! Maybe 25-30 tunas! They’re pulling up our fish! Stop it! We watch them for a bit in awe. We even pull up to them and buy 2 tunas off them. “Lunch!” I’m told. Sounds good, especially for $5 a fish. What a deal.

We find what looks like a good spot and get set up. For some reason, they give me the bigger rod with live shrimp (yes, live) and the other tourists get smaller roads with shrimp pieces. Apparently, I’m supposed to catch the bigger fish for lunch. Great. We wait. We fish. We lose bait. The other guys catch a couple small ones! Better than nothing. I get a huge bite, but lose it. Damn. I feel the pressure!

We move to another spot. Still with the live shrimp, still nothing. Now nearly everyone on the boat has caught a few small ones. They’re rooting for me! They keep joking if you don’t catch any fish, you don’t get lunch. Damn it. I switch to the small rod. I get a bite! Everyone cheers. I’m reeling it up… and I LOSE IT!! Massive groans from the boat. We’re running out of time. I need a fucking fish. A few minutes later, I get another bite! I reel it up and PHEW, I got one. I actually ended up getting a few by the end. The boat probably ended up with 20 fish. Lunch time.

We motor to a nearby island where we are presented with a feast of seafood. The fresh tuna we had bought earlier, a few of the medium sized fish we had caught, shrimp, squid, fish soup, veggies, fresh fish we had ordered ahead of time, rice, and of course, beers. Afterward, they built in time for a nice nap in a hammock under the shade overlooking the beach.

Couldn’t ask for a better day (other than catching a big fish!). Also, the entire day cost me only $100. What a deal. I’ve felt extremely welcome everywhere I’ve gone, and the staff and other travelers on the boat were no exception. On to Kuala Lumpur!

[bjadventures]

Bradley gets pegged with a volleyball

After a fairly uneventful and relaxing day, I decided to go for a run along the beach as the sun was setting. It’s gorgeous here in Da Nang, and as it gets a bit later in the afternoon, the beach becomes packed with locals who are presumably getting off work and out of school, and are headed down to enjoy a relaxing evening by the water.

After my run, I found a pull-up bar to do a quick workout. There were actually a few other guys working out as well, and felt very normal to join the locals in their after work/school routine! After their workout, the guys started a pick-up volleyball game right next to where I was. I watched on as I finished up my workout, and afterwards, they asked if I wanted to join. Sure, why not.

I join in and while I have no idea what they’re saying, every once in a while they fill me in on the score in English. These guys looked early to mid 20s, and were having a great time. Not taking anything too seriously, although they weren’t bad at the game. However, they did keep score and would rib on each other with a missed shot or an embarrassing flail. It had become pitch dark out now, and the stars lit up the sky. It was beautiful to look out into the ocean and up to the sky, seeing a bright red star (Mars is as close to Earth as it’s been in 15 years). It occurred to me that while it was getting later in the evening here, it was just starting to be the morning of the same day back in the US. Pretty cool thought thinking through our places on the Earth. Of course, as I was daydreaming, I missed a ball and the guys gave me a hard time (I think).

It started to get later in the game and it was a close one. The games are to 25, and we had been down most of the game. We survived 5 match points to tie it at 25, and then went into a see-saw battle. I really wanted to win of course, but despite the numerous match points defended, we ended up losing 32-30. THEN, I found out that the losing team has to stand under the net, facing away from the other team, while the winners chuck the ball at us. Each person on the winning team gets 2 throws. So we stood there, execution style, while they threw the ball at us one at a time. I got hit once or twice, and it doesn’t really hurt, but still an absurd sight.

We played again, and my team did a bunch better job, this time winning easily. Now it was OUR turn to throw the ball at the other players. Ridiculous.

Afterwards, we all went for a swim in the ocean, and the guys told me to be there tomorrow at 5pm sharp! 

[bjadventures]

Bradley rents a motorbike in Da Nang! Lady Buddha, Ban Co Peak and the sunset captured here 

[bjadventures]

Bradley rents a motorbike in Da Nang

Da Nang is a beautiful city on the beach, south of Hanoi. While not small, it’s more laid back than Hanoi, with a much less hectic vibe. After heading to the beach in the morning, I wanted to go exploring. One way is to get a guide who will show you around. I’m told this is about $100 for the day. Sounds boring. I ask my hotel about renting a motorbike for the day. They tell me it’s $150,000 VND (~$6.50 USD). Sounds adventurous. I’m in!

They pull up a motorbike (some cross between an scooter and a motorcycle) and for the $150k VND (and my passport as a deposit!) they hand me a helmet and the keys. Woah woah woah don’t leave me here. I need a crash course tutorial. The woman is dumbfounded. “This is your first time on motorbike?” “Yes. How do I use.” She’s shocked. I tell her it’s going to be okay, I just need the basics. She gives me the rundown (how to turn it on, the accelerator is on my right hand, you turn the lights on with this button) and tells me to go slow and be careful. Got it!

The streets of Da Nang, while more laid back than Hanoi, are still crazy. There’s a combo of pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes, and cars on the roads. And the “rules of the road” are more suggestions than anything else. Red lights? Meh, if people feel like it. Intersections are intense with people going every which way and essentially just going for it, regardless of the flow of traffic. It’s crazy.

I have a plan to check out the Lady Buddha and up through a monkey forest to the top of the mountain overlooking the city. I read about it in some blog!

One thing I notice when I get the bike is that it has nearly no gas. They tell me it has maybe 20 km on it, and I’ll need to fill up. Great!

I slowly pull into the street and it’s not so bad! Balancing is easy and as long as you honk every few seconds and keep your head on a swivel, you’re good. Honking here seems more of a “hey I’m here” as opposed to “hey get the fuck out of my way.” Lots of honking. When in doubt, I honked. If someone honked at me, I honked back. Seemed fair.

I make my way up the coast to the Lady Buddha. Glad you asked! The Lady Buddha is this massive white structure that’s overlooking the sea and the city. She supposedly keeps watch over the fisherman to make sure nothing bad happens. As I drive I’m a little nervous, but I’m getting the hang of it. I get to the buddha and now I have to figure out parking. I see a lot with a guy giving out parking slips. Looks simple enough, he gives me a ticket, points to a spot, and I leave the bike there.

The Lady Buddha is a remarkable structure. You can see if from literally anywhere in the city, and for good reason. It’s massive! 67 meters high (220 feet!) and very broad. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s an incredibly impressive sculpture. I don’t think my selfie does it justice. There are pagodas (temples) on the grounds, a monkey being fed ice cream by asian tourists, you know, the usual. I putz around for a bit, enjoy the sights, and get out of there. On to the peak for hopefully a nice sunset!

Next order of business though, is getting gas. I was low to begin with, and now it’s getting urgent. I read in the blog there should be gas on the way to the peak. As I drive, I get more nervous. The scenery has become more and more remote. There’s an ocean on my right, and a forest on my left. No signs of life. The gas light goes on. Shoot. I keep going to where the blog says there should be gas. I see nothing. I don’t even know what I’m looking for. I stop a couple and ask. They tell me there’s no gas anywhere near here, and that the only gas is back in the city. Are you fucking kidding me! So, I walk the 10 miles back to the city...

Kidding. But, there’s no way I can make it back to the city on what I have left. I’m calm, I’m calm. I take out my phone to double check the blog I read. As I’m reading it again, the couple comes back and tells me they found a sign for gas! Wooo! They tell me to pull over to the side almost right where I was and talk to a group of guys. Uhh okay. I go over and ask about gas / point to the light on my dash. The guy says he has some. He asks how much I want. Uhhhhh I don’t know, enough to get to the peak and back to the city? His English is broken at best, but after “negotiating” what sounds like a ridiculously high price, his friend arrives with a water bottle filled with what I can assume is gasoline, takes a funnel, opens the middle of the motorbike, and starts funneling in gas. Go team. Also, turns out it was way cheaper than he led on. He originally said $1.5 million VND. Which I didn’t even have with me. Turns out he meant $50k VND ($2 USD). Phew!

Crisis averted, I’m back on the road. The trip up the mountain is peaceful and beautiful. There is almost nobody around. I’m surrounded by forest and views of the ocean and city below. It’s a long, windy road, but I’m in no rush other than trying to make the sunset. I finally arrive at the top (no monkeys here), pay some random man $5k VND ($0.22 USD) for parking, and run up to the top of the trail to see an absolutely stunning view of the landscape. My words won’t capture it at all, so please take a look at the pictures in the next post. It really was breathtaking. I take in the views, and head back before it gets completely dark. The way back is filled with local couples stopped along the road, taking in the pretty sights of the sea and the city, enjoying a romantic evening to themselves. I take it in myself, but it makes me want to come back with a significant other!

All in all a really successful afternoon, and one of the highlights of trip thus far.