hai van pass and banh xeo

I slept in then left for the hai van pass. Most people go all the way to the next city north, Hue, but i heard the most scenic part is really immediately north of Da Nang so i decided just to do that part and turn back. The ride was surprisingly easy, i was careful and went slow when i needed to, but the road was really well maintained. I was a little worried about running into police but i didnt see any. Even though i have my international drivers license, they dont recognize it in vietnam. All the police really care about is getting a bribe anyway. I waa told by two Vietnamese sources that a reasonable bribe amount is 200,000 dong which is around $8.. the view from the pass was nice, you could see the ocean and there was a big shrine. As a started to get deeper into the pass rain started to fall so i turned around. I got back really hungry but i had no idea where i should get lunch.. A grab driver about a week ago gave me his number and so i reached out to him and he recommended a spot nearby. The specialty of the restaurant was banh xeo, a savory pancake.. wow it was so good! Im really glad i tried it while i was in vietnam, because i havent really cared for the savory pancakes ive tried in asian restaurants in the usa. It was sooo gooddd.. then i just chilled. I fly to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon!

bikini, tea house, da nang

I got my custom bikini this morning after checking out of my hostel. Im so happy with it, its so nice to have a bikini that fits well! I could definitely get addicted to getting custom tailor made clothes. I got a bahn mi at a famous shop and went to a teahouse after. Then i embarked to Da Nang, where ill spend the next couple of days before my flight back. When i got here, i rented a scooter right away to try to fit in doing the hai van pass.. but it was getting too dark out so i decided it would be best to save it for tomorrow. I ran into someone named Jun from the last hostel and we went to see the Han dragon bridge together. On fridays and Saturdays, they do a fire show where the dragon breathes flames. It was silly n cool. Another friend met up with us and we had a beer and some ice cream at a night market nearby. I tried durian ice cream.. not so sure about it. Once we got back to the hostel we had a few more drinks and stayed up talking for a bit.

marble mountain

The weather was beautiful today. I went to a place called marble mountains.. a large complex of pagodas, caves, and viewpoints near the sea. There were many buddhist shrines dispersed throughout the area, including in the many caves. The setting was very serene and interesting. Later on when i got back, i stopped by a tailor to get a custom bikini made to my measurements. Tomorrow morning will be the first fitting, im excited about it.

My Son Ruins

Last night while drinking with new friends, we made a plan to rent motorbikes and go to a large ancient ruin early this morning. I set my alarm for 6:45am. When i came downstairs, no one was there. I felt so sure that everyone flaked, which was ironic bc i almost decided to.. well they did show up! We were all very drowsy. We got on motorbikes and left from the hostel. One of the guys in our group, Josh, had never ridden a scooter before. The other guy Ryan seemed more experienced on one. The journey to the temples took us about an hour and a half, making it the longest journey ive ever taken on a moped. Seeing the countryside was really nice. The ruins were pretty cool, some were as old as the 8th century, made my the champa people. There was even a live dance performance we got to see also. After a few hours and a lot of ruins, we left to grab lunch. The boys decided to go to a tourist attraction called marble mountain and i decided to part ways as i was pretty tired. Just came back to my home base and chilled. Played some card games and chatted with people into the night.