So where to begin? The latest episode in our Hoi An adventure is having the girls arrive. It's only been 6 weeks since I've seen them, but that's a long time when you're the mumma bear.
Many hugs and much catchup chatter at the airport and in the car on the way back from Da nang.
And the girls, who have been eagerly awaiting the summer weather, have quickly realised, that sweating from the back of your neck, down your back and all the way to your ankles, is not really a good feeling.
Also it quickly zaps all your energy. There maybe a little sleep deprivation in there as well. As no one sleeps well on an airplane....do they?
Friday is spent orienting and introducing the girls to Hoi An town and its people.
Meeting all the makers at the workshop..having everyone look at Ali, and then me, and go...."same same"... I'm happy with that..not sure if Ali feels the same way.
And in the evening we arranged to meet with friends at Ganesh, a great Indian restaurant. Here the girls meet, Sally our O/T. Lisa our acupuncturist/ masseuse (why didn't spell check fix that, that looks wrong).. Lisa's partner Barney. Susie, our neighbour who rents a room in the same house as us, and comes to Vietnam to teach children English. Monika, who rents a room in the same house as Sally. Monika runs tours throughout Asia.
Together we are a collective bunch of crazy people in search of adventure and helping others along the way.
On Saturday we head off on rented motorbikes, with two other friends, Lan, who volunteers at Lifestart with us, and her partner Chris. Also LANs sister and twin 11yr old nieces.
So there's 9 of us, on 4 motorbikes..do the math!!!
Lan drives with me on the back, til ...surprise surprise, one of the twins wants to join us. So now I'm on the 'back' back !!
A little freaky at first, but by the end of the weekend, I'm doing the same as the locals. Not hanging on, yawning, stretching, just generally, rolling with it.
Chris had Lauren on his bike. Hang, Lan's sister had one twin, til she too, decided, she wanted to swap, and ended up between Chris and Lauren, so now Lauren's on the 'back' back too..and to top it off both girls slept on the way home, one not feeling well, so they were both dead weights, and we had to hold them upright as well as keeping ourselves and them 'on' the bikes.
Gone from 'novices' to 'experts' in one weekend !!
A little secret....I did request 'a lot' of angels to accompany us all the way....Thank you Lord !!
Our journeys took us over the Hai Van Pass...a spectacular ride over an amazing mountain range high above Da nang.
With a side trip on our way back to the giant statue on the beach. Can't think of her name...
A swim in the china sea...lots of splashing and fun.
Sunday we joined up again, and headed off to Ba Na Hills. About 1.5 hr ride, through Da nang again ( that's the trickiest bit, busy city traffic, lots of round abouts, where anything goes).
At Ba Na Hills there's a cable car that takes you 1.5 kms straight up, and amazingly when you get to the top, there's a full size castle up there that looks like something out of Disneyland. Complete with
Rides, buffet restaurants, giant Buddhas, toboggan rides, and a 3 level amusement hall.
So we ate, did rides, looked around at all the attractions....and then there was a rock climbing wall...
The "tallest in Vietnam".. Apparently.
And at the top, is a string of soft toys, and if you can climb to the top, you can try to reach a soft toy and keep it.
Challenge ACCEPTeD....Says Ali......lets not worry about the fact that we're recovering from Ankle surgery..
But the catch is..you can only pick one color of footholds to use on the climb. So we all stand there for a few minutes trying to work out which color she should pick. BLUE it is.
And off she goes, she is more determined because the guys had been a little bit rude to her when she asked about the rules, they all laughed and sniggered to each other...so it's now more about pride than the toy !!
She must be part mountain goat or monkey, coz she literally walked up that wall. And those guys just stared, and so did the growing crowd that quickly gathered at the bottom, staring up at this girl moving quickly and skillfully up towards the top....
AND ShE MADE IT!!!!
Mind you, she had to yank hard to get the toy off the string.....but she wanted it, so it came.
Very quickly the guy belaying at the bottom, released the rope and let her down way too fast, stopping just before she hit the ground.
I don't think many people take home the prize !!!
But she smiled and said...I just wanted to stick it to the man !!
I didn't mention the last bike. That was Andrew, with Ali on the back. And he did a super job keeping up with Lan the lead foot. All those hairy round abouts, people going every which way at once.
It is highly likely that we will hire bikes on future occasions, and do a bit more exploring before we leave this country.....
Again, we all made it home in one piece, although I may only be 4 foot 11 inches now, instead of my previous 5"2. I think my spines compacted from all the bumps!!!
Well that's more like a chapter, than a blog....so night night
Mumma bear xx
Hugs all
Hi Ish, Great to hear that you went to the Hai Van Pass and Ba Na Hills. Both terrific rides!
ReplyDeletehope the girls are loving it all. Best Wishes Karen