Friday, 11/15/2024
Woke up at 6:00am with my alarm, but also some kind of noise had woke me just prior to the alarm going off as I was awake when it went off.
After I went on deck later, I found out that was probably the anchor going down as the ship had already moved early in the morning from our overnight anchorage to the bay outside the cave.
I showered and dressed and went up for a morning tea. The meditation class did not look that interesting and I would probably just fall asleep anyway, so took some early morning sunrise photos and relaxed on the deck for a bit.
 |
| Sunrise at anchor in the bay next to cave entrance. |
The sun coming up made the surrounding hills look amazing and the boats sometimes reflected the light nicely off the mostly white paint schemes.
 |
| Golden light reflecting off the ships. |
A few women were rowing around all the cruise ships in small boats stacked with merchandise.
They would lift items up in a net on a long pole to people on the boats if they bought something. Did not see too many buying anything and they mostly just sat along side the boats and called up now and then. Interesting job though.
 |
| One of a few vendors visiting the ships. |
You could also see much of the cave opening in the cliff from the boat as well.
 |
| Cliff face cave entrance. |
At 7:30am we boarded the tender to go over to the island dock for the cave. We were not the only boat though, a few had gotten in before us and many more were coming it behind us, going to be a crowded visit.
There are two docks, one for arrivals, and one for departures to keep the boat traffic more organized.
The cave, Sung Sot cave, also known as Surprise Cave, is a large cavern in the limestone rock that forms the islands around here. It is roughly 10,000 square meters (108,000 square feet) in area and about 1km (2/3 mile) in length. It is located far up in the cliff side, so will be a good hike up, and back down.
The cave was first noted and possibly discovered, though locals likely knew about it beforehand, in 1901 by the French when one guy slipped into a small crack to check it out and was surprised to find the large cavern, hence the name.
Today the cave entrance is much larger, likely enlarged to allow tourist traffic at some point in the past.
We docked at the island and got off the boat. We gathered into a group and then stood in line for a bit.
Finally, we were allowed up the stairs heading to the entrance, along with 200+ other people.
 |
| Doggy sleeping on rocks near the stairs heading up. |
It is very busy this early in the morning. Not sure if it gets slower as the day goes on, perhaps later in the day when most of the cruise boats have left, and just the boats for the cave only tours might still be arriving.
Was a slow hike up with all those people, but once we reached the main entrance there was a wide level space where many were stopping to take selfies or group photos.
 |
| View from cave entrance platform looking over departure dock. |
Within the cave there are 3 main chambers.
The 1st chamber is small, and not very impressive. A narrow passage will then take you to chamber 2.
The 2nd chamber is larger, has some good formations, and opens up partially to the edge of the 3rd chamber near the exit, but still a bit weak. Another narrow passage leads to chamber 3. Was starting to think this cave would be a bust.
 |
| Some of the formations in 2nd chamber (and can see into edge of 3rd chamber and the exit) |
The 3rd chamber is massive. I mean huge!
The formations are also large and quite complex. This was worth the trip. Took a large number of photos and a few videos along the walk.
At the end of the walk, near the exit, there is the booth selling the photos that they take of you inside the cave near a large formation. This is of course optional and I did not do it.
I was looking at the large cavern behind this area when I heard a kitten meowing. Looked around and saw a small kitten, and probably its mother, in a crate behind the photo booth. Not sure what they were there for, but had food and water, just a small crate. Poor kitty wanted attention though.
 |
| Kitten and mother. |
Next you hike up some stairs to reach the exit area. This cave is a loop, so you do not back track.
Outside you can look back into the cave from the platform, and then start down the cliff on the stairs. Midway down there is a small area selling drinks, food, and souvenirs.
 |
| View back into the cave from exit area. |
Here I found another cat to buy, a plastic statue, covered in small sea shells to make the details. Hopefully it will fit in the luggage, but was too cool not to buy and I need to start using up my local currency so I can avoid the hassle of changing it back.
 |
| Shell kitty. |
Down at the bottom of the stairs we walked along an elevated path hanging off the cliff, or raised out of the water, till we reached the other dock where the tenders were waiting. There were more vendors along this route as well, but selling same stuff.
 |
| The walkway from the base of cliff over to the departure dock. |
We found our tender and got on board and waited for others to arrive as our group had gotten split up some inside. I had actually moved on ahead of the group as I did not care to listen to people talk about the cave and was able to stay in a gap between groups and be less crowded.
We arrived back at the boat and went to the cabin to drop off stuff, use the restroom and dry off some as I was again soaked in sweat from the humidity levels inside the cave.
I then packed up my bags, checked the room for stuff, and then went to check out of the room, which we had to do by 9:30am. Also paid my bar tab at this time as well.
Went to brunch next and enjoyed a good meal. I ate quite a bit, but will not eat again till dinner as we will be on the road during the lunch timeframe.
I then went up to the top deck and claimed a chair to sit in while we cruised back to the port. Pretty much where everyone ended up.
The trip back took about 90 minutes, and I did several more photos along the way.
 |
| The small rock in the middle is a famous landmark appearing on back of the 200,000 Dong note. |
Once we docked, we all got off the boat and I headed for the building to use the restroom. My driver was already waiting and saw me, and wanted to get going. He told me I could use a restroom in a few minutes at the next stop.
We got in the van and to my surprise he also had my charging cable and returned it to me.
We drove down the road a bit where he stopped to unload some supplies for another cruise line, and there I was able to use the restroom while he did that.
Back in the van we then went over to another cruise port and picked up the same group of Chinese people that had driven over with me the day before.
We got back onto the road and repeated our route back to Hanoi, stopping again at that same rest point as I figured we would.
This time I did buy a box of chocolates and a drink, but nothing else interested me.
On the way into Hanoi I noticed the old railroad bridge over the river I had seen photos of around the area and tried to get a picture of it while we were on the highway bridge.
 |
| RR bridge in the distance going over river channel. |
The driver let me off first, just down from the hotel again. I walked back and arrived at the hotel about 2:00pm.
The hotel manager that had booked the trips for me, and been helpful in many other ways, saw me and inquired about the trip. I spent a short time telling him how much I enjoyed it and looked forward to the next excursion tomorrow. I then went up to my room.
Sorted the bags a bit to put some stuff away and get out things for tomorrow. Tomorrow is just a day trip, so will not be needing to take anything other than cameras.
I also gathered up more laundry to drop off in the morning and will pick it up when I return. This will mean nearly all my clothes will be clean on the flight home.
The new pair of shorts I bought in Hoi An ended up being too small and not comfortable, so definitely need to buy 1 size larger here. This meant I could not put my main shorts in the laundry as I had nothing else to wear.
I then updated the journal to get it to present time while sitting in the room to cool off since it was very warm today.
I also ate all my chocolate while doing that.
I will probably read for a bit and then in an hour go find food and buy a few drinks for tonight. No plans to go anywhere tonight either as will be another early pickup in the morning at 7:30am.
I played around online for a bit, then took a 30 minute nap.
After getting up, I decided to go back to the banh mi shop I ate at before and have another sandwich. The food was good and was cheap since my money was dwindling and I needed to have enough to get through tomorrow.
I stopped again for a few drinks on the way back to the hotel and then did some research on night clubs in the area just to see if there was anything to do later tonight.
I ended up finding an interesting looking place about a 1 km (2/3 mile) away, on the other side of the main highway nearby.
They had a roof top bar that I figured would be nice to sit and relax at for a while then perhaps hang out for some music before heading back to the hotel.
I figured the place would not get going till at least 7:00pm, as night life tends to start late here. The only other place I found was closer, but did not open at all till 9:00pm. It was also right in the middle of the main beer street, so would likely be more crowded and probably cost more as well. But will keep that option open.
I read my book for about an hour and then walked over to the club. Was a bit of a challenge as there was no way to cross the highway near the hotel. I had to walk about 3 blocks up the road to find a pedestrian bridge over the highway, then back down to where the club was, which probably doubled my walk distance.
It was an interesting walk though as the pedestrian bridge had this underwater theme with all these large ocean creature models hanging from the ceiling, and wild underwater murals on the walls.
 |
| Unique decoration of pedestrian bridge. |
Once on the other side, I went down till I could move in away from the highway and find the street the club was on. It was less touristy on this side, definitely more local use of the shops and restaurants along the way, but did see a few hotels, so I was not totally out of place walking there.
I walked down the road and kept watching the GPS, as I had read it was not well signed, but I did not see anything and found myself way past the map marker.
I had to look up the actual address of the building and then find it that way, and only then did I notice the very small neon size with just the club logo, no name, hanging from the awning of the building. It was right in front of a parking garage entrance.
When I looked inside the garage I saw a larger sign way at the back. This was the sign I had seen pictures of online.
I walked to the back of the garage to the podium with the sign, which was not staffed currently. I then saw the name on the door on the back wall and there I found the dark, creepy staircase heading up, which I had seen photos of online.
I went up 4 floors and then saw a door, but it was closed, so went up another flight as I could hear some music from there, and found the roof top bar which was split into two levels. Some light, techno style music was playing here.
 |
| View of the bar area from 2nd level and city beyond (main highway bridge over river in center) |
I looked around a bit and then went to the bar to order a drink.
This was the most I spent on a drink on the entire trip, but it was a non-alcoholic cocktail, so guess that should not shock me. I paid for the drink and then waited up on the 2nd level to find a table and wait for them to make it and bring it over.
 |
| Better view of the city beyond from the rooftop lounge. |
I was the only person here other than the staff. But was nice and quiet with some great views of the city and river beyond, though a bit hazy, so the photos did not turn out that great.
At one point I saw one of the guys setting up a telescope. There was a full moon that night and appeared he was trying to get it in view.
I went down and talked a bit with him and ended up talking with several of the staff about the place. A few other people had shown up, but after a quick drink, all left again.
I did learn that the floor below at the closed door was the actual dance club, and that they had an event going on that night with several local DJs. I decided to wait till that started at 10:00pm to see what it was like.
I ordered another drink, just a Coke this time, and sat back upstairs and played online till the time came. Lots of people coming and going, but from what I could tell, this was mostly the DJs and their friends, not customers.
I could hear when the music started up, and feel it trough the floor.
About 10:30pm I headed down stairs and into the club.
It was somewhat dark, with lots of fog machines going, and red laser light. They seemed to really like red, only a few times did other colors come across the room.
The space was not huge, but big enough to have a few tables on one side, a bar on the other, the DJ booth along the wall and room for people to dance in the middle. The ceiling was pretty low as well, but it had a great sound system.
The 2 women up on the DJ stand were trading off with the songs, so I stood along the opposite wall and enjoyed the music. A few people were here, along with some of the other DJs and their friends I had seen upstairs earlier.
 |
| Seeing red! (Horrible photo, but bad lighting for photography) |
The music was good and I enjoyed my time. I actually stayed much later than I planned, but finally left just after midnight when only about 20 people were there.
They had told me earlier the event went on till 4:00am, so guessing the later DJs were the bigger names and things would pick up then. But I had to be up early, so could not stay any longer.
I walked back to the hotel, put the phone on to charge as it was getting low, and then updated the journal.
It was probably about 1:00am when I finished, so time to get some sleep so I can be ready for my day around Nimh Binh tomorrow.
Maybe I will go back to the club tomorrow night, but I have to leave early for my ride to the airport the next day, so might not be a good idea.
I will see what I feel like tomorrow.
Goodnight!
No comments:
Post a Comment