Slow day, relatively speaking.

Today was our leisurely slow day. We woke up without an alarm (still before 6 AM) ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to explore the local markets. 

We had Kem Bo twice. The last place was the best.

We saw some cool things in the markets. This little old lady sold me a snack.

And this person was hard at work grinding out the meat of coconuts in the market.

Rhis lady has mastered the art of peeling a pineapple. All you need it the world's sharpest knife and a little technique.

After the markets we took a dip in the ocean.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and went herping. Here are a few pictures of that adventure.

Tomorrow we head for home! It has been a fantastic trip.

Hue

Today we spent the day in Hue. First stop, banh mi for breakfast.

We went to the citadel and imperial palace.

When we were walking in they were filming a tv reproduction of the imperial coronation.

I love this "imperial guard" having a smoke break. There were kids on a field trip. They were so cute. We gave them hi-5s and they all wanted to ask our name and introduce themselves.

There were 14 emperor's who lived here. The 12th, who was a tool of the French, built this addition.

Not too shabby. There is a Buddhist prayer area and a traditional Chinese garden.

After the imperial palace we went to a place where they highlight the local crafts and artisan. Jammie and Tammie made paper lotus flowers and Louie and I tried to make traditional hats.

After crafting we went to lunch and tried all the Hue specialties.

Next we visited some of the imperial tombs.

On our way back to Da Nang we drove the Hai Van Pass.

Another jam packed day! Tomorrow we are taking it easy, beach and markets.

Bach Ma National Park

Today was a day spent in nature at the Bach Ma National Park.

We met the legendary Vietnamese bird caller. More about him can be see here. The plan for the day was altered by the fact that the road through the park collapsed in a landslide during typhoon season this year and will take 3-4 years to fix.

So we had to hike around the landslide instead of driving to the top of the mountain. 

Once we got around the obstacle we did some birding, saw lots of butterflies, bugs and some lizards too.

 We saw a tarantula nest (thankfully no one was home).

Jammie found a giant worm.

In the middle of the day we took a dip in the river that the block up.

We were the only foreigners there. Really a cool place, in more ways than one.

After a swim we went hiking a bit more.

We saw some more wildlife.

After another long hot day we drove back to our hotel to relax and get refueled for tomorrow.

We head to the imperial city of Hue!