Unfortunately the village gets going early, and at about five thirty they started fixing the tractor right outside the house.
We got going early after some breakfast at the same restaurant, I chatted with Eric, Runnard, and Gaelle and we decided to meet up in Nha Trang that night. Today our main objective was to get to Bon Me Thout so I can catch the bus to Nha Trang at 3:30, so we mainly took to the pavement so we would get there on time.
Our one stop was at a waterfall on a beautiful river. I got very lost on the hike down (Tom had to stay with the bike) and ended up shimmying down a fallen tree to get to the water. I took a dip, read my book, and relaxed. The water was beautiful, and the waterfall up river was pretty big and was a bit too treacherous to get very close.
It took us a bit longer than expected to get to Bon Me Thout, because of traffic so we were a little rushed. I had to go to a bank to get exchange some money to pay Tom, but the first couple wouldn't take my money because my hundred dollar bill was too old. I got a bit frustrated since me debit card was packed away and time was running short, but the third try was the charm at a very unfavorable exchange rate.
We made it to the station on time and I bid a teary farewell to Tom. The bus, excuse me minivan, was a little cramped. I had the pleasure of sitting in the very back corner with my knees at my chest, and the driving made thing interesting to say the least.
I met a Dutch guy named Niels on the bus and we made way to find a hotel. We underestimated the walk a little, but eventually found a strip of hotels near the beach. After some looking around we found a very nice guest house near the beach for a reasonable price and settled in. When I went down to go out for dinner, I saw Niels sitting on the floor eating dinner with the guest house staff, and I was quickly pulled into the circle.
The dinner was a hotpot full of broth on the floor surrounded by individual plates of fish and vegetables which were continually thrown into the pot. The soup was served with rice noodles and was spicy and delicious. Unfortunately only one of the women spoke English (to a degree) so the rest of our conversations were the men forcing shots of Hanoi Vodka upon us, and Niels and I playing with the cute little girl with a rice noodle beard.
After dinner we met up with the people I met in the Village for some drinks. We had a pretty good time which culminated with very late night beer on the beach. It was decided at some point that we would meet up the next to visit the water park located on a nearby island. Exciting.
At first I was a little apprehensive about Nha Trang, feeling that it might be Phuket version two. Fortunately it is very laid back here and has a great mixture of beach and city living.
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