Quy Nhon

This morning I grumpily rose by alarm at 3:45 AM for our early morning flight to Quy Nhon. Dung informed me last night that since Quy Nhon is such a small destination, there are only two airlines that fly there. We went with the budget airline, Vietnam Airlines, so we ended up with the flight that left at dawn. Even with how early we left, the long car ride and long check-in had me worried we were going to miss the flight. We got through security at 5:38 to board a plane that was set to leave at 6:00 and when we got to the gate at 5:45, we found that the gate had been switched. Luckily the gate wasn't too far away and we made it. I went through first and was surprised to find a bus, not a plane, sitting on the tarmac, waiting for us to board and shuttle to the plane. We finally boarded the plane at 5:56 and took off shortly after to Quy Nhon.

After skipping breakfast this morning to catch the flight, we were all pretty hungry but the airline provided a complimentary breakfast of coconut pudding and sweet coconut bread. For being a budget airline, they still provide more than most American airlines do, even on a much shorter flight (1 hour, 35 minutes). We landed around 7:30

and entered the tiny airport that I assume only hosts one flight at a time. There was just one baggage claim area in the small airport and it was a quick walk through to our taxi.

I neglected to mention earlier that we are spending the vacation with a friend of Dung's and her family - a 13 year old daughter and husband. We squeezed all ten of us (including the driver) into a 7 person car and set off for the town of Quy Nhon which ended up being nearly 45 minutes away. The views on the drive were much more similar to how you would imagine Vietnam to be. We drove down small roads flanked by trees and food stands. I was hoping for some pictures of the drive but was squeezed in between 4 people and was thus unable to move to take a decent photo. Anyway, we arrived at the hotel and I got my own room! It has a king sized bed, TV, and balcony with a beautiful view of the beach.

After settling in, we went to lunch at an outdoor restaurant about 10 minutes from the hotel. The first dish was clams which were brought on a plate and were not opened. I was worried at first that they wanted us to pry open and eat raw clams but found that they had been cooked, just not steamed open. After the clams we had squid, greens, rice, geo duck and beef but I nearly fried my tongue eating just one bite. I do not do well with spicy foods. After I shoveled down mouthfuls of rice I was able to finish the meal ith bitter greens and shrimp in a mild broth.

We went back to the hotel to rest in the middle of the day then went downstairs to the beach around 4:30 to swim. There was a pool as well but the water was very cold and with the beach right there, there was no point in using the pool. Other than the obscene level of saltiness of the water, it was nice and warm, probably around 85 degrees and it was relaxing to sit in the water and let the waves carry you around. There's a huge net surrounding the swimming area apparently placed to keep out sharks and it seemed effective; I certainly didn't see any sharks (whew!). When I got out of the water Dung ordered some coconut milk for me in a raw, fresh coconut. Though it was sweet for my liking, it was cold and refreshing and certainly a new taste.

I showered after our salty swim before heading to dinner with 6 new friends of Dung's. The restaurant we went to had fish and animal tanks in the basement level where we got to choose which foods we wanted to try. They were some alarming options like turtle and they even had cages at the end filled with ducks and chickens! We ended up selecting crabs and clams for our dinner. The dinner was delicious but exhausting after such a long day.

Now I'm back at the hotel getting ready for bed. I think I'll just post

pictures tomorrow since I know pictures are more enjoyable to look at than my verbose writing... The pictures are of our lunch, the seafood choices, our company, and the largest clam I think I've ever eaten.

Thanks for reading, have a great Thursday!