Stepped off the cruise ship at Chan May Port around 8 AM, sticky Vietnamese humidity hitting me like a wet towel. Grabbed a random taxi driver near the gate, no clue if he understood my broken Vietnamese.
First Mission: Find Breakfast
Jammed elbows with locals at this roadside noodle shack 10 minutes from port. Pointed at some guy’s bowl shouting “Same same!” Got spicy Pho and cold sugarcane juice for like 2 bucks total. Burnt my tongue but zero regrets.
Beach Hopping Fail & Win
Haggled hard for motorbike rental – dude wanted 20 bucks, got it for 10. Zoomed towards Lang Co Beach first. Big mistake. Tons of resorts blocking shoreline access. Almost gave up until local fruit seller gestured me down some dirt path. Boom! Empty turquoise cove with coconut trees. Ditched shoes and swam for an hour straight.
Monkey Mountain Chaos
Drove up Hai Van Pass sweating buckets. Road’s narrow with trucks honking nonstop. Reaching the top lookout point? Monkeys everywhere. Little thief snatched my banana right outta the bike basket! Guard laughed and threw rocks to scare them off. View made up for it though – green mountains curling into ocean like dragon scales.
Quick tip if you do this:
- Hide all snacks in locked bags
- Wear stupidly bright clothes for truck visibility
- Drink triple the water you think you need
Lunch Hunt Gone Wild
Stumbled upon fishing village near Lap An Lagoon. Old granny waved me into her floating hut restaurant. No menu. She just plopped a bucket of live clams and squid on my table. Cooked it garlicky right in front of me. Best $4 meal ever, though spent 20 minutes washing squid ink off my hands after.
Last Mad Dash Back
Lost track of time watching squid boats bob around. Checked phone – 2:30 PM! Panic-revved the bike downhill. Hit rush hour traffic near port entrance. Abandoned bike at rental shack with 3 minutes to spare, sprinted past security waving my pass. Made it onboard dripping sweat as the horn blew. Collapsed on deck with cold beer as land disappeared.
Total damage: sunburnt shoulders, sandy pockets, and phone full of blurry monkey photos. Worth every chaotic second though.
