June 4, 2024
Morning Market Adventure
We decided to walk to the morning market(see on map). The road ran along the coast, and as we passed a fisherman, I made a casting gesture—he laughed and called out in Japanese, “Sakana! chicchai Sakana!” Hearing Japanese in a foreign place always warms my heart.
The market was bursting with energy. Inside, we bought squid-fish-paste tempura and other delicious fried treats—honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what the second kind was, but it was really tasty. When we pointed at what we wanted, the vendors snipped the piece with scissors, put it on a skewer, and the women standing by the fryer rushed over to deep-fry it for us. The squid tempura especially was fantastic.
Next to the market was a fairly large Winmart(see on map), so we popped in to buy detergent and bleach. My friend had spilled cola on his pants and stained them, so we needed something to treat it.
Fruit & Pho for Lunch
Back at the market, we bought fruit: dragon fruit, four mangosteens, and a bunch of rambutan—all for 90,000 VND.
On the way home, we stopped at a pho shop for lunch. We dunked deep-fried bread into the pho broth—it was unbelievably good. Two bowls of pho and two servings of the fried bread came to 131,000 VND.
Sweet Treats & Unexpected Laundry
Later, on the walk back to the hotel, we dropped into a dessert shop (see on map). We ordered frozen yogurt and lotus-seed chè, which cost 70,000 VND. The lotus-seed in syrup had a texture like lily bulbs—and it was really delicious.
Since many places didn’t accept credit cards, we stopped by an ATM before returning to the hotel. Back in our room, we cracked open the mangosteens—and wow, they were insanely good.
Then, in a moment of experimentation, we soaked my friend’s pants in bleach to try to remove the cola stain. But instead of just removing the stain, the bleach (which turned out to be chlorine-based) left the fabric patchily bleached and white. Oops.
Booking the Cruise & Heading to Sun World
Yesterday, a staff member had offered to book our Halong Bay cruise, so we made a reservation for the next day: 1,440,000 VND per person.
We called a Grabto take us to Sun World Halong (see on map). In Vietnam, Grab is used like Uber, and it’s very affordable.
Sun World Halong is divided into three zones: a pool area, an amusement-park area, and a garden zone accessible by cable car. Each zone charges its own entry fee.
A Rainy Pause & Coffee Break
Just before entering Sun World, it started raining, so we paused and took shelter at a nearby Highland Coffee (see on map). The rain didn’t really pick up, though.
We ordered a banana cake and a mulberry “babuty” (a kind of drink), and my friend had a cookies-and-cream coffee. It all came to 143,000 VND, and we paid by credit card.
Shopping for Pants
Checking the map, we saw another market within walking distance (see on map), so we strolled there. My friend’s bleached, patchy pants looked terrible, so we decided to buy something cooler for him. He didn’t want to haggle, but I jumped in and managed to shave the price down from 350,000 VND to 300,000 VND.
Up to the Hills: Cable Car & Attractions
Rain was no longer in the forecast, so we returned to Sun World and bought tickets for the cable car that goes to the garden zone. For both of us, it was 720,000 VND via credit card.
The gondola cars were quite big, offering sweeping views as we rose into the hills. One ride was a coaster where you could pull or push a lever to control your speed—it was fun! The local people loved it too, and the line was long. But I noticed people were cutting in line quite casually, and even when we tried to reclaim our spot, no one seemed to mind. It was odd: “Then don’t cut in line in the first place,” I thought, but they just did.
Another strange thing was how physically close people stood to each other in line. It was hot, so I was wearing a T-shirt; the guy behind me was in a tank top. His sweaty arm pressed right against mine—zero personal space. I’m someone who values personal space, so that made me really uncomfortable. At one point, an older man was leaning in so close that I could have touched his cheek while he did a loud video call. Stressful!
Temple Zone & Ferris Wheel
The Buddha-tower (pagoda) zone was a bit far, but it had a temple and a calm, solemn vibe I liked.
Then we rode the Ferris wheel. Since the park sits high on a hill, the wheel felt pretty tall. The weather wasn’t great, so the views weren’t “breathtaking,” but it was still a lot of fun.
Evening by the Sea: Dinner & Drinks
Afterward, we took the cable car back to the entrance, grabbed another Grab, and headed to a seaside restaurant (see on map). My friend ordered a beer—it came in a room-temperature bottle, the Southeast Asian way. Instead of chilling it, they provided ice, but he was worried about his stomach, so he skipped the ice and drank it warm.
We also ordered grilled white-fleshed fish and a sour octopus soup. The menu was only in Vietnamese, and we used Google Translate to order—translation was messy and slow, and at one point a female staff member clicked her tongue at us quite loudly.
We also had garlic-steamed clams, which came with wasabi—but this wasn’t like Japanese wasabi. It was much spicier, practically an assault on the senses.
The total for dinner came to 700,000 VND.
A Cozy Seaside Cafe to Close the Day
On the way back, we stopped at a stylish seaside café (see on map) for tea. I had dragon-fruit tea and a matcha cake—it was delightfully good. The building itself was cute, too.
Our bill came to 246,000 VND, and we paid by credit card.
