We were planning (well, kinda) to make our next stop Nha Trang but Donna told us about Quy Nhon and it sounded more interesting so we hopped on a bus (6 hours, $15 each). We also freeloaded Donna and Ron’s accommodation research and booked a couple of nights at the Royal Hotel and Healthcare Resort.

Quy Nhon is not very touristy yet and we found communicating a bit difficult, but we dusted off our charades skills and managed to get by. The city's history reaches back to the 11th century. It's a small fishing port (250,000 pop.) and it was an important naval and military base during the Vietnam War and there was heavy fighting in the area.

But back to the bus trip. A bus ticket includes transportation from your hotel to the bus and then delivery to your destination hotel, if you have one. The first half hour of this trip was in a private car. We were dropped off at a bus station and after a 15-minute wait along came our bus. At 11:00 AM we stopped for a half-hour lunch break, and I experienced my first squat toilet. I prefer the western method. We bought fake Pringles and cans of White Coffee and carried on. The closer we got to Quy Hnon, the more garbage there was on the sides of the roads. It was worse than anything we’ve seen in Mexico. We saw many above ground crypts in the middle of fields as well as many stores selling caskets.

When the taxi arrived at the resort our jaws dropped. The lobby was huge - all marble and beautiful flowers with huge doors opening onto the beach. We decided to upgrade from a garden room ($38) to a sea view room ($48). The place appeared to be nearly empty. As we were checking in, 8 staff members were standing by, watching. We were brought glasses of iced tea, but we weren't allowed to leave the lobby with them. So, there we were, the only paying folks, trying to gulp down our iced tea under the watchful eyes of the 8 staff members.

The hotel is quite a distance from the commercial area / restaurants, so we hiked down the beach for dinner.

Greg made eye contact with a man who was jogging in the opposite direction. Next thing you know he turned around and joined us. His name was Son and he was a lawyer. Maybe. Anyway, he walked way down the beach with us to a seafood restaurant he recommended and then said goodbye. He had a million questions and was a great source of information. He may have been a BS artist - who knows? He was also there the next day and met Donna and Ron shortly after they arrived and when they were walking on the beach so maybe he's just the friendly welcoming committee. He had a most impressive 4” hair growing out of his cheek. I found it very distracting.

Son did not underdeliver on his recommendation of a restaurant with fresh seafood. The fish were swimming in big buckets on the ground floor – the tables were on the upper floor.

The next day we did a half-day tour with a guide who only spoke one word the entire time. He took us to the Thi Nai Bridge, some giant sand dunes and a temple. The highlight was the Cham Towers. There are actually 2 towers right in town but we went a short distance (25 km) inland to see the four remaining towers of the Banh It group.

We met Donna and Ron for dinner at a sketchy place. The 2 VN men at the next table had a case of 24 beer on the floor beside their table and were efficiently working their way through it. A guy drove up on a motorbike with a boxy thing built onto the handlebars. Turns out to be a portable karaoke party! The drunk guys apparently insulted the karaoke guy who drove away in a huff. There went our evening's entertainment. Greg had plans to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

On our last day we arranged for a late checkout. We went with Donna and Ron on a search for a beach and a local leper hospital. We eventually found the beach but never did find the leper hospital. The beach was deserted except for a group of school kids and their teacher. They thought Greg was hilarious!

Dinner was at yet another sketchy restaurant. We couldn't really understand the menu, so we ordered 2 chicken somethings and Ron ordered soup. When our chicken dishes arrived, they turned out to be 2 full chickens - heads included. Ron's fish soup also included fish head and tail. No cheeseburgers in sight.