Surf and "Caves"

Today we slept in a bit and ate breakfast at our B&B, which consisted of a Chinese pancake (sort of like a crepe) with eggs and leeks and some soy milk. We then headed up north to check out a slightly off-the-beaten-path surf break.

 

Some pics of our drive up the coast:

 

The Cardiff Kook has nothing on the Donghe surfer statue

 

 Finding the correct road took a few turns here and there, but we finally pulled down a long, narrow, dirt road to a semi-deserted beach.

Deserted

Black sand beach = HOT!

 

There were waves, though kind of small.

 

Since we were in a secluded area, there were obviously no rental shops, so no board for Am L Bernard brought his board and took advantage of what waves there were, while I took a bunch of pics and enjoyed the 80 degree water temps J 

 

Knee high at best

 

There was only one other small group of about 5 guys on the beach with two foam boards. They were doing everything BUT trying to ride a wave, but looked like they enjoying themselves. After we headed back up to the car to change, we saw them get picked up by a surf tour van. We were then grateful not to have paid for a surf tour ;-)

After we left the beach it was still early, and we were starving, so we scoped out some roadside snacks. We stumbled upon a small store off the main road that sold baozi (steamed buns). We bought some pork, red bean, bamboo and veggie, which we promptly devoured. They were TASTY.

Red bean

Veggie

Bamboo

 As we were eating and looking at the map, we noticed a sign for the Basian Caves, which were about 45 km from where we were. We decided to go check them out. It was about 95 degrees and 1000% humidity, so we figured some caves would be nice and cool. When we arrived, we pulled into the parking lot with a sign that read “pay on exit”. Following the instructions, we proceeded into the lot, only to be chased down by a parking lot attendant who yelled at Bernard for not paying (?!) (and btw, the sign was in English). We gave her the $1.50 and she walked away mumbling something about people skipping out without paying. Go figure. After we parked, we followed a trail over to the cave entrance, which was actually a giant staircase. So much for the caves being underground and cooler. At the bottom of the staircase we saw this sign:

poisonous bees?

 We made our way up, being extra cognizant of bees and snakes ;-) We climbed for about 5 or 10 minutes before coming to the first “cave”…

 

 Hmmm. Well, we decided to look at another one to see if it was any better.

 

 

Nope.

We decided to skip the other 6 caves and go down to get something to drink. There were a bunch of vendors at the exit and one of them was serving shaved ice - YUM! We bought a large one to share, along with a bowl of fresh mango, pineapple and watermelon. It was exactly what we needed to cool down.

Shaved ice (with red and green bean) and fresh fruit

 

After we finished our treats, we browsed the vendors and bought a couple of souvenirs – a bamboo tote and a small change purse. Didn’t take an pics, but we’ll be happy to show you in person J
During our drive back down the coast, we stopped by a local “Surf Shack” which was both a shop and a hostel.

The host/employee who was working was super-friendly and chatted with B for awhile about the local surf spots and nightlife (I was able to pick up some of the convo, though most needed to be translated by B). One of the surf spots he mentioned was literally down the road, so we decided to go check it out. Before we could leave, two local guys returned and said there were no waves. Bummer – but at least they saved us the trip.

We headed back to the hotel, quickly showered and changed and hit the town for some dinner. We quickly decided on a Korean place called “Uncle Bab” haha. We both already knew that we wanted Bim Bim Bab, but for some reason we still wanted the menu translated. Bernard called one of the waitresses over, who didn’t quite understand what he was asking. She went to the back and grabbed another worker (who may have actually been the owner) and asked him to translate it in Korean (??) As soon as he came out, he looked confused and quickly realized that Bernard was NOT Korean and that we were in need of an English translation. He then went in the back and grabbed several pictures of their dishes from which to choose. We both chose the hot stone rice bowl after all of that. We also ordered a seafood pancake. It was all REALLY good and we left feeling very full.

After we left the restaurant, we walked down to the night market for some treats and walked around for a bit. It started to rain, so we headed back to our room for the night.

Tomorrow we are going hiking at Jhiben National Park and also check out the hot springs!