A Day Tour To Cham Island
When pieces of the puzzle went missing
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📍Hoi An, Vietnam
There's something strange about writing about a day I almost completely forgot. Not forgot that it happened, just... it disappeared on me. One of my last days in Vietnam, a day tour to Cham Island that everyone talks about, and somehow it just got erased from my head.
This isn't an excuse like "the dog ate my homework." That evening, I ended up in the emergency room, and other things occupied me in the following days. But still - how can you forget an entire day?
I only remembered it when I was organizing my photos a week later. Suddenly, I saw selfies of me with snorkeling goggles, pictures of temples and cows, and I thought to myself: "Wait, when did this happen?"
So I'm writing this from hazy memory, with the help of photos and videos that remind me that such a day actually took place. Weird how the mind works, isn't it?
I woke up with a mild hangover after an evening on the city's bar street. A minibus came to pick me up from the hotel, and we drove for almost an hour collecting more and more tired and curious tourists, until we reached the port.
The place was packed with crowds of people. It was clear this day was going to be intense. We waited about half an hour until our boat was ready, and luckily, there were shops there - you could buy food, drinks, fruits, clothes, and whatnot, while waiting for life to pass.
When we boarded the boat, the guide announced: "Anyone who gets seasick should sit at the back of the boat".
That's me. Always me. I remember all my previous seasickness episodes.
Luckily, I was close to him, so I jumped to the back seat and hoped this time I'd survive it with dignity. The cruise to the island took about 40 minutes, and was enjoyable - the wind in my hair, the view of blue hues, and the back seat did me good.
When we arrived at the island, the familiar organizational chaos began. The guide gave a brief explanation that I couldn't hear because I was far from him, and around us, many more groups and guides were in the background.
I understood something about a 45-minute walking tour, or wandering freely and meeting back here.
I heard the word "mountain" and immediately decided to wander freely. I calculate my energy level like a phone battery, and in this heat, it was already at forty percent.
I followed other people who decided to explore independently, among restaurants and colorful souvenir shops that reflect the island's character. I wandered through the alleys until I reached a large square where I saw a distant temple, and another one next to it.
"I'll go see," I thought to myself. I have enough time, and I'm already here.
I reached the first temple and enjoyed the dragon sculptures and Buddha statues at the entrance, and especially the shade - even if it was just a moment of relief.
And then the sweetest moment of the day happened.
On the way to the second temple, I passed a path where cows were peacefully eating their lunch. One of them looked at me with sparkling eyes, and I couldn't help but interact. I stood there and petted her.
She turned around me and "nudged" me gently, exactly like my cats when they want to express love. A magical moment with a cow - not something I thought would happen to me in Vietnam.
We said goodbye, and I continued to the second temple, where I suddenly saw my group members and the guide. I realized this was the route he was talking about - they're just doing it in the opposite direction, quite slowly.
I saw what I wanted to see and quickly returned to the starting point. There were seating areas in the shade, and I waited for the rest of the group while trying to save some more battery.
Next stop: snorkeling. We sailed for a few minutes until we reached a bay with turquoise water, where more boats were anchored and tourist groups were already swimming in the water.
The guide said we didn't have to wear life jackets, but I already know myself. I didn't come to work hard or swim for half an hour - I'm here to enjoy. I put on a life vest, goggles a,nd snorkel, and jumped into the water first.
Wow. The jump into the water was so refreshing - exactly what I needed at that moment. As if the water washed away all the fatigue, the hangover, the weight of the heat. I felt light, refreshed, and new.
We stayed in the water for half an hour and saw stunning reefs and several colorful fish.
Before booking the tour I considered diving, but after some research I understood this isn't the perfect area for it - there aren't many fish here, and the water isn't that deep. Maybe that's why they also offer underwater walking with oxygen helmets here, it sounds interesting... but this time I settled for snorkeling.
After snorkeling, we sailed back to the island, this time to another beach, where long tables with a wonderful Vietnamese lunch were waiting for us. I already know these meals from the Ha Giang Loop tour in northern Vietnam, and even after two such meals a day, I'm not tired of it - it's still really delicious!
During the meal, I chatted with a couple from Sweden - he's a chef by profession, and she works in various jobs in communications, including a sign language interpreter. This intrigued me.
She told me she works for the government, and people with disabilities book appointments on the government website and tell about their needs - bank meetings, business meetings, doctor appointments.
She said she accompanies a deaf girl in a regular elementary school, comes to class, and sits next to the teacher to translate what the teacher says to the girl.
I told her I only recently understood that there's sign language for every language in the world, and it surprised me, even though it makes perfect sense. This conversation is one of the things I remember best from the whole day.
After the meal, we stayed on the island a bit more. Everyone was already tired from the heat, and maybe from the food, and sat in the shade waiting to be called back to the boat.
The way back was pleasant - most people fell asleep on the boat (I didn't really understand how), and certainly fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel. Me too, almost, especially when they dropped me off last after everyone.
That's it. A whole day that almost completely disappeared on me.
Funny how the mind works. How can such a day just vanish? And how does it feel to try to write about something whose feelings don't live inside me anymore, just the blurred memories and photos on the phone?
Maybe it says something about what happened to me in the days after. Maybe it's just how the body and soul protect themselves.
Or maybe it reminds me how important writing in the moment was - it was my superpower, catching moments while they were still alive. When I didn't do that, they simply disappeared.
In any case, good thing there are photos.
This video was captured with my Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses – my favorite way to share the world through my eyes and take you along for the ride.
If you're curious about them, here's the exact model I use.
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