Gather the bird's nest (built from regurgitated spit from the bird) from the wall of the cave, soak it in water overnight, then pick the feathers and feces out of it, add a few tasty ingredients and start eating! 

After a few days in Dong Hoi, I returned to Hue . My visa for Vietnam expires soon and I need to make my way to Danang, Vietnam to catch my flight to Australia. But, first I will make a stop in Hoi An, a city I visited on my last trip to this country. You can find the entries of my first visit to Hoi An here:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/usatexan/1/1368365847/tpod.html

Hue is one my favorite cities in Vietnam and this was my second visit to the city. I think I will be back. The people are friendly. Even young people stop you and ask if you have time to speak English with them. And, the small town has so much history connected to it.

My two 'tour guides' from my last trip from Hue to Dong Hoi (in my last entry) returned to their jobs after a couple days with me in Dong Hoi. One has a friend in Danang, where I need to be to catch my flight, though, so he will go with me to Hoi An and then for a day or two in Danang before returning to Hue and his job .

Before we leave Hue, though, we stop in for a tattoo. They are very popular here in Vietnam. Phuong is a very devout Catholic and he selects a tattoo of a cross. I choose a dragon because the dragon is so ubiquitous here in SE Asia around the temples and shrines.

Our trip to Hoi An was by bus and took a few hours. We visited the Old Town in Hoi An our first day. Then, on the second day, we hopped on a speed boat to visit a cluster of granite islands that are just breathtaking, about 9 miles off the shore of Hoi An.

The islands are called the Cham Islands and until recently were closed to visitors and were strictly guarded by the military. Only the main island is inhabitied by a small village. The other 7 islands are small and covered in dense brush and rocks.

The speed boat ride was reminiscent of the one I made in the Galápagos Islands, fast and bumpy, although the trip was much shorter . 

The islands are protected and fishing and collecting birds nests (for soup) are the 2 key industries on the small island.

While visiting Paradise Cave (in the previous entry), I saw men harvesting the birds nests from the cave and saw the small swiflet birds that make the nests flying in and out of the cave.

The Chinese and a few other people have enjoyed this delicacy for over a thousand years. The nest taste different, depending on where they are found. If they are near the ocean, they have a salty, fishy taste in the soup. The birds in these areas eat mostly saltwater fish for their food.

The nests are not built in trees. They are built in caves. To hold the nest to the wall of the cave, the birds use a mixture of seaweed, twigs, hair, feathers and moss to make the nest. But, in order to bond all this together into a nest for the family, the male swiftlet birds gorge themselves on seaweed, causing them to salivate heavily . 

A bonding protein in the saliva threads spews out of the birds mouth. This saliva is the magic ingredient that forms the birds nests. The saliva, once dry, acts like a cement to hold the nest together. It takes about 45 days for the bird to make a nest.

So, if you are ever in one of the countries in SE Asia, where these birds are found, and think you would enjoy eating a bowl of spit with a few other ingredients thrown in, order some of the birds nest soup.
 
Once docking on the island, we visited the market on the shoreline. There were various fresh caught seafood for sale. While I was looking at one large, colorful crab, it was purchased by someone for $100 U.S. 

There was a small museum to visit and a pagoda. We walked through the quaint, little village before hopping another boat for a snorkeling trip.

The snorkeling was in pristine, clean, clear waters . We had maybe an hour to snorkel around the soft and hard coral and beautiful sea life! It was one of the highlights of the trip today. It was the first time Phuong had been snorkeling and that made it even more special for me. He had a great time and caught on to using the mask very quickly.

Once back on the boat we turned in our snorkeling gear and the boat headed for another beautiful beach where we were treated to a wonderful sit-down meal. It was a traditional Vietnamese meal right on the beach. What a lovely setting! 

There was time for swimming and relaxing on the beach after the nice meal. The tours in some of these countries are such a great value for the money, and this one was no exception!
 
Late in the day we arrived back on the shores of Hoi An. It gave us just enough time to catch our bus to our next destination of Danang!

NEXT: The Fire-Breathing Dragon!