Our bus driver had a voice that told he had smoked since the age of three, he croaked loudly like an old tree in the wind at other road users - clearly unhappy with their driving abilities. He also had the terribly affinity of leaning on his horn for apparently absolutely no reason whatsoever, I am quite sure that I once saw he beeping at a cloud.

Being ushered off of our bus (yellow one) in the shadow of the Marble Mountains was slightly ominous. It loomed high above us out of the rock and vegetation and had no apparent point of entry.

After a brief visit xploration we were pointed in the right direction and clambered (in total) up 752 steps. Not little tinky steps either, mind you! Some of there were pretty hefty!

The Marble Mountains consist of five turrets of rock that rose steeply out of the ground and have details pagodas at their summits. Brilliantly, each mountain is said to represent an element: Thuy Son (water), Moc Son (wood), Hoa Son (fire), Kim Son metal/gold) and Tho Son (Earth).

We scaled Thuy Son, which is said to be the most impressive of the five. Walking up its steep steps can be tough going but I always try to think of the labouring souls that made the steps in the first place by carrying up the huge slabs of stone that make my assent far easier.

There were many interesting points along the winding stairs and pathways over the mountain. The Ong Chon gateway looks mystical l, covered in vines and dappled with bullet holes and the Vong Hai Dai viewing platform, at the highest point of the mountain offers spectacular views of China Beach far below it.

The most impressive thing the mountain hides however is easily the citadel sized Huygen Khong Cave. Holes in its ceiling allow shafts of sunlight to pierce this ancient place while four mandarins of carved stone guard the entrance way sat astride snarling tigers. Inside this cave a gigantic stone carving of Buddha, sat cross legged and enlightened. I am in no way a religious person but the incense and smoke that swirled in the shafts of light gave the entire place a very spiritual feel, as though you were somehow small and insignificant.

Desperately, needing to get Chelsea watered and fed we tripped back down the 742 steps again and (after buying two balls of marble) went back to Nha Trang in search of sustenance.