A day in Hoi An
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Published: April 5th 2007
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After leaving Remi and Anne-Line behind (see
Nha Trang? Nah!, which also contains a video), I arrived after about 12 hours of discomfort at 7am in the town of Hoi An. As is usual for these kinds of bus trips, the bus stopped at an affiliated hotel first before going to the bus station. Considering that this hotel looked even better than ones we had stayed at previously, I decided to get a room, as the only condition was that I would have to wait 45 minutes while the room was cleaned and prepared. In the meantime I could use the internet for free. After the 45 minutes, however, I was told that I would have to wait for another 1-2 hours! I said that I would never have taken the room if I had known this beforehand, and besides, I could see customers who had checked in after myself carrying their luggage to their rooms! If they did not have the capacity they should not have tricked me into accepting the room. Upon this little blast, they said that I could go downstairs to the cellar and sleep in a "rest room" (nevermind the connotations to a toilet such as the
one in the film
">Trainspotting; I was not in a mood to laugh at this little linguistic mix-up). Agreeing on this, on the condition that my room be ready in one hour, I went downstairs, where I found what was more or less a dorm room with several beds. It did not matter as I was alone and I laid myself down, steaming with fury. A few minutes later when I was about to enter the dreamless world of the comatose, someone started singing just outside the window. Unsure if I should laugh or cry, I listened to some Vietnamese traditional, unable to sleep. Then the man started drilling holes in the wall. I decided to cry.
Giving the hotel five minutes extra, I went up to the reception without mentioning the unpleasant experience in the basement. They could smilingly tell me that I would have to wait another couple of hours! I asked where the hidden camera was located, because surely this would not happen in reality, when another receptionist decided to step in and "save the situation." She got a room key out from a drawer and told me the directions, before telling me that room was
of higher standard so the price was twice that of what I had been told before. In a manner similar to housewifes being offered free Tupperware, all my adrenalin molecules flowed in a rush of blood to my head, resulting in the kind person you know as the author of this blog slamming his hands down hard on the reception desk and yelling out a few nasty phrases. Interestingly, the price of the room instantly dropped, which was not the intention behind my yelling (well, if there was any intention at all), and in a manner similar to housewifes discovering that all the free Tupperware has already been given out, my adrenalin spread out evenly across my entire body, leaving only my head to look red as I stuttered out an apology for my outburst.
This was the start of my day stay in Hoi An. Fortunately, things got better. With a population of only about 76,000, it was a bit surprising to learn that Hoi An was one of the major international ports in Southeast Asia from the 17th to 19th centuries. More or less following the walking route suggested by the Lonely Planet, I discovered that history
was ingrained in the walls and streets of the town. Being fairly untouched during the Vietnam War, many of the old buildings date back to early 19th century or before. As the Old Town is closed to cars, walking around is a fairly safe activity (scooters are still allowed on some streets) and also a very pleasant one.
Hoi An has a great ambience. The cliche of being transformed back in time felt true as I walked through the narrow streets, across the famous Japanese bridge, and along the Thu Bon River. Although there are plenty of museums, I did not enter any of them as they were quite costly and also, it appeared that one had to buy a single ticket that covered entrance to
all the museums, which was a bit too much for me. Indeed, taking photos and just enjoying the atmosphere was more than sufficient for me.
I had a great lunch at the Hong Phuc restaurant, which is famous for its fish wrapped in banana leaves. That was of course the dish I ordered, and combined with an ice cold Larue beer and the wonderful view of the river, it did fulfill my
A local
This local insisted on me taking his photo in return of money. I accepted. expectations. However, the dish that Hoi An is really famous for is
cao lau, which according to the Lonely Planet, as always, consists of "... doughy flat noodles mixed with croutons, bean sprouts and greens and topped off with pork slices." What makes it special is that it can only be genuinely made in Hoi An. The reason is that the water used in its preparation must come from the centrally located Ba Le Well! Naturally, later at night I tried this dish as well, and it was very eatable, although my preference is something a bit more spicy.
The plan for the next day was to catch an early bus to Hue, spend five hours there, and then continue to Dong Ha, an uninteresting town close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and stay the night there, before going on a DMZ tour. Unfortunately, that was not exactly what happened, but more on this in the next blog entry!
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Tran
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thank mate, Hoi An is my home town. I love it