My favorite town so far!


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Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Quảng Nam » Hoi An
May 4th 2008
Published: May 4th 2008
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Hoi An must be my favorite town so far. The journey there was very pleasent as we were on a sleeper bus and didn't make any stops to pick up locals. When we arrived I had a few ideas of places to stay but only one was near where the bus let us off. After wandering around some motorbike taxi guys promised us a great place for $12. Usually we stay away from these guys but this time we made and excellent decision. I can't remember the spelling of the place and will have to look it up to give raving reviews but its something like Phuok An hotel. For $15 we had a large room with a fridge, tv and very comfortable bed. The best part was that our sliding glass door opened up to the pool!
It was awsome. The pool area was open all hours so in the evenings we took midnight swims. This place alone could've kept me in town for weeks.
We spent the first evening exploring the town and checking out a few bars. The area is light up with Chinese style lights along the river and is gorgeous. Our guest house provided free bikes so we rode out to the beach and had a great day of swimming and sunbathing. Along the beach are several very fancy hotels and as we passed one we stopped to use the restroom. We then decided to hop in for a quick swim. We got away with it for a fantastic 10 minutes before an employee asked which room we were in and then requesting $10 each to swim in the pool. At that we were on our way down the beach where we swam some more and enjoyed a chilled beverage while watching the young Vietnamese swim in their clothing.
On the ride back we were beginning to feel our sunburns and stopped at a cafe for lunch and cold water. We relaxed the rest of the evening and enjoyed what was to become a regular late night swim.
I'd been fighting off a cold so I spent the next day recovering and reading while Alex biked all over the city and played "hop over the kid" on his bike. The kids loved the tall Westerner. We went to a great bar called "Tum-Tum" where many expats and students seem to hang out and then got up late in the morning to have a swim. I also got a facial, head massage, and pedicure in my room while Alex lounged by the pool. Being pampered like that felt so good, the cost was expecially nice. I also had a silk dress made for me at one of the tailor shops Hoi An is famous for. It fits perfectly and I can't wait to wear it on an evening out.
After spending 4 days in Hoi An we headed down to Na Trang which we had been told has beaches and nightlife. I wish we would've stayed longer in Hoi an and skipped Na Trang alltogether...

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