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Published: April 16th 2009
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Real Vietnam
This was part of the nicer side to Hoi An. You see this a lot while traveling though Vietnam; kids in their school uniforms, riding thier bikes home at the end of the day. The Long, Bumpy Road to Hoi An
From Da Lat we took a nice air conditioned bus to the nearby beach town of Nha Trang then caught the over-night, sleeper bus to Hoi An; the next stop in our journey through Vietnam. The “Sleeper” bus was a new experience for us. It was a fairly new bus fitted out with sleeper pods; as many as they could fit in there plus a toilet cubicle. They assign seats/sleepers when you buy the ticket, but you don’t get to choose. When the bus pulled in (on time) we got in line (a few couples about like us but mostly a younger, backpacker crowd) and climbed aboard. We were looking for our berths and kept walking back further and further and further. Then we ran out of room and I couldn’t locate berth 17 and 18. We were now at the rear of the bus where there are 5 berths across the very back, about eye level but our numbers still didn’t show. Hey, look down! Our berths were underneath and sitting directly over the rear wheels. We shared this crawl space with 2 young girls who assured us we had the best
Sleeper Bus
12 hours on this thing. I took this from our little cave in the back of the bus... No cozy little bed-pod for us. berths as they allowed you to stretch out your legs. Of course all the berths are made for shorter Asian builds even though most of the passengers are always tourists. I felt like I was in a small pup tent as we only had about 2 feet of clearance (can you tell from the photo?) The seats were very similar to a narrow airline seat that reclines back most of the way. It was tight, hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder; and boy did we have a bumpy ride! Mike compared it to being place in the trunk (boot) of a car while driving cross country on the back roads and should have been called the “Over-Nightmare / forget about sleep” bus.
We arrived in Hoi An without any bumps or bruises but much cramped. The only reason most people go there is to get custom made clothes for less than you would pay at Wal-Mart, which is the only reason we stopped here. The place consists mostly of Tailor shops, Souvenir shops and Restaurants. We spent most of time at 3 separate tailor shops, getting numerous items made. We planned on 6 days (about 4 days too
Are They Serious?
We paid the same as everyone else, yet we get stuck in this crawl space. long) and ended up staying only 5 due to it having no charm at all. I keep feeling we missed something but even with my research I can’t find anything we should have seen or experienced that would have made our stay there more enjoyable.
We stayed at the Hoang Trinh hotel, located just at the edge of town. For only $18 (USD) we got a clean room with A/C and WIFI in the room. We did have to change room twice; the first one had this nasty sewer smell in the bathroom and the second faced the elementary school and all the screaming children attending it. The third and final room had its problems (street noise, bathroom ceiling that leaked, sad working A/C) but all in all was the better room. The staff here are very eager to help and super friendly.
The Pros & Cons of Tailor Shops
Our tailor made clothing experience was just so-so. Seemed Mike did better on shirts and I had better luck with pants. You are measured, fabric selected and told to come back tomorrow. You can ask for all sorts of details and give them specifics but don’t expect
Picking the Fabric
Kathy now gets to chose which fabric she wants. to see all of it done when you come back for the fitting. They will say yes to everything you ask; “Can I have the sleeves like this and green buttons placed here, oh and make the pocket shaped like this?” Yes, no problem. When you come back, none of this is done and they don’t remember you asking. They also love to make everything tight and with a snug, Euro fit. This did not work for us at all and we had to ask for most items to be let out a bit. A few of the tailors didn’t handle this request to well and insisted the fit was just fine; even though I was not able to move. The safest thing is to bring in your favorite item and have it copied. This worked out very well.
This City's a Drag
Our time in Hoi An was somewhat stressful, dealing with the tailors and heat. Did we mention how hot it was? Vietnam is hot and humid, but this stop was the hottest. It never cooled off here and we were always sticky. Add in the crowds and so-so food making this a place we
More Bicycles then Motorbikes
It flipped from what we saw in Saigon; the bikes dominate here. were ready to leave as soon as we could. Even the Vietnamese food was boring here. Go figure… We tried numerous restaurants and cafés but only enjoyed 2; Treat’s Café & the Cargo Club. Treat’s was an easy going, laid back café near our hotel that had decent food. The Cargo Club is a jazzy place near the river and has a very nice bakery / deli downstairs and full restaurant upstairs. Good food - good service and Leonard Cohen oozed from the speakers while we ate. So, if you’re not here for the tailors, there’s no need to stay more than a few days.
We now head to the city Hue (pronounced “Way”) and will get there via a 4 hour bus ride. That’s it for now, from Vietnam.
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Okay, I'd have bought four clay animal whistles from her too. She is TOO cute. :)