Hoi An - A dangerous place to linger

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Day 396: Thursday 30th July - The best and worst of Vietnam on the journey to Hoi An

It may not be the cheapest or indeed the quickest method to travel around Vietnam, but I have no doubt it is the best. What am I talking about? The Reunification Express, the train line which runs north-south from Saigon to Hanoi. In some countries travelling by train is impossible or impractical, but in Vietnam I think the Reunification Express will become an integral part of my journey and therefore my experience of the country. I have read that it is a great way to meet Vietnamese people, which is harder on the open buses or on a flight, which are the other alternatives.

For the first leg of the 1725km journey to Hanoi, I am travelling to Danang in central Vietnam, almost 1000 kilometres north of Saigon. The journey takes 15 hours, commencing at 11pm and arriving in Danang in mid afternoon. My first experience on the Reunification Express is in a soft sleeper, the best ticket money can buy. I’ve paid $40 for the privilege, much more than the bus would have cost but this isn’t about the money, it’s about the experience. I am sharing a 4 berth cabin with a Vietnamese family who are going to Danang to visit another family member. It’s the first time I’ve been in a sleeping cabin on a train and I must admit to being quite excited as I wait for the train to depart Saigon. There are 3 adults and 2 children taking up the other three beds but it never seems cramped and they are really friendly, lovely people. They offer to share their food with me and I talk with the boy (he’s a man but the Vietnamese look so young) who has just graduated and started working in IT. I play with the two young boys before one of them cracks his head on the top bunk and we have to do makeshift repairs using my first aid kit. I also get a decent sleep, much better than I would have done in a bus.....I’m sold I’m definitely travelling all the way to Hanoi by train.

On arrival in Danang train station I head to the ticket office to get tickets for my journeys on to Hanoi. The one drawback of taking the train is that for the sleeping berths, in particular the soft sleeper you have to book early - several days in advance. I work out that 4 days in Hoi An should suffice and have no problem purchasing the first ticket to Hue, a soft seat, which is fine as it is only three hours north. Trying to get a ticket to Hanoi from Hue is a bit trickier. I think that 2 days/1 night will suffice in Hue but that is dependent on their being a train in the evening, which of course there isn’t. My information is to the contrary so I check the timetable before returning to the ticket desk. This time I have to wait for some Vietnamese to be served.....and wait and wait as more local people seem to push in front of me in complete ignorance that I’m there. Not content with pushing in front of me they also want to invade my personal space! I protest at one bloke who’s particularly pushy and thankfully the girl behind the desk seems to know who was here in what order and serves me before the Vietnamese who have pushed in. As the train times don’t work to my advantage I get a ticket for the day after I had wanted for the Hue to Hanoi journey. There is one obvious train to get, one that leaves Hue in mid afternoon and arrives at 8am the following day as the other options have you arriving late in the evening or in the middle of the night. Probably because it has the best times it is the hardest to get the seat you want and even though I’m booking a week in advance I can only get a hard sleeper. It’s no big deal, I checked them out on the train journey to Danang and it is 6 beds to a cabin rather than 4 and the mattresses are quite as thick. On the plus side it is cheaper.

Having sorted my journey’s on to Hanoi, I leave the train station and get on the back of a motorbike to take me to the bus station as I want to be in Hoi An not Danang. We never make it to the bus station as my driver spots the bus on the other carriageway as we make our way through Danang, Vietnam’s fourth largest city. He turns around and before long we catch up with it and I climb aboard. Soon I’m in my next unsavoury incident with the Vietnamese as the bus conductor tries to rip me off. She wants 30,000 Dong (£1) for the ticket, when I think the real price is 10,000 Dong. Even if there is a foreigner price it should be no more than 20,000 Dong, but because I didn’t get on at the bus station she’s trying it on. After our first argument I just ignore her until she starts talking reasonably. Before long though she’s threatening to throw me off the bus if I don’t pay 20,000 Dong. I have no alternative but to cough up the cash but the incident leaves a bad impression.

It takes an hour to reach Hoi An. I find a nice hotel soon enough, again one of the best I’ve stayed at in Southeast Asia but the prices in Vietnam are double those of Laos and Cambodia and I think only Malaysia and Singapore were more expensive. I can’t be bothered to look around the town with what remains of the day. A busy last week at the Angkor Temples, Saigon and then the Mekong Delta have worn me out and the unsavoury incidents of the last 24 hours (rigged taxi meter, nearly being thrown off the bus and the train ticket office experience) haven’t helped either and I’m looking forward to a few quiet days in Hoi An to regain my energy levels.

Day 397: Friday 31st July - Wandering Hoi An’s ancient streets and finding a shopping mecca

Hoi An is Vietnam’s yesteryear, a charming old town that was an important trading port in the 16th and 17th centuries. Influences from the Chinese, Japanese and European cultures are well preserved in the architecture. Roaming its narrow streets and lanes gives a good impression of what an Oriental city would have been like in the middle ages. To experience this World Heritage site, the Hoi An tourist services have introduced a ticket which allows you entrance to one museum, one old house, one assembly hall, a traditional music concert and the Japanese Bridge or a temple. For 75,000 Dong (£2.50) the ticket isn’t much but is pricey in comparison to Saigon’s tourist attractions, more so when most of the places to visit turn out to be disappointing. You could visit the Japanese bridge without a ticket; the museum I visit isn’t interesting and the exhibits that are worth spending more than a moment over are poorly labelled in English; the old house is no comparison to the excellent ones I saw in Georgetown, Malaysia; the assembly hall is okay but I’ve seen plenty in Georgetown also.

The highlight of the ticket is wandering the streets and you can do this without paying for a ticket. The streets of the old town are lined with tailors, home furnishings shops, art galleries, nice restaurants and lanterns and it oozes sophistication and charm. Seeing the lanterns sparks off something I’ve read about Hoi An celebrating a full-moon festival when all the lanterns are lit. I enquire at the hotel later and find out that it is in four days time, just after I will have left...typical!

Above it being a charming, ancient town, Hoi An is a shopping Mecca. The clothing is exquisite and beautiful. You name it and you can get it tailored in some fabulous cloths. A tailored suit will set you back less than a $100, many items much less. You could furnish a house from top to bottom with no effort as there’s some great home furnishings to buy. The art in the many galleries is also top quality. The danger as ever in a place like this in on the bank balance. I’m not in the mood today as I’m still feeling a bit under the weather but I’m a bit concerned as to the consequences when I am in the mood!

I return to the old town in the afternoon to watch the traditional music concert which is good and is just the right length at 15 minutes before I pass out from the heat in the room. Now to get myself right, and get in the mood........

Day 397: Saturday 1st August - Taking the plunge and getting a suit made

A bit foolishly maybe, yesterday afternoon I paid for a tour to My Son. I say foolish because the tour starts at 8am and I could do with more rest in my current state. Also as I sit on the bus I’m thinking I don’t really want to be here, the temples will seem lame in comparison to Angkor and the last place I want to be is in and amongst the crowds.

It takes an hour to reach My Son, set within the jungle. The ruins are the remains of the ancient Cham empire from Java and date as far back as the fourth century. The setting is special but the ruins are fairly ordinary. How do you compete with the wonder of Angkor, where I visited just over a week ago? Simply, the only way is down. The setting is spoilt by the hordes of tour groups that converge on the site at the same time and almost as soon as I arrive, I want to leave. It’s uncomfortably hot which makes it worse.
Back in Hoi An I try another of its specialities, Mi Quang. Like the most famous dish Cao Lau which I tried two days ago it is a variation on the pork and noodles theme. I’m not too impressed, maybe I’m just getting sick of Southeast Asian food? I don’t know if it’s eating these two meals at the same restaurant but my stomach has been upset since I arrived.

In the afternoon I go clothes shopping. I can’t come all the way to Hoi An and not get a tailor-made suit, the thing this place is famous for. Although every other shop seems to be a tailors and you have literally got the choice of dozens of different tailors, choosing one isn’t easy. They all offer similar fabrics, at a range of prices and nothing is jumping out at me. I have to abort my first shopping trip unsuccessfully due to my upset stomach! When I return from my hotel there are dark clouds overhead and I vow that whichever tailor’s I’m in when the heavens open is where I will choose to get my suit made! A bit of a strange way to choose a suit but I need some form of inspiration. I have to buy one today so they will have time to make it for me before I leave. Soon enough it starts pouring down and there is no possibility of leaving the tailors I’m in without getting soaked. The salesgirls in the shop are nice and not too pushy and give me a good feeling but none of the fabrics are jumping out. In the end I opt for a navy-blue pinstripe suit for just $68 (£40). I hope my irrational decision making process pays off when I pick it up tomorrow.

In the evening I familiarise myself with one of the great things about Vietnam - Bia Hoi. It is home-brew and IT IS CHEAP - just 4000 Dong (14 pence) a glass. I could get inebriated for a couple of quid, but I’ll save that experience for another night and end up being much too civilised with the temptation at hand!

Day 398: Sunday 2nd August - Sod the beach....I want to shop!

I was going to go to the nearby Cua Dai beach today but knock that idea on the head. In a way it’s a bit of a shame as this was my opportunity to take in a Vietnamese beach and with 2500km of coastline, missing the beaches seems a waste. I also don’t know when I’ll next be on the beach....India maybe?......not for a while though. I pass on the opportunity because it is approaching midday by the time I have had my first fitting for the suit. I like it, and I’m impressed with the quality but I ask for a few alterations on the jacket as it is a bit tight. I’d better allow for me to put a few pounds back on in the UK when I’m eating better and probably less active! I could still make the beach though - it usually rains about 4pm here but that would give me a few hours down there. However, this is Hoi An and there is some shopping to be done!!!!

And the shopping. I’ve already mentioned how good it is above, but I’m now in the mood and it’s time to loosen those purse strings (figuratively speaking of course as you’ll be glad to know I don’t own a purse with strings!!). I have a great afternoon, first browsing the many clothes shops, art galleries and home furnishing shops, then bargaining with the Vietnamese who are all friendly and finally after I’ve had a late lunch sealing the deals and parting with a few million Dong. To add to my tailored suit, I buy a Vietnamese hat, some cushion covers, some ornamental plates, a silk tie, a Che Guevara painting on rice paper and a Kimono. Including the tailored suit I still would have change from a £100! I just wonder how much it will cost to post home tomorrow?

You could go on a crazy spending spree here in Hoi An and maybe I did, but I have a feeling I’ll regret not buying more when I get home, but without a job and therefore a source of income, £100 is plenty. Some of the art I really liked was several hundred dollars - the oil paintings and the lacquered egg shell paintings in particular - but that will have to wait for another time as I can’t justify that big a spend. If I was here for a few weeks on a holiday from work then it would be a different story.

I time my shopping spree perfectly, as I’m walking home the temperature drops and the wind picks up which in Southeast Asia is a sure sign that it is going to pour down in a matter of minutes. I don’t want to get caught out in the rain with all my purchases but thankfully I make it back to the guesthouse before the heavens open. I return into the old town to get my second fitting in the evening and the suit looks good. I’m pleased the weather intervened at the right time yesterday! The tailor has done a grand job and Wun and her auntie are lovely.

I’ve loved Hoi An, it’s up there with my favourite towns in Southeast Asia, in fact it might just be my favourite. I arrived in Vietnam wanting to get to China as quickly as possible, but this town has got under my skin. I could stay longer, but if I don’t move on, I’ll soon have whittled my bank balance down to zero! It’s narrow, ancient streets are pretty but Hoi An is all about its shopping. It is also a great place to chill out, taking advantage of a town which is Vietnam in slow motion and Vietnam’s yesteryear at the same time. I’ve enjoyed having some ‘me’ time, I haven’t had the urge to want to make some friends here. I feel much more full of energy than when I arrived, so Hoi An has had the desired effect in that respect. The only thing I wish I could have changed is to have gone to the beach yesterday rather than My Son, otherwise I’ve absolutely loved this charming little town.

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Comments

[Eddie]

Shopping in Hoi An
I don't normally make shopping a part of my travels, but I have set aside a few hundred dollars to buy a suit and some nice clothing when I'm there in a few weeks. How easy was it to post your goods back home, and what did it cost? Will I be able to do this on a Saturday? (If the post office is only open on weekdays, do you think perhaps I could pay someone at my hotel to make the arrangements?)