Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue

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The sleeper bus to Nha Trang left at 8:30pm from our handy travel agent in Ho Chi Minh City. It consists of two layers of beds with three rows extending down the bus. Each bed had a small storage space at the bottom that doubled for both carry on luggage items and leg and foot position. A blanket is provided (as is the customary bottle of water) which is just big enough to cover your exposed body. Despite the cramped cnditions it is actually possble to get quite comfortable and I spent most of the bus ride soundly asleep after tuning out the horns being used in traditional style. A seatbelt is also present but as far as I can determne is more for personal assurance that you won't fall out of the bed (something that certainly felt possible around some corners :P) than a crash safety measure.
Arriving in Nha Trang I was pleasently suprised to find our bus deposit us right near the backpacker accomodation area of town meaning no negotiations for a ride into town were needed.
We finally settled on the AnHoa hotel in hotel alley won over in part by the price, the cheerful receptionist and the desire not to walk up another four flights of stairs.

Unfortunately, after feeling off for the first few weeks of my holiday, I finally hit rock botton, and was stuck in the hotel for the duration of the stay. But that was okay, as it rained the whole time, so we didnt end up going on our snorkling trip anyway. Nevermind.

Next destination was Hoi An. In 1999 it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO because of its well preserved buildings, which display a unique blend of local and foreign influences, which make you feel that you have stepped back in time to when it was a major Southeast Asian trading port during 15th to 19th centuries. The true highlight for me, however, was the tailors. With over 400 of them dotted mostly throughout the old quarter, you can walk in, pick what you want made from leather shoes to dresses and suits, and get them made within a day or two, all for the fraction of the price that you would pay in most western countries. However, finding a tailor was a problem in itself! Because of all the tourism that the tailors bring, many cheaper and poorer quality tailors had popped up everywhere, and it was hard to distinguish which tailors were better. Our hotel had its own little recommendation book, filled out by 'tourists' reporting either positive or negetive feedback. After a short perusal though, you notice how it only recommended PEACE tailors, and dissed anyone else. We soon discovered that many of the hotels recieved a commision for who it sends to certain tailors, and even the locals nearly always recommended a relatives shop, so to find our tailor I turned to the internet. After reading a few strories on travelblog, I came across a shop called BiBo (52 Tran Hung Dao) which was absolutely fantastic! I got my cashmere suit made for $70, and after it was finished I loved it so much I also got a matching skirt added to it for $25. I was so happy with it that I then ordered three blouses to go with it, which normally would be $22-25 each, she made for $17 each mostly because I was paranoid about how much I was spending. She even shipped it all back (Seamail; along with a few other items I had picked up along the way) for $20! Admitteldy, I was quoted $50-60 for a cashmere suit at other tailors, but for the service and quality of the garmets, it was definately worth the few extra dollars. And I didnt need to haggle!

For good measure I also went to a few other tailors to get some other items made and to compare. The first was directly opposite BiBo, which charged me $22 for a silk nightgown. Fabric was fantastic, and the garment was made well except for the lace, which had a rough cut along the top. Next I went to Nhat Vy, 121 Tran Hung Dao street, and got a silk nightgown made for $14. This shop looked cheap, but compared to the previous one, did a slightly better job. I had the previous silk nightgown copied twice, one silk for $14, and one satin for $12. The satin one came up perfect, and had my name embroidered on it, the silk one was okay, but she ran out of navy lace like I ordered, so she put black on it. Not really a big deal, but would have liked to have been asked first. She also made me a silk dressing-gown which was $14, and that came up lovely, but there were a few loose threads on it, easy to fix, but compared to BiBo, which spent the time to make sure everything was perfect, even picking out any faults in the fit before we did.

Next was 09, 65 Tran Hung Dao street, a shoe cobbler. I went in there expecting to spend about $20 but the price of a pair of leather ballet shoes was a whopping $38. I politely declined, I had no idea how much to expect, but I did not want to spend $40 on shoes. I sat around waiting for Ben to finish flicking through the magazine when the lady who quoted me said she would do the shoes for $30. I told her that I was only looking to spend $20, so was not interested, when suddenly the shoes became $20, a price she told me earlier was too little. The shoes were fantastic, but I was a little put off at the over-quote.

I also saw a dress I liked at '27', 42 Tran Hung Dao while walking past on my last afternoon. After a quick try (I am the exact size of all the mannequins in front of all the shops, I fitted into most dresses) I decided agains it because I didnt particularly like the low back, when the lady offered to make me a new one for $20 in 3 hours! She even threw in a cotton dress for $12 that I liked. So overall I think I did pretty well, I spent way too much, but then, when I think about how much I got for the price, it was definatlely a good deal!

While we were in Hoi An we also took a morning trip to the famous My Son ruins. We opted for the early morning tour, $5 which included breakfast, and left at 5am, a decision we made solely to beat the tourist rush in the late morning. This turned out to be a good decision, as we arrived with our small tour of 10 to have the place almost to ourselves! My son is Vietnams major site for the ancient Champa Kingdom from the 2nd to 15th centuries. The My Son ruins date back to the 4th century, and the area was occupied all the way until the 13th century. It was truly remarkable!

We left Hoi An on Christmas day to Hue which, between 1802 and 1945, it was the imperial capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty. Because of this, Hue is a popular destination for tourists laregely due to its historic monuments. We didnt really want to spend long in Hue, so we opted for a day tour ($7 including lunch) which finished at 4.30pm, allowing us to catch the sleeper train to Ninh Binh at 6pm. Our first stop was the citadel, which was the seat of the Nguyen emperors. Inside the citadel was a forbidden city where only the concubines, emperors, and those close enough to them were granted access, the punishment for trespassing being death. There is little left of the forbidden city now, but they were reconstructing it when we visited so that it will be a highlighted tourist attraction in years to come. Next was An Hien Garden House, which was a lovely little stop. But the highlight of the tour for me was visiting the tombs. We visited three in all, The tomb of Minh Mang (second emporer; construction 1840-43), the tomb of Khai Dinh (twelth emporer; construction 1920-31) and the tomb of Tu duc (fourth emporer; construction 1864-67).

We have just arrived in Ninh Binh, and plan on heading to Hanoi in the next day or so. We are hoping to enjoy a tour of Halong Bay and a trip to Sapa before heading into Laos.

Hope everyone is well at home, and sorry for the long winded account :S

xoxo Annie

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Photos

My Son
Champa ruins

My Son
Champa ruins

My Son
At the Champa ruins

My Son
Champa ruins

Church hill
On the way back from My Son we visited a Catholic church that was on the top of a hill, it was brilliant! We could even try the holy water there, which was scooped up from a well on the top.

Church hill
Going down the steps :)

Sleeper bus
Heading to Nha Trang (before I realised the horrible truth of uncomfortable beds, noise and cold cold aircon)

Citadel
Inside the citadel, Hue

The tomb of Khai Dinh
Inside the tomb of Khai Dinh - one of the later tombs with a lot of french influenced architecture

Comments

[kevin and lynette]

disappointing bus ride
my wife and i met you along the way - in sapa - and should have asked you before we got on our sleeper bus which bus company you were with. the sleeper bus we were on with camel travel was really bad. they had beautiful pictures and all on a poster at the travel agency, but what we were given was nothing less than a cramped-up, mobile coolies' quarters. the toilet was really small and the lock couldn't be locked. their blankets probably had lots of mites and the pillows they provided was brown with age and dirt. pretty disgusting when the daylight came on and you could see what you had really paid for. also, they never alight at their stipulated stops. according to the agency we booked the bus at, they have offices where we should alight and confirm the next bus out, but more often than not, they stopped at their preferred hotels, probably getting commissions for every passenger who checked in with them. and these stops were usually far from where the bus office is. their excuse: roads are too small for big bus to stop. it's their story against your logical observations.