fri day 154

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Being woken at 5am was not in the plan! But with the Vietnamese not having too much consideration for there fellow passengers this is exactly what happened. With some people getting off - with huge boxes (fridge/freezer!?) and some new people getting on I decided now could be a good time to stretch my legs and have a wee. With the loo only being slightly less disgusting than a well used festival toilet! I didn't hover for long before heading back to my bed - which now contained 3 Vietnamese and a baby!! How did this happen!? So, sitting in the corridor as I now felt pretty wide awake! I sat and watched the passing scenery and only after asking someone in a vague looking uniform how long we still had did I head back for a lay down. With still another 4hrs to go again, I read for a bit before nodding off. Arriving at Da Nang at 9ish and not feeling too bad I headed out the other end of the station to find transport to take me direct to Hoi An. Da Nang I heard really was a passing through kinda place as Hoi An is a very pleasant place to spend a few days - apparently. As Hoi An is about 30km away I didn't want to rely on a taxi ride ( they have a bad reputation in Vietnam for being dodgy!) so opted for a friendly Easy Rider instead. The ride was nice along the coast with an old American air base being pointed out and the beach where 'good morning vietnam' was filmed as well as a nice bridge, but I got the usual trying to sell me a tour speech! I was happy to listen but really just wanted to get to Hoi An so I could feel settled. The Easy Riders seem a nice bunch and the idea is really good, but I don't want a tour and don't want to he constantly tryed to be sold one - which they all try to do! Finally arriving at my hotel and although an early check in at 10am the friendly owner let me have my room. After a much needed shower and sort out I headed out into town to see what was what. Crossing a small river I was in the center which is beautiful - full of old French colonial buildings and hanging plants along small pedestrian only streets. It felt bliss not to be constantly dodging motorbikes, cars and pushbikes - there is absolutely no room generally for the pedestrian in Vietnams cities, with motorbikes even riding and parking everywhere on the pavements! One thing to definitely get done in Hoi An is to have an item of clothing tailored - with over 400 tailors in the small town its a little tricky to choose one! But generally with good reviews and being very cheap I managed to find one. So after having my first measurements taken and choosing the material and style of outfit I was pleased and after walking through the market stopped for dinner. Walking back across the river towards my hotel passing ladies selling paper lanterns to be floated along the river it was really pretty and a nice atmosphere on the bridge. Hoi An really was looking like a very pleasant place to spend a few days relaxing.

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