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Published: March 8th 2007
Japanese Covered Bridge
This is my favourite. On one side is a dog and on the other is a monkey (to indicate the year construction began and was completed)Since leaving Singapore more than a month ago and 8 destinations later, Hoi An is the first place we've come across that is actually cool, in the meterological sense. You might not know this but Hoi An is the absolute last place you would want to visit for parties and crazy nightlife. Instead, it is the cultural core of Vietnam with tailors and artisans lining every street and dodgy alley. The people here are amazing as you can see from the pictures we've taken.. friendly and welcoming all the time.
Despite our short stay here, we managed to accomplish quite a bit.
We met up with our Norwegian friends for a day at the beach. Just when I thought that we would never get on a bicycle again after our tour de france at Angkor Wat, we cycled from our respective hotels to the beach which was a leisurely 4km away. Thankfully, the girls had sunscreen and the sky was cloudy so neither of our sunburns worsened. It was a lovely beach somewhat devoid of tourists (but full of touts!) and we had a great time in the icy cold water.
I have a confession to make. Usually
Chinese Temple
One of the few temples we checked out today. There's a statue of the Jade Emperor's mother inside this one. I'm not crazy about shopping and the thought of splurging on a backpacking trip gives me a headache, so it came as a surprise to me when I went balistic at one of the many tailor shops. It was a nice little place tucked deep inside Central Market with a bevy of sweet talking girls (and aunties). At first I thought of getting a pair of pants (Mom will be happy to hear this) and perhaps a nice dress shirt. But after flipping through the thick catalogue, I ended up with THREE shirts and TWO pairs of pants (Mom will NOT be happy to hear this)! Also, seeing how cheap these TAILORED clothes were, I decided to get another shirt for my brother. Total cost was a bargain at US$90. It's alot of money, yes, but these clothes fit me like a glove and I couldn't be happier.. unless they tear to shreads when I put them in the washing machine of course! These tailors have wicked skills, they can make just about any garment out of any fabric you like. You HAVE to get something made if you ever come to Hoi An.
Also we spent this afternoon
Wooden Carvings
You can see part of the guy squatting on the floor hard at work carving wood. There are wooden sculptures of all sizes but detail that goes into each is incredible. Didn't ask the price because after buying all those clothes, the last thing I needed was to blow my cash on a block of wood! sneaking around the attractions (Japanese Covered Bridge, temples, etc), and I say sneaking because there is a 75,000D (S$7.50) fee for a ticket to see them all. Lovely lovely places but I thought that they were kind of small to say the least! I enjoyed myself much more exploring the many antique shops.. don't miss out on the artisans carving wooden statues in their shops. How do they do that?!
Just an update, we'll be departing Hoi An tomorrow afternoon for Hanoi.
***And since we had so few pictures of Nha Trang, we're compensating by going overboard here in Hoi An!
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Large Toke
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Fwah! the dynamic duo strikes again in charming foreign chicas! ;)