Hoi An

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The bus from Nah Trang to Hoi An was another overnight job, and another journey with me being the only foreigner onboard. The guy sitting next to me this time was fascinated with my video ipod, which hampered my plans to watch South Park, so I went to sleep.

I awoke to flashing blue lights about an hour later, and realised that we had been stopped by the police. Seeing as noone on board spoke any English, I still don't know why we were stopped, and why we had to wait there for over an hour. All I got out of the Vietnamese guys sitting next to me was a big grin and the rubbing of his thumb and forefinger.

I decided to stay at a chain of guesthouses called Thanh Binh I, II and III. Thanh Binh I was the cheapest, although not anywhere near as cheap as my guidebook had stated. I later found that Andy was staying in a hotel 10 minutes outside the town for the same price, but had air-con and a swimming pool.

When I checked into my hotel, I went to draw some cash, and the card didn't work. I'd tried to get some money from Nha Trang too, and assumed it was the ATM, and not my card. I had about 4 pounds on me, not even enough for one night's accommodation and was absolutely shattered. Luckily I had to pay when I checked out, so had a few days to sort out a way of getting some money. When you're with mates it's different. A few times in Laos, where there are about 3 cashpoints in the whole country, we lended each other the money until we found one. When you're on your own though, and have no money, you're screwed. Luckily, after a bit of a clean and a dust, the card worked again, and has been working ever since, so I was saved. Maybe it is their crappy ATMs.

Like I'd experienced in Ho Chi Minh, where the whole city seemed to go out for 15 minutes, there were regular power cuts here, largely due to the rain, which bucketted down. I managed to nip into a shop just as the rain was starting, quite a way from my hotel, and the Vietnamese guys in the shop sat me down and gave me some Vietnamese tea, which although is disgusting, I drank anyway out of politeness. The roads were like rivers within minutes, Hoi An has a serious drainage problem. They flood here basically every year, which from what I saw isn't surprising.

Hoi An is a very pleasant place to stay. The old town has been preserved and is like being taken back in time to a Vietnam that existed elsewhere in the country a few decades ago. The streets are narrow and cobbled, and some have been closed to traffic (including motorbikes) and there's not someone round every corner trying to sell you something.

I had dinner one night on the other side of the water, looking across at the old town, which was really nice, and the draught beer was only 3000 dong, less than 10p a glass!

In order to go into some of the old houses, museums and temples around the town, you have to purchase a tourist pass, for a couple of quid. This entitles you to 5 attractions, although I just walked into a few without showing my ticket and they didn't take a coupon from me. I went to see the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Cantonese Assembly Hall, a handicrafts museum, and a few other places that I can't remember off the top of my head. Because I was waiting for some clothes to be made, I had about 4 days in Hoi An, so the ticket was worthwhile, but if it was a fleeting visit, I probably wouldn't have bothered with the pass, as the views of the building from the street are often just as impressive.

Hoi An is infamous for its tailoring, you can take any item of clothing or picture of that item to any of the hundreds of shops, and for hardly anything have it tailored to your needs. As I plan to get a job when I get home :s and only have one suit that fits me, I decided to get a couple more, with a couple of shirts and ties thrown in. I was recommended a tailors by my hotel and when I went to check it out, I saw my friends John and Sarah being measured up, they had also heard good things about the shop. It's called 'Blue' tailors, the staff are really friendly and speak good English, and the clothes are made to a high standard (although I admit I'd never been to a tailors before). So after 3 fitting sessions I have a badboy pinstripe and a black suit heading by boat to England. They say this could take up to 3 months! for delivery, but airmail was ridiculous, and I had no room in my bag.

One of the days was spent visiting My Son, which is an ancient temple about an hour away from Hoi An, arguably the most impressive and significant of its kind in Vietnam. Hoi An is either raining (mainly in the late afternoon) or baking (in the morning). My Son was very impressive, and I managed to get some nice pictures of the ruins by sneaking ahead of the group, but it was so bloody hot. I'd arranged a boat trip back to Hoi An, but decided to give it a miss (I think it was 50p) and stay on the air conditioned bus back to town.

I also had my birthday in Hoi An, which was spend looking around the old town inbetween suit measurements with Andy, who was also getting some suits made at the same place (he had also been told about 'Blue' by some travelling buddies). We had dinner in a place with possibly the worst service ever, waiting about an hour and a half for our food to come, which was crap, but we did get some free stale bread, from a bakery-restaurant! After that we met some guys who Andy knew, and I had a couple of drinks with them before heading back.

Some waiter at a place I'd had lunch at one day told me he could take me to Danang (37km away) on a motorbike for 50K Dong, less than 2 quid, while a taxi would be 5 quid. After calculating the risk for a moment, I decided it was worth the 3 pound saving, and agreed for him to pick me up the next morning, where I would then fly back down to Ho Chi Minh.

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