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Published: October 1st 2007
Rules Posted at the Dong Hoi Train Station
#7 says, "Seal off the the seller, the madman, and the contagioner in the waiting room."After a late night of farewell drinks in Dong Hoi, Greg, Evi, and I woke up at 4:30am to catch the 5:30am train to Da Nang. We got to the station only to be told the train was running an hour and a half late because of last week's floods. An hour and a half later we were told it would be another hour. Finally after waiting in the train station for 4 hours the train arrived and we began the 6 hour ride to Da Nang. Once we got there and took a car to Hoi An, we checked into the hotel, showered and finally got some decent food and some beer at a street place. The train food was inedible as far as I could tell, but the spring rolls at this place were amazing. So I began my rapid unwind. I did not realize that I had not really fully relaxed since the Halong Bay trip. I enjoy work so much it doesn't feel like work, but it still brings a certain amount of stress. By my second day in Hoi An, Greg said that I seemed like a new person.
Greg is getting some work done
Waiting at the Ferry
Biking the islands off Hoi An. down here so we met for dinner with Mark (from Intrepid) and Linda who are both on that project. Linda's office was at the restaurant (called Morning Glory) and was working with the owner, so she ordered plates of almost everything on the menu for us to sample on the house. The food was incredible, especially the tamarind tofu and the "White Rose" dumplings which are a Hoi An specialty. I gorged and woke up the next morning feeling like I had a Thanksgiving dinner hangover. It was worth it though. Later that night we stopped by a crowded bar for one drink, and as I walked in, I heard Lou Reed playing on the stereo and the only Vietnamese in the place were the staff. I almost jumped right into reverse culture shock, but then I realized they had real Jameson on the menu. That made everything seem all right again and I enjoyed chatting with some ex-pats that Mark knew before we called it an early night and I fell happily asleep on the first soft mattress I've felt since being in Vietnam.
The next morning Evi and I rented bikes and met up with an Australian
On the Ferry
Biking the islands off Hoi An. ex-pat friend of theirs who owns a bar here (the Sleepy Gecko). After collecting two more ex-pat friends we spent the morning biking around the islands off of mainland Hoi An. We rode over rickety bamboo bridges, through fields and villages, and stopped a few times to have a bia hoi, visit a weaver and a boat maker, and take a tour through a new fancy house being built. No one knew the house owners, we just walked in and asked if we could take a look around. They didn't seem to care. We also stopped at a war graveyard and memorial where Steve (Sleepy Gecko owner) made friends with a wandering drunk. They were arm in arm walking among the graves and happily conversing without knowing what the other was saying ("So you've been enjoying the rice wine eh?" A reply in Vietnamese. "Oh yeah. Well I like your hat.") Meanwhile, Randy the American used book dealer harassed some cows grazing among the graves. Ex-pats have a certain unaffected crazy to them. We left the memorial after the drunk old man tried to give Evi a kiss.
Evi and I met another ex-pat friend for lunch and fruit
yogurt shakes overlooking the water. Then we hopped on our bikes to pick something up at another ex-pat's house which was about a 10-15 minute bike ride out of town. As soon as we began our ride, the heavens opened and rain drove most of the smart tourists indoors. We, however, donned our rain jackets and peddled through the shallow rivers that had been streets earlier that day. I kind of enjoyed it. Hoi An is an entirely different world to explore when you are biking through sheets of rain. The rains cleared later that evening and we went out to dinner at the Cargo Club, a fancy western-style restaurant with an extensive dessert menu. Despite wanting to save room for the dessert and wanting to try more Vietnamese food before I leave the country, I had to order the goat cheese and spinach lasagna. It was rich and creamy and delicious and worth it. I still had dessert afterwards and wine on top of it. I'm happily becoming a glutton after a summer of eating light and healthy.
Today I did the required Hoi An thing and went shopping. Most of my gifts have been bought and my
luggage has doubled. Hoi An is known for quick, cheap, and excellent tailoring, and despite my initial disinterest I became obsessed with the coats on display and the idea of coat sleeves that are long enough for my arms, and eventually I gave in and got measured. (Trying a coat on in extreme humidity almost made me change my mind.) Now I'm meeting with Greg and Evi for my last night with them before taking the train to Hanoi tomorrow. I'm trying not to think about how much I'll miss them. It's amazing how close you get to people in places and situations like this, but I also feel like they are two of those people that you meet in life that just make sense to you, and you to them, and the connection is sudden and strong. It's insane that I've only known them for two months. And it will be really sad when they're halfway across the world and not in the office upstairs.
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Jason
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Chicken in a Bag
I guess "ex-pat" is a synonym for "eats a lot," eh? Nothing wrong with going out in style, though... And that bamboo bridge is freaking awesome!! Wow. Well, it's been nice keeping up with you through this blog. How sad to be going back to being mutually out of touch with each other's lives. (sigh) C'est la vie. Thanks for sharing :).