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Published: March 4th 2008
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After Kon Tum we climbed aboard another minibus, this time only for a five hour drive to Hoi An. Sharing the bus with us were a drunk who almost intoxicated us with his breath, two soldiers and a dog which was wandering around the floor of the bus. The scenery was once again spectacular as we wound our way along the Ho Chi Minh trail through the mountains. There were waterfalls and the hills were packed with trees, some of them enormous. Almost as entertaining as the views were the amount of animals on the road as we swerved around dogs, herds of cows and even the occassional pig.
Hoi An is the tailoring capital of Vietnam and I wasted no time being measured for a suit. I spent a bit more to get nice material and a reputable tailor and the suit came to around 90 pounds. I also had a shirt made which is really nice material. Both fit perfectly and to round off the look I bought a couple of ties and some shoes. One pair of shoes I had tailor made the other pair were already made. Allee also had a suit made as well
as two pairs of shoes and a dress and I went back to the tailor's to get a coat made. I also could not resist getting a big silk dressing gown which for some reason makes me feel like a mafia don. A big box of clothes is sailing to England as you read.
Hoi An old town is full of narrow streets and alleyways which are lovely to stroll around. Dotted around them are temples and old houses which are open to the public, as well as plenty of little shops, galleries and tailors, of which there are about 500 in total.
One evening we took a cooking class where we learned how to make spring rolls, beef pho (noodle soup), chicken with chilli and lemongrass and grilled pork with sesame seeds. Together with our Thai cooking experience we should be able to rustle up quite a feast when we get home. I offered to work as a chef at the restaurant where we had the class but the teacher pretended not to understand.
Running through Hoi An is a river, along which there are a number of bar/restaurants serving mugs of beer for only 4,000
Dong (roughly 13p). We had a relax on the balcony of one and made the most of this before hiring a rowing boat and rower to take us out on the water. It was very interesting as we floated past the market where most of the women were crowded around fish stalls. I say most as one was squatting in the river relieving herself. I quite wanted to give her a wave and a 'Have a nice one' as we floated past but restrained myself. The people who live on the islands around Hoi An are very poor with some living on small rowing boats with only bamboo mats to protect them from the elements. They try to scrape a living by fishing. The lady who was rowing us around explained that her husband is also a fisherman but she does boat trips to pay her kids through school. Even with the things we saw and heard I would think that the most memorable part of the boat trip is having to lie flat on the boat to pass under low bridges. The woman thought it was hillarious as I pretended to hold my nose down to stop it scraping
Floating Restaurant
A houseboat near Hoi An. on the bridge above.
We used Hoi An as a base to explore the Cham ruins at My Son and, wanting to beat the coaches, set out at 05:00am to get there. It was worth the early morning as we had the entire place to ourselves with only the sounds of the surrounding jungle to disturb us. It made the whole place seem so different to how it would have been if busy and the ruins seemed much more atmospheric. Unfortunately, many of the temples ruins which once stood here were obliterated by American bombs during the war, but the few which still stand or are being renovated are worth the trip.
On our final evening in Hoi An we had a walk to the Japanese Covered Bridge after realising that we hadn't taken any pictures of it. When we got there it was full of Vietnamese Bacardi employees who had been given a free holiday to celebrate an anniversary of some sort. Spurred on by 13p beer Allee tried to talk their boss into giving her a job as a drinks tester for Bacardi. Later that night she was a gin and tonic tester in one of
the bars but unfortunately she didn't get paid for her troubles.
Despite being full of tourists, Hoi An is a really nice place and it would be easy to linger and relax here for a while. With our Vietnamese visa quickly coming to an end it was time to move on though and we boarded the Reunification Express to Hanoi.
P.S. Congratulations to our 1,000th reader. We did buy a fantastic prize for you but as we have no way of knowing who it was we'll just have to keep it for ourselves. Never mind.
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anonymous
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Hello (Cousin Adam)
13p for a beer! Bet you two had been drunk after spending just a pound :). Anthony, you look very trendy in your new suit. Alle, a drinks testing job seems just right for you lol. Liking your pictures very much, agree it is a shame that most of the temples are in ruin. What other wildlife have you encountered? And what has been your two's best meal so far?