Hoi An...the Typhoon (Ketsana)

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I arrived by bus...and left by boat....

The night before the storm

The rain did not stop ALL night whilst we were on board the night bus from Nha Trang. By the early hours, the whole bus was awake watching the storm outside, as we had to stop for fallen trees and hanging wires. Wesaw flooded rice paddies go by and watched as people checked their roofs, placing sandbags down. Bill boards had been blown down, some roads were already flooded and people were shin deep. The rain was just relentless. As we drove across flooded bridges and stopped to clear the way, the bus was swaying in the wind, a force to be reckoned with.

Luckily the bus stopped directly outside a hotel rather than at the bus stop because everyone just needed shelter as quickly as possible. Our bags were thrown into the lobby and luckily someone asked me if I needed a room, so I agreed to whatever price she wanted - we were lucky to get one of the last few rooms for shelter! The bus was due to continue to Hue and Hanoi, but it could not go on any further.

The day was spent inside the hotel, watching the storm unfold, waiting for more to come - apparently it was going to get worse. We braved the weather once or twice for photographs and a cafe - just to escape the hotel, but with many corrugated iron roofs around, I just didn't trust the wind not to blow them off!

Later in the day, the sign outside the hotel was blown down, and slowly the water levels began to rise. By now it was knee height in the street. We stayed in the hotel playing cards while the hotel made a killing on food and beers - it was one of the few places in town with a generator! As we continued playing cards and emptied the fridge of beers late into the evening, we realised things must be getting worse when the hotel staff began to pack up the reception desk and remove the computers from the lobby.

As we left for bed, thankfully on the second floor, we were nervous about how events would unfold during the night. I actually packed a bag with my most valuable possessions in just in case.

The morning after

At 06.30 the next day, I awoke to the echoing sound of water, similar to a small indoor swimming pool. Intrigued, I had to go and see what damage had been done. Outside my door was a set of bedding and a pile of TV's and fridges, from the ground floor rooms. As I walked half way down the stairs to reception, I saw the brown river...inside. I could just see the top of a motorbikes' handlebars that had been brought into receptrion the night before, and last nights' beer bottles were floating around. Some of the staff were wading through at waist height, amongst some fish.

Out in the street, two tourists were in 5ft of water trying to get a boat so that they could get to dry land and catch a flight later that day. To add insult to injury, it began to rain some more. Boats began to come by, and not forgetting how to make a quick buck of course, they were charging tourists for a boat to safety. We packed our bags in the dark, and waited in line for a boat, using a hotel room as reception as we checked out and were handed a bread roll for breakfast. Everyone had to leave the hotel as there was no food or electricity, and the water was still rising.

We waited our turn, and wrapped up all our valuable electricals in one bag which we named the "bag of hope" - the one piece of luggage we really needed! Luckily it was an easy boat ride once we had clambered over the bannister in reception, we took a short ride from inside to outside and to the street that had only received the effects of the winds, and not the river. Never before had I arrived somewhere in a bus, and left the next day in a boat. I know I was lucky though, thousands of people had their homes or livelihoods ruined.

Once we were able to walk along the street again, we needed to find a way out of Hoi An before the water rose further and caused us more problems. Hotel rooms were a premium so we found a taxi to Danang (transit town), about 30km away, and figured it out from there. There were no trains, but there was a very expensive flight to Hanoi. Instead we walked a long way to the bus station and found there was a sleeper bus to Hanoi. It was our best bet - to get out of central Vietnam which was worst hit. Some of the roads up to Hanoi were so flooded, I think we did the right thing, although it was a shame not to see Hue and Hoi An of course, but I'll have to come back another time when they are not underwater.

J x

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