The story of Hoi An and the paintings that could not be lost

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I took my first ride on a sleeping bus to Hoi An. I had never seen a bus like this. All of the seats lie almost flat and your feet rest under the back of the seat in front of you. It was great! I think it costs about $6 for the three hour ride from Hue to Hoi An. We got dropped off in front of a Phuong Hanh Hotel, who also owns the bus. Rooms here were $10 a night and Denis and Linka got a room here, and so did I, but I don't recommend it. I checked in and arranged a 4:30 wake up call so I could take their 5:00 AM bus to My Son Temple and watch the sunrise and miss the crowds. The knock on the door came at 5:10 and the bus had already left, but I didn't know what time it was, so I got up and got ready and went downstairs. Then the men who worked there got pissy with me for complaining! But one of them called a friend who called a friend who had a car, and for 20 USD I had a private car and driver to take me there. It worked out really well actually. I didn't have to go with the 25 people on the bus and there was still no one at the temple by the time I got there.

My Son (60,000 VND or about 4USD) is a Unesco World Heritage site. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by car from Hoi An. There are a lot of motorbikes on the road which slows things down a bit. The maps are somewhat helpful, but much of My Son is not clearly marked, but I think I managed to see it all. If you are really into archeology, you might stretch your visit out to two hours, but after 45 minutes I was finished. I arrived at 7:30 and told my driver to meet me at 10:00. I think he knew it wouldn't take that long, because he was waiting for me when I wandered into the parking lot at 8:45. My Son is worth a visit though.

My Son is Vietnam's most important center of Champa, and ancient kingdom. It was an important Cham intellectual and religious center during the centuries of the Champa kingdom from the 4th to 13th centuries, which is the longest period of development for a monument like this. Much of it is constructed of baked bricks which archeologists still don't know how the Cham got to stick together. During the Vietnam war, prolonged fighting devestated and depopulated the area. The VC used My Son as a base, and as a result the Americans bombed it, but that wasn't the only destructive force at work in My Son over the past centuries. It has been repeatedly pillaged by the Chinese, Khmer, and even the Vietnamese. Of 25 structures that survived pillaging, the Americans bombed about five of them. Today, the 20 structures that remain (there were originally 60) are under rennovation. Most have grass growing out of them and some are just a pile of bricks, but it was really interesting to walk around the structures in the early morning quiet and imagine the hustle and bustle and important decisions that were once made there. Well worth a visit in my opinion, especially in the early morning.

I was back in Hoi An by 10:00 and paid my driver the 330,000 VND as promised, plus 20,000 more. He made a nice profit after putting petrol in his car. I think this was just something he does if his friend happens to find someone who wants to hire a driver, but he had a nice, clean car, he didn't smoke, and he played rock music quietly on the radio! I then moved to the hotel next door because I was so pissed off about the wake up call. This was a nice place called Nhi Trung and my room was 12USD a night. It was clean, had hot water, and a big bathroom! Air con costs extra but I didn't need it. I went in search of something to eat and came across the modern and very cool Before and After on Le Loi Street. I think that was the name of it. I had a lovely Vietnamese coffee, a good pizza, and too many beers. I sat just inside so the hawkers on the street wouldn't bother me, but the whole place was open in the front. They had a cool painting of Bono in a Superman suit on the wall behind the bar. After I left I bought a ticket for the sites around Hoi An and decided to do the walking tour. Tickets are sold around town at various venues and tour agencies and they cost 75,000 VND or about 4USD and you can see one of four museums (unless they don't check the tickets then you can see more, which is what happened to me) and one of four old houses, one of 3 assembly halls, and a handicraft workshop and the Japanese Bridge, which you just walk across anyway. I enjoyed the walking tour, which took me about 1 1/2 hours. I took a lot of pictures of architecture and bought two beautiful paintings for only 45 USD. Beautiful. Paintings. On canvas. Rolled up and stored safely in a piece of PVC pipe so I could transport them back to Shanghai. More about this later.

Hoi An's Old Town is now a Unesco World Heritage Site and it is teeming with clothing stores and tailors with stunning clothes on display. They will make whatever you want in a matter of hours, or a day at the most. They have loads of fabrics and styles to choose from, or you can have them copy a favorite item you already own. Many people must have done this because most of the styles were Western. The selection was overwhelming, but Linka had three stunning dresses made. There are restaurants and bars but not and overwhelming number. Most of what I saw were tailors and art galleries. With all the paintings to chose from, I don't know how I managed to find two that appealed to me so much. They also have a great selection of handmade bags ladies. Cheap and good quality. Just check closely to make sure they are clean if they've been on display. The shopping in Hoi An is fantastic and cheap! The Old Quarter is well worth wandering around in and so is seeing the historical buildings.

After the tour I bumped into Denis and Linka and we went to have a few beers by the river before dinner. Hawkers are a bit of a problem at the river, but not too bad. We just found a hole in the wall place with cheap Fresh beer (Denis and I never figured out what that meant, but it was good) and we talked for a long time, then walked around until we found a restaurant that suited us. Our first night there we actually went to Bobo cafe, which is in my 2005 Lonely Planet and is one of the few restaurants in my book that is still there. Hoi An has changed a lot since 2005 apparently. Bobo Cafe had excellent food and service and is a small, family run place on Le Loi Street. But the second night we had an excellent meal as well, but I can't remember the name of the restaurant.

I just hung out the next day and walked around some more, bought a cool bag that I so don't need, and at 5:30 it was time for me to catch the bus to Dalat. Denis and Linka met me at my hotel to say good-bye, and I was off. Without my paintings. I had left them in the hotel bathroom in the lobby. I paniced! Crap! But we were still in Hoi An picking up more people, so I asked the guy if we could go back to my hotel and I explained what happened. Next thing I know, the guy from my hotel pulls up outside the bus on his motorbike and passes my paintings to the driver, who gives them to me! The hotel guy was off with a wave. I couldn't believe my luck. I was on another sleeping bus, this time for 17 hours, so I tucked them safely between my seat and the window. So I wouldn't lose them again. So I wouldn't leave them behind again. Both of my beautiful, inexpensive paintings. Safely with me again.

But not for long. After a sleepless night on the bus that would not stop honking its horn, we arrived at 6:30 AM in Nha Tran and had to change buses for Dalat. I grabbed my small backpack, got my big one from under the bus, and went into the travel agency. Without my paintings. Hours later on the bus to Dalat I realized I had left them behind. Again!!!!! I paniced! When I arrived in Dalat, I got a room at the hotel where the bus dropped us off (can't remember the name) for 10 USD a night, and asked them if I could call the agency in Nha Trang. I did and they said they would look for the paintings. Later, I called back. They found them. They would deliver them to Dalat the next day.

Well, that didn't happen. The saga of the paintings is to be continued...

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Photos

Eggs Galore
In the Hoi An Market

Funny sign
Describes me after too many drinks...

Mosaic in the Tan Ky House
In Hoi An

Japanese Bridge
Covered Japanese Bridge in Hoi An

Incense
Ready for the days' worshippers

Neckties
Cool display of ties

More Ties
I like the way they stand them up.

My Son Temple
Ruins of My Son

My Son
I went in the early morning, around 7:30, so there was no one there. It was worth it.

My Son Temple
Inside one of the temple structures