Hoi An

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Suzanne here...

Onward and northward to Hoi An. With no direct bus from Quy Nhon, we caught the Danang bus. This dropped us off about 10km away. There were taxi's waiting. At first the driver didn't put the meter on, but having been in a taxi with Nik & Stu in Saigon when the same thing happened, we knew to insist (cheers guys!). It cost less than £4 into town. Although the driver did point to the wrong place on the map when we asked where we were. Turns out we were a couple of hundred yards from the hotel area, but as we walked the wrong way we didn't find this out until we'd walked in a big circle and ended up were back where we came from. Oh well, all good exercise. The first hotel we tried was full, the second too expensive. I started to think we might have Dalat style hell but the third was fine. We stayed at Hoi Pho hotel. Not bad for the cost and walkable to the old town.

Hoi An is beautiful, but incredibly touristy. Nearly every building is a souvenir shop, tailor shop, or restaurant. I've heard a few people bemoan this, but really they need to get over themselves. It's a pretty little town with some lovely historic buildings right in the middle of the coastal tourist trail. Of course it's going to be touristy. If you trek through the jungle and ride up a mountain on a yak you can expect something unspoilt. If you pull up in one of half a dozen air-conditioned coaches, expect other tourists.

Having said that, after the quietness of Quy Nhon we wondered if it might all get a bit much, but actually we really enjoyed it. This was helped by the delicious food we had. The biggest discovery for me was the joy of fried wantons, which we managed to have four times in three days. Fried parcels filled with pork and shrimp and covered in a tomatoey, oniony sauce. I could eat them all day. We also finally found Bia Hoi, although they just called it fresh beer. At 3000 VND (about 10p) it's the cheapest draft beer in the world, and actually rather tasty. We ate at Cafe 43, Won Lu, Miss Ly's (nice but pricy) and Phones. All were very good, but Cafe 43 was probably the best. We also drank in Treats cafe quite a lot. Normally we avoid this backpacker type place, but it had a nice vibe and happy hour was from 4pm - 10pm.

Since Bangkok I've been managing with two pairs of trousers and looking for a replacement. Now I admit I could probably do with laying off the fried wantons a bit, and I'm not exactly skinny. However, I'm a normal British size. However there is no way I am ever going to fit into the tiny Vietnamese clothes we've seen. There have been some clothes shops aimed at backpackers, but the trousers are of the baggy 'harem' variety that seems to be the uniform for backpackers. Not my thing. So, as Hoi An is famous for it's tailors, I decided to get some trousers made to measure. In fact, as the trousers I have are too big after my bout of illness and at about £11 each, I decided to get two pairs made. I went to To To Boutique. The made them the same day which amazed me. So far they seem fine, and at least they fit.

I really wish I had the time, money, and means of transport to get a whole wardrobe done. I thought of my friend Sair when I saw some of the beautiful clothes they can make, they were very her. In fact, I think a RRB trip here to get some clothes would be great. Later that evening sipping (very, very strong) £1.50 cocktails I noticed that there were five chairs around the table, the number of RRBs. Still, whether we could be trusted together with extra-strong £1.50 cocktails is another matter...

We had a good look around the old town, and got out of town to look at a couple of pagodas. I don't think many tourists make it to the pagodas as we caused a bit of interest. One old man came up to David and pointed to his hair saying 'you bitoven, you bitoven'. With a bit of miming we thought he was asking if David was in a band. Then we realised he was saying that David looked like Beethoven! I nearly fell of my bench laughing at that one. Of course David became know as Beethoven for a while after that.

Onward travel through our hotel was $5. Across town we were quoted $2.5. It's the same bus, and offered hotel pick-up, so we went with them. Then on the morning I realised that if the bus didn't show we would have to trail all the way over town to complain, by which time it would be too late. It was an anxious wait as the bus was nearly an hour late. Luckily it did show up. Although it was a sleeper bus, rather odd during the day. Next stop, Hue.

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Photos

Hoi An
Goats!