Hoi An

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It was a quick flight to Da Nang. Once landed we changed more US dollars into Dong at a very bad rate but we did it anyway, not knowing what we would get in Hoi An. Unfortunately, the currency exchange at Ho Chi Minh Airport had been closed for lunch until 1.30 pm. More research could have avoided this by being prepared.

Despite the storm that delayed our flight in Ho Chi Minh it was hot and sunny in Da Nang.

The tourist info desk gave us instructions of how to get to the Number 1 local bus that would take us to Hoi An.

It was a 2 km walk that was bearable. The walk followed a lovely lake in Da Nang but it was impossible to cross the very busy road, so we had to walk along the sidewalk beside the shops on the opposite side of the street.

The delayed flight meant we arrived at peak hour and it was very busy.

The bus stop was located near the final roundabout but we were unsure on which side of the street.

We waved down the traffic police who kindly assisted us in crossing the road at the roundabout. It felt like the traffic police were doing a something as miraculous as stopping rocks from a falling avalanche.

As soon as we saw the bus stop on the opposite side of the street we saw the bright yellow bus with Da Nang-Hoi An written on it, so we dashed across the road where there remarkably was a break in traffic.

The bus didn't wait for us and we saw that it was another 20 mins to the next one.

Luckily, a helpful woman who was standing beyond the stop selling tickets tried to communicate to us that we were on the wrong side of the street for Hoi An, so we crossed again, tried to ask people where we should wait but they didn't really understand.

Then I noticed the same woman waving to us to keep walking. After some frustration we found the stop and Da Nang- Hoi An was clearly indicated.

The next hurdle was that the sign said that the bus to Hoi An finished at 6 pm. It was now dark and 5.50 pm! Great, I thought, after all this have we missed the last bus!

I hoped that it meant that the bus left Da Nang Central at 6, so we agreed that we would wait until 6.20 pm and then review our actions.

Whilst standing at the bus stop we witnessed 3 people fall off their scooters while a stream of traffic continued to flow in their direction. When the first one fell a bottle of what may have been oil split over the road. The following two fell at exactly that spot.

At 6 pm two young Portuguese Backpackers arrived at the stop. I recognized them from our flight. They had walked in the opposite direction from the airport to try to find the bus stop.

When they realized something was wrong they did a search on their phone and walked back.

It was comforting that they had unknowingly pushed the limit to catch the bus even further than we had.

Not far after a woman with very little English arrived and we understood that there was 1 last bus for the day that she worked on.

She waved away all the cars and scooters that stopped to offer us a ride to Hoi An.

Just after 6.30 pm the bus arrived. Predictably, this woman was the ticket collector and was trying to scam a higher fare for the bus than the locals paid.

A Wikipedia search on this bus warned us that this would happen. What ever we paid I was sure that she would pocket, in any case. At this stage, we really didn't care.





It was probably just less than an hour to Hoi An. Upon arrival it was a little intimidating.

We had no sense of direction, a pretty useless map and tried to walk to our home stay in the dark.

An elderly Vietnamese man kindly offered as much help, in sign language, as he could as he saw us struggling.

The Portuguese boys were, apparently, staying near the bus station and we were staying near the "Ancient Village".

Google maps told me in was only 15 mins to walk. Remember that we only carry 7 kg of luggage so that we should be able to move easily.

The 15 min walk was down a dark lane way, so we opted for a long way around which began unpleasantly along a busy road with a narrow broken side walk but after a few minutes opened into a surprisingly beautiful location.

Once we walked into the old town all the vehicle traffic disappeared and coloured lights, restaurants, street food, shops tourists were everywhere.

The useless map we got at the airport made us very confused but locals were extremely helpful with directions. We stopped and asked about 3 times.

It would have been close to 9 pm when we walked into our home stay.

The host sat us down, gave us information, took our passports and then took us to our room. On the second floor it looked directly toward the old town over the river.

It was a fantastic room and fantastic view. Unbelievably modern with a fridge, kettle, plasma TV, aircon and balcony. We only paid about A$20 and breakfast was included!

The host said that it was her best room and she was happy that we were staying 4 nights, that was probably why we got it.

Little did she know, at the time, that we would end up staying 10 nights in that room.





We are very slow moving "Backpackers" these days. Most of the guests where we stayed moved on after an average of 2 nights.

After checking in and a much enjoyed shower we wandered back toward the "Ancient town" and Night Markets.

We had our first meal in Hoi An, "street food" in a simple but romantic setting on the river banks, outdoors sitting on the little plastic chairs.

I ate a vegetarian version of Cau Lau which was Hoi An's signature noodle dish.



Despite the thick crowds of tourists in the streets of Hoi An in the evenings we ended up bumping into these 2 Portuguese guys another 2 times in Hoi An. The first of these was in the crowded night markets

I found them interesting to talk to. I always find people who break the mold of what society expects of us fascinating.

They were travelling for 8 months with their backpacks and had some stories to tell.





As far as the food here goes. I have noticed much of what many think is great tasting food is heaped with msg and sugar. It took a while for me to realize that the introduction of large amounts of msg in my diet was affecting me negatively and once I started requesting it to me left out I thought the food tasted just as great.

The fresh fruit smoothies were very popular. With different degrees of ice and sugar in them the best of them were almost wholly fresh fruit.

Tomas, of course, enjoyed the cheap local beer that was apparently brewed daily.

There was an endless choice of places to eat to choose from. For us, they were mostly fun and sociable, as it was so easy to talk to new people sitting nearby and compare their travels and experiences.







Most of the rest of our stay involved enjoying being served the breakfast at the home stay each morning, hiding from the full sun and 38 degree Celsius heat during the day and wandering the crowded, colourful streets in the evening for food.

It didn't take long to notice that the streets and shops were completely dead during the day because of the oppressive heat, so we followed example.





In my opinion it was worth making the trip with the local bus here. It was a bit of an adventure as we intended to relax for most of our stay and other than that there would be little to write about that was a unique experience.









During the 10 days we had a few full day adventures. The first was the day that we decided to brave the heat and hire some bicycles.

The plan was to cycle towards the beach while exploring. We promptly got lost going down country lane ways lined with rice fields and palms.

Upon returning we visited a few other hotels and home stays to compare them, asking to see rooms and decided that where we were was much better than any of the others.

Despite our decision it was still a pleasant activity as it was nice to speak to the people that worked in each and everyone was so friendly.

By midday we abandoned our plans and returned to our home stay to wait until a cooler time of the day.



At about 4 pm we took off again with better directions and headed for An Bang Beach, about a 4 km ride along a busy road.

Cycling or scooting to the beach was the most popular daytime activity with backpackers.

The beach was packed with people and surprisingly beautiful and colourful. The water was warm and inviting following the bike ride.

Parking fees were charged for scooters and bicycles at this beach.

When we cycled further down the coast to Cua Dai Beach there were many more options for free parking.





This area of Hoi An was in the process of massive development. Many kilometres had been cleared in preparation for new subdivisions.

Vast areas had new luxury resort complexes between the beach and the river and several more areas showed new ones in the process of being established.

There was such contrast in this area. The crowds and litter lining the streets stood beside exclusive, gated, areas that were the size of small villages; pristine and manicured.

To me, it is such a strange concept to visit a country such as Vietnam and opt to stay in an area that isolates the visitor from what Vietnam really is.

It then provides an artificial environment that conforms to the style of similar resorts that could be any where in the world.

I wonder if the people who stay here want to visit new and exotic places but are really too afraid to allow themselves the experience.

Maybe one day I will know better. When I no longer have the energy or ability to do what we are doing now but one thing I am certain of is that I would have very little to write about when that day comes.







For now, I hope that the way we travel makes me a percentage as interesting as the occasional travelers that I meet and admire.

We are too old for it to be go! go! go! like we did 20 years ago but the adventures, people and experiences help us to continue growing and learning. We both did the backpacking in our 20's and 30's; travelling and partying though out South-East Asia on shoe string budgets. That gave us the confidence and experience to travel the way we do today and it has given us both an awareness of alternatives that are possible in our lives that other people probably cannot understand.

I think it gives us an excitement for living when we can do this and we are lucky that we have the opportunity to do it together with surprisingly little conflict.

Doing it cheaply makes the experience more of an adventure, as well as allowing us to make this more of a lifestyle rather than it just be a few precious weeks that are memorable out of every year.





Two more significant day adventures from Hoi An followed and I will write about them separately.

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Photos

House 36 Hoi An
Our Lovely Room