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Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Quảng Nam » Hoi An
February 13th 2000

Published: June 22nd 2017

Geo: 15.875, 108.336

We are currently in Hoi An in Central Vietnam. Its quite a bit warmer here so we're pretty happy about that. We flew from Hanoi to Hue on Thursday. Hue is was alot smaller and slower paced than Hanoi. The cyclo drivers are almost as persistent and we have also experienced an array of avid tour and souvenier sellers. Most of the souvenier and postcard sellers are children. It seems like everybody is out to sell you something but at least they are pleasant and friendly. They say hello and ask all about you and then hit you with the hard sell. Since we have come to Hoi An we have found its actually more fun to ask questions back and get in first. That stuffs up their sales tecnique. Its also quite nice because we have actually got to learn quite a bit about the children and their lives and they are teaching us a few words in Vietnamese. Ironically one of the first things they taught us was how to say "I have some already". So when somebody tries to sell us something we just say that and they quite often give up. The children are always happy and smiling and the ones that know us yell out our name when they see us in the street and then they come and give us a hug. We are thinking of bringing one home. NOT!!! We arrived in Hue late in the afternoon and had a stroll around the Citadel. Took some nice photos of the ruins etc at sunset and then headed off to a cafe overlooking the river for a few beers. Our boat cruise the next day was quite pleasant because we had a whole big boat to ourselves. We got scammed when we went to visit the tomb though. The boat driver refused to show us which way to go from where the boat docked so we had no choice but to hire a couple of motor bikes with drivers to take us there. Needless to say it was only about a hundred metres over the hill. They tried to tell us it was six kilometres. We knew it was a scam but what can you do when you don't know which way to go?? Yesterday we took a bus to Hoi An. The journey itself was about three hours but it took most of the day as we stopped off for a bit of sightseeing. We travelled to the coast and then over a mountain range. The scenery and the vegetation is looking more and more like Cairns as we travel south. The road was like the Gillies Range but you could see the sea all the time. It was an awesome view. At the top of the pass there were ominous looking machine gun bunkers used by the Americans in the war. At the bottom of the Range we travelled through Danang and then on to the famous China Beach and Marble Mountain. Hoi An itself was a pleasant suprise. Its smaller and slower paced again. The streets are clean and paved and not crowded even though many of them are very narrow. The houses are painted in bright colors and the Chinese influence is apparent in the ornate woodwork. And of course there are a few nice cafes overlooking the river where we can once again have a beer and watch the sunset (or just have a beer). We have hired some pushbikes today so we can get around and see the town and have a break from walking. For once there is less traffic so its not such a daunting prospect being amongst it.

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