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It was an exciting bus ride from Nha Trang to Hoi An. The bus was full to the brim with people and their luggage and after more than an hour waiting for people, we were finally on our way. After 12 hours on a leaky bus with not a whole lot of sleep we arrived in Hoi An in the early morning. We went in search of a cheap hotel and once found, we settled in and caught up on some sleep. A few hours later we headed out for a breakfast and managed to find the shittest restaurant possible. We then meandered through the tiny streets of the Old Town and the smelly markets. Hoi An is reknowned for tailor made clothing. It was all beautiful but we are all tight arses and missed out on this occassion. We stopped after a few hours and were going to head back to the hotel for a rest when we discovered local draught beer was only 30c a glass!!! We then got comfortable in a restaurant on the river and drank away the fatigue. The afternoon rain then set in for the evening. Hoi An is vulnerable to flooding as the river
banks are very low. In the rainy season the first 2 streets of the town get flooded almost to the roof of the buidlings. But we were fortunate on this occassion to not have to worry about catching a boat back to the hotel so we ventured out on foot. After finding our way in the rain we had a good meal and then headed back to the hotel to finally catch up on sleep from the previous night.
The next day we hired motorbikes and headed to the beach. The beach was beautfiul and lined with palm trees and beach chairs and had the usual ladies selling pineapple for a ridiculous price. The lady trying to sell us pineapples was gettings a hard time from Dave so she threatened to kill him. We finally got a pineapple from her and she then said she wouldn't kill Dave but he would die soon anyways. Nasty piece of work that one. We then did the usual and found a nice bar owned by an American man. Dave was instantly drawn to him as he surfed. Soon discoverd the guy was a bit over the top and the next day surfed a
wave that wouldnt even be half way to your knee. After a few beers in the afternoon the rain started to pelt down and we had to ride our motorbikes in the rain back to town. Dave and I were chicken and got rain coats and Lucy and English Dave didnt bother. We ended up getting just as wet as them anyways.
The following days just consisted of relaxing on the beach and cruising on the bikes. We are nosey Westerners and would just ride through the Villages where people lived. They love it though and the kids all scream Hello and run after you.
Our next stop was Danang. Dave and I were looking forward to Danang as there is supposed to be waves there and good beaches. It was only an hour bus ride to Danang and the moment we arrived, we knew it would be shit. With much difficulty the boys found a shitty, expensive place. We knew we would only stay as long as required here, one day for Lucy and UK Dave to get their Lao Visa's. We then got on the bikes and headed to the coast. The beaches we very nice, but
no surf at all. Danang was getting worse by the minute. Lucky the beach was nice to relax on and we found a great place to eat. The next day we planned to leave in the afternoon. There was a typhoon the previous week and unfortunately it killed hundreds of Vietnamese fisherman from Danang and that day they were bringing back a few bodies and survivors by boat. Our hotel was right across from the harbour and there were thousands of people everywhere, all trying to get a glimpse of the unlucky fisherman. We finally got the bus out of the town and enjoyed a comfortable bus ride to Hue. It rained the whole trip but the scenery made up for the miserable weather.
Hue was great from the word go. We arrived in the evening and after a bit of a walk, found a great hotel and a great pub. The DMZ bar would become our second home.
The next day I discovered I had left my sunglasses on the bus. So angry at myself we went to the travel agent not expecting to have any luck. It is Vietnam and the people would do you over
in an instant. But to our surprise after 2 days of trying to get them back, I did.
In Hue we took a boat trip up the Perfume River, cruised around in cyclo's and explored on the motorbikes. We found a great little restaurant called Lac Thien also. The restaurant is run by a man who is deaf and mute together with his family. The place looks like a dive but the food is great and cheap. The owner has a little gimmick with a home made bottle opener he created out of wood. He makes everyone that comes into the restaurant a bottle opener to take home as a souvenir. Hue ended up being one of our favourite spots so far. It was in Hue that we had to say goodbye to our English buddies, Dave and Lucy, as we headed North and they headed into Lao. That night we caught the night bus to Vietnams capital, Hanoi.
The 12 hour journey was another fantastic trip. A hot tip to anyone that gets on a bus. Do not sit at the back of the bus as it is on top of the engine and it gets very hot.
Everyone else was on the bus in jumpers as it was cold from the air con while Dave and I sat in a pool of sweat the whole way. It was around 6am that we arrived in Hanoi and it was as if the whole town was out exercising. In the Taxi we drove past the Lake that is the centre of the Old Quarter (main part of town) and all you could see was people walking, running or doing strange aerobics classes. We have never seen anything like before.
We got spoilt with our accommodation again. For only $6 US a night we are in a 2 star hotel, which is good here, that has all the mod cons plus a lift and a hair dryer. Top notch this one!!! The only down fall, they are currently doing repairs upstairs and they are hammering from about 6.30am-9pm, it drives you insane. On our first day here we just explored the streets and were in search for cheap tours that we want to do to Halong Bay and Sapa. That afternoon there was a thunderstorm and we came out of our hotel at night to find all the streets under
water. We ventured out in the knee high flooding in search for food. We were a little concerned that we would see shit floating past us or something as all the water ways connect to the sewerage, yummy.
Today we headed out early to go and see Uncle Ho himself. Ho Chi Minh is an Icon in Vietnam. He was a revolutionary in his time and did a lot for the country. Although we think he was a communist and the yanks may have been against him in the war. Anyways we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum today and saw his actual body which they have kept preserved since he died in 1965..
Tomorrow we head to Halong Bay and get on board a Sailing boat for the evening. Can not wait................
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