Hoi An

---

Geo: 14.0583, 108.277

Day 8: Nha Trang. Today, mostly I wandered around the town, walked on the beach, stopped at various places for iced coffee, and did a bit of shopping. I watched a man painting scenery on rice paper inside a store and I ended up buying two paintings of his. They are relatively typical--junks on the water, palm trees, sun--I think they're very pretty and I'm going to have to figure out what paintings I need to move around in order to display these.

It was pretty hot today--very little breeze so when I got back to the hotel, I decided to go for a swim. I had to check out at noon but I had put my bathing suit in my daypack. I spent a couple of hours just relaxing.

At 6:30 we had to go to the train station. Now this was an experience! The train originates in Saigon so when we got to the station there, we were able to board immediately. It was the Reunification Express and sort of new. Nha Trang was a different story. The station itself is sort of small and it was packed! No air conditioning and we were not allowed outside until they said we could go outside. The train was late so we spent about 45 minutes of standing shoulder to shoulder with LOTS of people and with all of us sweating profusely. Finally, the train arrived and we were allowed to go outside , cross the tracks, and board. This train was old. They also only clean the train in Saigon and Hanoi. Being an intermediary stop, our sleeping berth had several empty cans, newspapers strewn about. Luckily, there didn't appear to be any food remnants…I now see why it was recommended that we bring our own sleeping sheets. I had brought with me a silk sleeping bag--it's warm, and it folds up into a small pouch. I also brought my own small blowup pillow and also, I took the suggestion from Trip Advisor to pack my already worn clothing into a bag to use as a pillow. Good idea!

I had also taken my own suggestion and, while in Nha Trang, purchased a bottle of Kahlua so I could have a little cocktail (there's no ice on board and no cold drinks--I don't mind Kahlua when it's warm). I slept very soundly until awakened at 5:00 since we were coming into the Hoi An station.

Day 9: Hoi An in the Quang Nam Province: An ancient city, over 400 years old--it's very quaint, with small streets, some of them barely paved. While the motor bikes are just as noisy (these people LOVE their horns), there are mandated “quiet” times when the citizenry are not allowed to run the motor bikes. It is so funny because all of a sudden, the city gets quiet and everywhere you see people walking their bikes. Then quiet time ends and they jump back on and get right back into the swing of things, beeping away.

As in the other cities I've been to, there is a fabulous open air market. This one is right along the Hoi An River. This morning, I watched ladies balancing baskets of produce, carrying them to market. I also saw these funny looking canoes being paddled up to the dock carrying wares to be sold. A very normal sight throughout Vietnam is to see women cooking right on the street. To be honest, I haven't actually ordered any of this food (except pastry) but the smells are heavenly. I may have to break down and try something.

Hoi An is known for its fabrics and making clothing to order. I went to one of the shops--Yaly Couture-- at 11:00 this morning, picked out a dress design, had it modified (I wanted the skirt straighter and the neckline rounder), selected a fabric, got measured, and left. At 4:00 this afternoon, I went back for my first fitting. The dress was all basted together. I tried it on and, while it fit, the bust was too tight for my liking. They made a few adjustments and the dress, pale green silk and fully lined, will be ready for me at 9:00 tomorrow morning.

Later on, I wandered into a very serene looking place called “Khong Gian Hoi Ngo”. I was told this means “Rendezvous.” Anyway, it was an art gallery/tearoom/classroom. Beautiful plants adorned the balcony where I sat sipping green tea and spoke with the owner/caretaker. He gave me a tour of the whole place (several floors) and told me how they lost all of the childrens' books when Hoi An experienced a massive flood back in 2003. They are slowly building back up the collection. He showed me the gardening rooms where they are cultivating orchids and pointed out that the building is constructed of a wood very similar to ebony.

I like Hoi An. This is a very beautiful city. It's quaint and more laid back than the other places I've been thus far.

I haven't really commented much on the foreigners I've seen other than to say that they seem to be mostly from western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. They also seem to be mostly in their 20s and 30s. It's not that I haven't seen older people but it amazes me how many young people are on extended tours of Asia. By extended, I mean several months or even years. I haven't really gotten up the nerve to ask how they can afford it or why they don't work. Besides that, from what I understand, it's not exactly easy to get a work permit for any of the countries over here. Most of the people I've talked to have been to India, Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia--it seems that if it's a cheap country to travel in, they've been there.

For dinner tonight, I went to this lovely place down by the river. I ordered this salad--mangos, greens, spicy chicken and shrimp, and who knows what all served with a spicy lime dressing--it was one of the best tasting things I have ever eaten. I may just have to go back there and have it for lunch tomorrow. I also ordered spring rolls with pork, green banana, star fruit (and once again, some other stuff). These were served with a very spicy peanut sauce. Yummy.

---