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Hoi An
Local fisherman John is in heaven as when the sleeper bus arrives there is no one on it. As it’s only us and one other girl waiting he has the pick of seats…he’s in heaven after his previous disastrous journey! As we set off for Hoi An we pass through breathtaking scenery - up through mountains with lush vegetation on either side of the road, not to mention some very steep drops. For the first time we also catch a glimpse of the sea and we follow the coast road for quite a while, passing through Danang on route.
After being dropped off in town we decide to walk to the accommodation that we had booked…(didn’t look that far on the map) We soon realised why they had advertised free bike hire as half an hour later we had still not reached our destination. When we finally got there it was worth the walk though as the hotel was immaculate (Grassland Hotel) and everyone really accommodating and nice to us.
On heading back into town after freshening up a bit we found the most charming old town based along the riverbanks. We had arrived at the end of a lantern festival and many
Hoi An
Lanterns on the river of the bridges and the river were still adorned with lanterns of all shapes and sizes. Even on the river itself were many floating lanterns shaped as flowers or animals, all lit up and reflecting in the water. Of course the downside of being on the riverfront are the furry animals that live on the riverbanks (yes rats!) and one or two did make an appearance as we strolled along the waterfront..making us jump out of our skins on more than one occasion.
Lots of lovely little restaurants and bars adorn the waterfront, all serving traditional Vietnamese food. At “Cafe 96” we ate the most gorgeous fish cooked in a banana leaf (certainly one of our best meals in a while) washed down with copious amounts of the local beer. It was impossible during our stay to have a bad meal anywhere and the food proved delicious in many a small streetside cafe as well as the restaurants.
We had decided to use the free bikes during our stay. By the time we got up on the first morning and went to collect them there was only one bike left. After hunting around I was given the bike that belonged
Hoi An
River lanterns to the groundsman....a very short groundsman at that as it had the lowest saddle possible on a bike!! It was obviously a bike that had been ridden for many a few years too and every rotation produced an enormous squeak..yes no bell needed to let people know I’m behind them!! So, as John cruised along the road to the beach I struggled desperately to pedal 5 rotations to his 1 (or so it seemed) whilst emitting my squeak.
After finding the beach we realised that we were at the far end of the beach and so were totally isolated. It was like having our own private beach with absolutely no one else in sight. Idyllic! After a bit of sunbathing and swimming we strolled much further down the beach and eventually came to the main touristy bit. I decided it was nowhere near as nice as our secluded bit so we headed back.
The cycle ride back proved harder as my chain now decided to keep slipping off. At one point after we had stopped to fix it again we met a group of children on their bikes who surrounded us begging for money. It all seemed innocent enough but when we tried to leave they kept using their bikes to block our path (seemed like the scene from the film “Hostel 2”) Eventually we managed to joke our way out of the situation and pedalled away very fast!! Needless to say that we were up in time to collect decent bikes the next day!
If there is one thing that Hoi An is famous for its the numerous tailor shops that are on every street corner and down every alleyway. There was always someone willing to make you a suit, sell you a jacket or furnish your homes with beautiful silks. As tempted as we were John did not end up with a new suit but for anyone wishing to obtain excellent quality clothing, hand made to measure at ridiculously low prices then this is the place to go to get it done.
All too soon we were waiting to be picked up again by our bus to head onto our next destination (Nha Trang) We were told that we would be collected from outside of our accommodation by the bus arriving into town. This proved hilarious as when the bus pulled in the owners obviously have some deal with the bus companies to entice new holidaymakers to stay at this particular accommodation. Before we are allowed onto the bus we are asked to help recruit newcomers by telling them how wonderful the place is... (I did ask for my commission!!) About 6 people decide to stay so they jumped off the bus here...we got on and are driven into town to drop off the new arrivals before continuing to pick up other people travelling with us.
The bus continued overnight to Nha Trang and for once we both managed to get a fairly good nights sleep (obese man down the aisle snoring loudly did keep some people awake though!)
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David Ng
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Amazing Vietnam!
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