Advertisement
Published: January 15th 2016
The next stage of our journey was not the best decision we'd made. Instead of flying from Hanoi to Da Nang, we chose to take another overnight train, partly to see more of the countryside and partly because Chris didn't want to face another take off and landing. Our previous experience of night trains to and from Sapa had not been wonderful but Chris convinced me that this train would probably be more modern - unfortunately this was not the case! Sixteen hours in a grubby, noisy, uncomfortable sleeping compartment, sharing with a Vietnamese lady and an elderly Vietnamese man ( who bore a resemblance to Ho Chi Minh ) who was like a cat on a hot tin roof and wanted to leave the door open all night, was not the most relaxing journey! Anyway, we survived it and arrived in Da Nang in one piece!
Our hotel is a complete contrast to the Hanoi Moment. It is a 20 floor modern block overlooking the sea front with very spacious rooms and a pool and bar on the roof terrace which offers great views. Da Nang is a large, modern city which is in the process of becoming an
even larger resort with lots of building happening all along the sea front. There is a lovely long stretch of beach with a promenade but this is the winter season so fortunately it is not too busy. The weather was quite wet and cloudy the day we arrived, but still about 25 degrees. The past 2 days have been more sunny and extremely hot! We have to keep reminding ourselves that it is January.
Today we booked onto a food tour in Hoi An which is about 35km along the coast. We were picked up at 7.00 this morning and taken to the local market where we were met by our Vietnamese guide, Sen and a larger than life Australian called Neville who runs the business. Sen took us through the market, explaining what the more unusual fruits and vegetables were and showing us how the local people prepare and cook some of the street food. We stopped off in a number of restaurants on our route and sampled 42 different dishes in total.It was a fantastic experience and there were dishes that we wouldn't have considered eating that were delicious. Chris had asked for no seafood but the
only thing left out of two of his dishes were shrimps. Fruits, vegetables, noodles and very delicate flavours seem to dominate Vietnamese food and we have found it very easy to find dishes we enjoy but now we can be a bit more adventurous. The iced coffee with condensed milk was a revalation and the ice cream lady who made coconut and coffee flavoured lolly shaped ice creams on sticks was Chris' s favourite! We met up with Neville on our final restaurant stop and he kept us entertained and informed for almost two hours, trying more dishes, sweets and drinks. A fantastic tour if you are visiting Hoi An.
Hoi An itself is a very popular tourist destination and it's easy to see why. It has a very attractive old quarter and there are many interesting buildings and restaurants along the river front. In hindsight it would have been a better base for us but we will know next time. We have been told it is worth visiting in the evening so we are planning to go back on Sunday.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0698s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
maureen Riley
non-member comment
loving it
I am loving my armchair travelling with you. Even a sleepless night in an uncomfortable carriage is a romantic experience from my chair. That dragon bridge is amazing and the photos of the market and tasty delicacies has me thinking I will go and get a Vietnamese cooking book. Here January is at last getting cold and we can expect it to be zero or below by the morning. Although cold today was beautiful, sun and clear blue sky respite from the relentless grey we have been experiencing. On the news today was a Welsh village that has had rain for more than 80 consecutive days, poor things. Have fun.