Hi all,
Well after Hue it was time to carry on down to the central area to Hoi An. Everyone has been absolutely raving about the place. It is the place to get clothes made and for the first time since I’ve been away I was going to do some shopping.
I boarded my bus at 8am. Bad news, I was the first on. Somehow they always manage to fill every seat so it meant that I was going to be ferried around town. At 9.45am we finally left. We’d had to wait for a bus from Hanoi which was late. They had overbooked the seats but luckily 2 people cancelled. On the way we must have stopped at what was the most scenice roadside cafe ever. The chairs looked like they’d been made up for a wedding and it was right on a deserted beach. My motorbike burn had now turned in to a beautiful blister.
Arriving in Hoi An I was picked up by my guest house. The room was gorgeous, kingsize bed and all the trimmings but no wonder the pick up was included it was a bit of a trek to town with nothing really around it. There was also a power cut and the swimming pool was unfortunately covered, so much for relaxation and a sun tan. I decided to walk to town and found the hotel I originally wanted and booked that for the rest of my trip. The swimming pool was not covered – hurray ! I decided as shopping was a main priority I’d check out tailors and prices of other household bits and bobs I wanted to buy. I also booked a discovery scuba dive (details to follow) and then after doing a book exchange at the local shop it was dinner time.
Hoi An has 3 real local specialities : Wonton Soup, White Rose and Cau Lau.
Cau Lau is a noodle soup made with water from the Hoi An well and pork. White Rose is like a dim sum with prawn in the middle, I managed all three during my time here.
I ordered the Wonton Soup, it is still the best thing I’ve eaten here and sat at a bar on the river front with some local beer by the glass. The beer cost a princely sum of 10p. I’m liking this place already and over the river bank music was playing. It was just a great spot to people watch. After a few more beers I trekked back to the hotel. At least all this walking around has caused me to lose quite a but of weight. I have no idea how much but I feel almost skinny again. So girls if you want a successful diet regime come to Vietnam.
The next day I woke up feeling rather guilty about having to check out of the hotel. My new check in time was 10am and as if by magic at 8.30am there was yet another power cut. I waited for about 15 minutes and asked how long the power cut would last. They weren’t sure so I said that as there’d been a power cut the majority of the time I’d spent there it wasn’t good enough and had to leave. They tried to persuade me to stay but I insisted they called me a taxi and I went to my new hotel. Yes there was a power cut there but they had back up generators so I still had some power in my room. Then it was off to the pool to relax for the afternoon.
Early evening and as I went out to get some food I bumped in to Roisin and Sarah from the Laos boat. What a cooincidence, they had both had some clothes made at the tailor I was going to go with, so it gave me a chance to see how theirs had turned out before ordering mine. As it turned out very nicely !! So I left them with an order for 3 suits, 2 dresses and 3 shirts and we all retired the a cafe called “Treats” to treat ourselves to some long island iced teas. I felt merry after 2, not sure whether my alcohol tolerance is dropping or they were just strong !!
Saturday morning and I was up at 4.30am to do the sunrise trip to My Son (me son). The idea is that you get there in time to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it’s summer so the sun is up far too early to actually see the sunrise. My Son is the Vietnamese equivalent to Ankor Wat (Cambodia’s huge complex of temples). There were about 70 structures built by the Champa people from the 4th -10th century. Of course the Viet Cong used to hide there so now there are only 20 structures as they were heavily bombed but there is yet again a huge amount of restoration work going on. It was incredibly hot and my main aim for seeing it was because of how old it actually is. Apparently the Champa people were Hindu’s that came from near India and at that time Vietnam was actually 3 countries : Vietnam (North), Kingdom of Champa (Central), Khymer (South). There are still around 19,000 Champa left but they now live around Ho Chi Minh in the south. I have attached a picture.
I had arranged to go by bus and return by boat. As we were waiting to leave for the boat I noticed the blister had burst without any untoward mess so that was great. Arriving at the boat quay there was no boat. It had broken down but within 30 minutes it turned up and we were taken back to Hoi An an hour away. I sat at the front in the sun and have now have the mark of the official traveller. Yes the motorbike burn is the Vietnam sign but the true traveller has a white V on their feet where they have been wearing their flip flops – and I got mine today…
Back in Hoi An I popped down to the local market to see what I could potentially buy and then back to the tailors to try on my clothes. I had been warned to shower to cool down first as trying lined clothes on in 40 degree heat is no fun and you may not bother getting alterations done. Everything was fine apart from 1 jacket and 1 dress which were altered again, of course it means I can’t put a lot of weight on when I get back but that’s a good enough incentive to me. Clothes currently in sea freight back to the UK, let’s hope they arrive. I then decided to look at the shoes – you can get anything but I decided on a couple of pairs of trainers and then went for a couple of beers with Roisin and Sarah as it was their last night in Hoi An.
Sunday – I woke up with a really queasy feeling this morning. I had to do my discovery scuba dive. The last time I tried a PADI course in Thailand over 10 years ago I couldn’t go through with it. I just had this complete phobia about clearing the mask under water and taking the regulator (breathing apparatus) out of my mouth. It is by far my biggest fear. I did just think we were going straight under and knew the swimming around part would be okay. With me I think it’s just the sea seems a bit unknown.
The day started off with a fiery start. As I waited in reception for my bus to arrive there were a couple of old Vietnamese women on the hotel steps abusing the receptionist. Then the local street vendor got involved. It’s annoying when you have no idea what they are saying but you had the feeling it was something to do with a man. The dive company arrived and there was another 3 people from my hotel coming too. The mini bus driver had to semi push them away for us to get in. Then all hell broke loose. A younger woman ran up and punched a younger guy in the face and then he actually hit her back. Mean while the Aussies in our van were saying “man, don’t hit a woman”. They were literally landing against the van. People were trying to split everyone involved up and the receptionist sped off on a motorbike. We then left and Kate, the dive instructor said that was the first fight she’d ever seen. Normally they just shout at each other so they don’t lose face.
We arrived at the boat and were split into divers and snorkellers. There were 2 other discovery divers and we sailed to Cham Island. We were to be taken down by Alex. This was great news as he was the person recommended to me by a fellow traveller in Hue.
Alex gave us a pep talk about the equipment and then explained that we’d need to do the mask and regulator tests on the bottom of the sea. Panic set in but he just said if you worry just keep breathing and think of Buddha. I managed to get the wet suit on the wrong way around – great start. Kitted up I jumped in – so far so good. We cleared our masks and then let the air out of our life jackets so we floated to the bottom and knelt on the sea bed. I was fine but Caroline another learner had to go up a few times. The regulator test went fine. I was so amazed I messed up the mask test but we went anyway. It was great. I can’t see what I was so afraid of. We had great visbility and went down about 9 metres. They had been saying we might see whale sharks but thankfully (that’s what all first timers say) we didn’t. That’s it I’m definitely going to get the PADI certification in Thailand, I’m hooked. A big thank you to Jon for all the snorkelling he made me do in Egypt, I’m sure that helped and a big thank you to Buddha. I did have one buoyancy issue and pressed the wrong button so went up but got myself straight back down. That was actually great fun but you wouldn’t want to do that when you’re really deep.
Time to come up, I was on cloud nine and lunch was great, lots of sea food and then time to relax in hammocks on the deserted beach. After lunch the divers were going down to 30 Metres – a bit far for me at this stage so instead Ludo the dive company owner took us by boat to the local village where 400 Cham Islanders lived. We were the only 8 Westerners there so were quite priviledged. It seemed that the towns business was fishing nets, I’ve attached a picture. We walked around then stopped for a beer with some locals and had a local delicacy of dried squid. That was gorgeous, a squid version of beef jerky. The journey back to Hoi An was a bit rough. Alex told me to get my visa extended and do the PADI dive certification with him but so much to see and so little time. The local Hoi An beach was crowded with people waiting for the fisherman to cook their catch, it was gorgeous.
The following day was all about shopping and shipping. The post office is open 7 days a week from 6.30am until 9pm and they wrap and pack for you. It’s like a military operation. With everything done time to catch the overnight bus to the beach area of Natrang. I have to say Hoi An is like Ubud in Bali but better and cheaper. I am definitely coming back. Although if my clothes do turn up they keep your measurements for 3-5 years, so I can keep ordering.
Transport count :
Plane = 5, Bus = 7, Train = 2, Boat = 2, Sunglasses = 3, Mosquito repellant = 3
Take care all
Sally x
