Hoi An

Day 69 - 02/08/2010 - 21:34 - Hoi An, Vietnam

FROM HANOI TO HOI AN

So on the 31st we arrived at the train station around 45 minutes before our departure. We said goodbye to an Australian man we shared a cab with (which was paid by the hotel) and was in the same boat as us (had come from Halong Bay) so we'd chatted to him earlier. He was in the tourist class trains, whereas we were in the soft sleeper, on the basis that there wasn't much difference in comfort for price. Wrong.

The train was dirty, the dirtiest we've travelled on so far. It was very very basic, and it looked like the bedding hadn't been cleaned, it was already on the bed (although I admit it could have been made before we were allowed to board). After that I don't really know how I (or more importantly Laura) survived for 15 hours. I took top berth as the A/C was poor and I was sweating manically, I went on top to be closer to the vent. We were sharing with what I imagine was 2 people originally. But somehow, their whole family was also on the train. 3 Vietnamese people were sharing the other berths for most of the evening and night. They talked very very loudly - at first I though Russians were the loudest, then I met the Chinese and I thought they were louder. Now I've met the Vietnamese. Now I appreciate the language barrier, but surely any person with an inch of common sense could see we were trying to sleep. Yak yak yak yak yak. Very very loud. They'd shut up by 11, I presume they'd run out of energy or something. However, they were up at 4am (YES, 4am) and at it again. Incredibly loudly yakking away, I just turned over, put my Zune on and tried to ignore it. When they finally got off the train at 7am (they obviously needed 3 hours to talk about how their sleep was, very loudly), Laura got up and looked very tired. Apparently 6 people were in the cabin overnight, 3 of whom were sat on her bed! Poor thing. This kind of tarnished my view of the Vietnamese people big time, they were very rude and acted like we weren't there and if we were, we could put up with immeasurable levels of noise. Bollocks to them.

Anyway someone got on straight away, with 2 small children, the younger (a boy) whaling his eyes out. Great. Luckily they calmed down and were generally hospitable for the remaining 3 and a half hours of the journey. Shame they weren't there for the whole trip really, nevermind. I'm not desperately not looking forward to the journey to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) and as a consequence have paid most part of the room rate for a 4:45am check in into our hotel in Saigon. Worth every penny if it means we can get an extra 4 hours sleep! They can also book the bus to Phnom Penh in Cambodia too which is a weight off my back.

When we got to Da Nang, a city 30km or so from Hoi An, we had the deliberate intention of finding some fellow travellers who were going to Hoi An to share a cab. We immediately saw two women who were headed that way, and they thought it was a good idea too. As soon as we exited the station we were approached by a taxi driver. I thought the worst, but he was professional, gave us an honest estimate and the meter was encased in a tamper proof box. Result. The two ladies we shared with were both German, both teachers, although one taught Economics and the other French and English. The former taught A-Level students (or equivalent level) and the latter taught secondary school-A-level students. She asked where I was from and it turned out she had an exchange program with a school in Birmingham! Moseley of all places! Small world!

It took around 30 minutes to do the journey and cost no more than £12. That was including dropping the women off at a beach resort (5*, we were very jealous) but they insisted on paying up until that point, meaning we only had to pay the last £3 or so. It was my idea to share as well, I felt bad but it shows how bloody nice people are in this world! Yeah sure some people are out for themselves, but this is around the 20th time we've felt such an honest level of generosity from someone! Truly amazing.

We checked into our hotel and spent the rest of the day looking around the Old Town. We stopped at Cargo Club for lunch, a recommendation from Russ, our housemate from last year at Nun. It was ace, cheap and very filling. The old town of Hoi An is very beautiful. It's very quiet compared to Hanoi, and almost has that sleepy Mediterranean town feel to it (at least in the centre). There are tailors everywhere. I was considering getting a suit made but I didn't think we had enough time (from reading Trip Advisor) and didn't particularly want to lug it around everywhere. The weather was scorching, again and we just walked round all afternoon, admiring the town and particular sites, such as the Japanese covered bridge and the Cantonese assembly hall.

We went for tea at a restaurant (everything is exceedingly cheap here) and then went to bed early ahead of an early start to visit the My Son ruins 50km away from Hoi An the following morning (today).

We managed to get up on time this morning, both of us had terrible stomach pains though. The only thing I can think that we both had was the banana shake in the restaurant last night. I, in particular was suffering, as my digestive system has not been feeling great for a couple of weeks, and this didn't help anything. Nonetheless, we both were up on time and in the lobby for pick up time, the only difference was that Laura managed to go down for breakfast and I didn't before we left.

We were picked up by a man, who said he'd take us to the bus stop where the bus would be. On a scooter. I made sure Laura went first, who looked hesitant, telling her I'd be right behind her when the other guy picked me up. It was only short ride but Laura said she enjoyed it! We went and saw the ruins in the morning which were beautiful. My stomach ache and the pure heat (our guide said it was between 39-42 today) didn't help anything but I still enjoyed it. We were back in Hoi An for 12:30pm where we went for lunch at a small restaurant called "U Hai" on Nguyen Thai Hoc. I had some spring rolls (plain) and Laura had a chicken coconut curry. Delicious and it cost less than £6.
The man who owned it was so friendly and we decided to go back there this evening where we had the full works, as the menu was rather large. We shared some spring rolls for starter, I had tiger prawns (huge) with lime and pepper dip, garlic and salad and Laura had a beef and lemongrass curry. We both had 2 drinks each (including a very good cappucino which someone at lunch was telling the owner he really enjoyed) and a desert (Laura had ice cream and I had a banana pancake). We still struggled to hit a £11 bill. Incredible. The owner had only been running the restaurant for a year, and was interested in where we were from and where we were going. Laura said she would put the restaurant with a 5* review on Trip Advisor and he was very happy that we were doing that for him and enjoyed the food. "Oh, the Internet?! *imitates typing on keyboard* Thank you!!" We were amazed at how empty the place was to be honest, although it wasn't on the main shopping street, and if he had only been open a year travellers recommendations may not have spread that quickly!

I was also very proud of myself today, doing a bit of haggling, although nothing major to shout home about as I only got a fair price. I bought a red t-shirt with the yellow Vietnam star on it (like the flag) for £1. Yes £1. We saw a store advertising normal t-shirts for £1 but no-one was around so we didn't bother waiting (we could have easily robbed one as no- one was there). We walked along a couple of more shops where a woman was sat outside selling said t-shirt. She wanted £2 for it. I said that it was £1 next door, and she said OK £1.75. Then when she tried to say the small tshirt was cheaper than the one I wanted I said I was going back to the other shop, it got knocked down some more. Again, she said it was only the small t-shirt (small yellow star) I exclaimed that it was £1 next door. She said, if I went and saw the shop they won't sell me that exact t-shirt for that price. I said yes they will and proceeded to walk out when she said "OK OK 30,000 dong (£1). Deal.

That unfortunately is Hoi An done and dusted and tomorrow we leave for Saigon overnight (joys). I'll report again sometime on Wednesday about the dreaded train journey!