Adventures in Sleeper Busing

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  Hoi An, Vietnam
Monday, December 15, 2008

Ahoi! I'm in Hoi An, slowly making my way South towards Saigon. I arrived here from Hue and I leave tonight for Nha Trang, traveling on an Open Bus ticket. For 50$ I can travel at my own pace from Hanoi to Saigon, stopping at up to 6 different places along the way. Also included in the price is an endless supply of character building experiences.

I made the 12 hour journey from Hanoi to Hue on a sleeper bus lined with 2 levels of "beds". I felt as though I were a patient riding along on some sort of mass ambulance. The open tour company claims the beds to be 152 centimeters long, which equals roughly 60 inches, which equals a BIG LIE. I was forced to assume the compressed fetal position throughout the entire trip. About 3 hours into the journey the bus stopped at an overpass. After about 15 minutes of wondering why we had stopped, I looked out the window to find a team of Vietnamese hauling trash bags up onto the road and loading them onto the bus. So I'm basically a drug trafficker now.

Hue (still not quite sure of the pronunciation) was Vietnam's political capital from 1802 to 1945 and was heavily bombed by the Americans during the war. The city is still in the process of reconstruction and many of the tourist attractions look more like archaeological sites than temples and tombs from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Hoi An is a charming port town with architecture drawing from Chinese, Japanese, and European influences. The city is famous for its over 200 tailor shops where tourists can have custom-tailored suits made and delivered within 24 hours. The quality of the work seems a bit dubious, however, so I decided not to have one made for myself. Fine! I don't want to have a suit made because I don't want to wear a suit ever again.

I'd like to leave you with a quotation from a list of regulations on my hotel room door: Bicycles, motorbikes, pets fire - arms explosives, inflammable, stinking things and even prostitutes aren't allowed in the hotel.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures

Outside The Citadel, Hue	Tu Duc Tomb, Hue	Tu Duc Tomb, Hue	Hoi An Market
Hoi An Culture Show	Hoi An	Hoi An	Hoi An
Hoi An	My Son Ruins	My Son Ruins	Carpentry Village

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