Charming Hoi An
Trip Start
Feb 07, 2009
1
14
24
Trip End
Ongoing
Hoi An, Vietnam
Friday, March 27, 2009
For the first couple days I kicked it in town with Ed and Tom, two lovely fellows I'd met back in Vientiane at teh Organic Farm. Believe it or not, this happens quite often while traveling, bumping into fellow backpackers in other cities, even countries, on the well-heeled Asian route
Rise and shine sleeping beauty
. China Beach is a mere 5K bike ride away and offers a lovely respite from the 100F plus heat in the city. The real treasure I disovered lie in the Cham Islands, however. A new diving destination opened just 4 years ago off the coast of Hoi An, Cham Islands used to belong to the US as a military outpost during the war. Its crystal clear blue waters, pure untamed green jungle, and quiet solitude are such a treat, especially for those traveling in Vietnam. This is the country where everything has a price, and while sitting on China Beach you can't spend even 15 minutes in peace without an (admittedly kind) old lady coming up to you trying to sell her wares, and its all the same junk, bracelets, medicines, crafts, and pineapple. "Happy Hour" they all exclaim, eagerly looking for customers. Beware when they ask "Where you from?" as I distinctly get the feeling they don't really care...Now, where were we - Cham Islands. I booked an overnight trip with Cham Island Divers. We went out to the islands for scuba, snorkel and general peace adn well-being. That evening I'd had a fitful sleep, woke up feeling awful, as if sickness was leering over me. Thing is, I knew a night of fresh island air would be just the cure I needed, and I was right. Our group of 6 was multinational as usual and we spent an amazing 2 days camping on an isolated white beach with a bonfire and no less than 10 shooting stars (and that's just while we were looking!). I woke up feeling like a new person, recharged and rejuvenated. Every meal they served us banquet style was pristine, filled with the day's freshest catch, including plenty of squid (also known as cuttlefish in these parts), as they were in season. I didn't even know there was such a thing.
After such good sleep I felt the need to be active and climbed around the beach, snorkeled, and went for a long swim around the cove to the next island, which turned out to be quite far
Herb vendors at the market
. The fishermen kept yelling from their boats to see if I was okay, apparently wondering why in the world the crazy falang was swimming so far from her headquarters. About midway through my swim, I felt a sharp, stinging pain on my arm and knew immediately I'd been stung by a jellyfish. I'd seen some small ones around the snorkel area before, but I'd tried to swim further from the warm waters they love around the shore because frankly, these creatures half terrified me up until now. It was painful, but I had to keep on swimming. Once I reached the other shore, another kind boat took me back to our campsite and I nursed my wound, which was inflammed and red of course. Call me crazy, but I'm actually glad I got stung. See, I've never know what a jellyfish sting was like, just been scared of it. In a way, getting stung has made me more comfortable with the fact that these creatures share the sea I love swimming in so much. Not that I'm keen to crash into any more, but the paranoia has now subsided and I take some comfort in knowing I've faced that fear in a small way.Back in town I took a cooking course at Red Bridge Cooking School, which was a fantastic experience, since Vietnamese food is another Asian favorite of mine, and we even learned how to make our own rice paper for spring rolls. Plus I had another day of meeting cool people with shared interests and of course really great eating! I got a dress made on my last night in town, just for kicks, and it was fun, though I'm fairly certain Hong Kong's got them beat on tailoring quality. We shall soon see.
