HOI AN
I opted to skip Ninh Binh and Hue in favour of getting a couple more days in at Hoi An. I'd heard a lot of good things about the place. Although in retrospect I wish I'd have stopped at Ninh Binh, I really prefer to spend a few days in one place and getting to know it as opposed to hurrying along in order to see more. It's nice to 'unpack' now and then too.
This would be my first ride on one of Vietnam's renowned sleeper buses. I think I paid around 20 bucks for the 17-1/2 hour journey to Hoi An. 12 of it was on the sleeper bus to Hue where at 8 a.m. we changed to an ordinary bus for the remainder of the trip. The sleeper buses are sweet. Three aisles of 'beds' on two levels. They are a tad short but at least you get to lie down, you can turn on your side and you get a blanket. Beats hell out of trying to sleep in a seat. Although paved, most of the roads are rough, even the main number one highway. And the drivers just can't seem to lay off the horn, which makes it hard to sleep at times.
Hoi An is another stop on the tourist trail in Vietnam, a place where you can get your shopping on. It's loaded with lots of budget options for hotels, as well as some higher end spots that'll set you back as much as 35 bucks. It's known for its tailor shops and there's tons of 'em. Those and art galleries. And of course, tacky tourist shops. There's a bunch of great restos too. Five kms out of town is a fantastic, long, deserted, white sand beach where nobody goes. The water is warm and the waves are nice. One day I rented a bike for less than a dollar and went there.
I spent four days in Hoi An. The weather was fab, although I'm getting tired of the heat, ha ha! When you rent a bike the moto guys don't hassle you. Actually, the moto guys here are a breeze, low key, smiling and friendly. The shopping really is good, particularly the art, although it's not inexpensive. The specialty dish here is Cao Lao which is rice noodles with pork and green onions and croutons and herbs, the key being that the noodles are cooked in water that comes from a special well near town. The river front area was always bustling and it was lined with some great cafes, making it a great spot to have a beer our two and watch the goings on--something I did for a couple of hours just about everyday. A 620 mil bottle of Saigon beer was only around $1.25.
Apart from chilling out and floating around, I spent a lot of time in local haunts. This is where my love affair with Vietnamese coffee really got started. I found a great little coffee shop where I could get delicious ice coffees with milk for 65 cents a piece. My love affair with Vietnamese really got going here too. They do get a little bit nicer as you move south--not as hard. That said, the Vietnamese are a harder lot. The men have a bit of a chauvinist bend and they smoke like chimneys. Smoking is pretty much allowed everywhere. Seems worse in the south.
Every time I went for coffee at this one place across the river, someone would join me at my table or call me over to their table. They love to practice their english. One young fellow told me that he had to quit school when he was in grade 7 because his father became ill and he had to go to work to support the family. His dad died at age 44. Sounds to me like it was some kind of respiratory illness. (They start smoking at around age 12 or 14.) Another young guy lives with his family on a boat, after his father died. You then begin to notice that you don't see a lot of older men around. You do see older women. Generally, the women don't smoke. The boys always ask if you have coins from your country. I had forgotten that I had a couple of Canadian coins and found them in my bag when I went to get some coins I had from Hong Kong. Actually they weren't interested in the HK coins. Turns out I had a penny, a quarter and a twoony. These two guys both really wanted the twoony. They had me flip a coin. Man it was funny to see how the winner reacted--they were just like two 17 year-old Canadian boys. The other guy begrudgingly accepted the less than impressive quarter.
I also took a $4 half day tour to the My Son ruins, supposedly the oldest site in all of South East Asia. The guide liked to emphasize the fact that the americans bombed it up a bit when the VC were suspected of using it as a hideout. There's a big B52 bomb crater right beside one of the small temples they are trying to restore. Other than that, I didn't even get my camera out. Talk about filing the tourists through. Drinks in the cafe at the exit were the same price as they are at home.
After four relaxing days I caught the 7 p.m. bus to Nha Trang, 12 hours to the south.
NHA TRANG
I had heard a couple of good things about Nha Trang--it has a beach and a bit of a party scene--so I thought I's stop in for a couple of days before heading to Dalat in the central plains.
Nha Trang is a fairly modern city located in a bay on a beach. It's a popular diving town, although God knows why with all the great diving in Thailand and Phillipines. There's a relatively nice little corner close to the centre that's filled with neat little restos and guesthouses. That's it. Otherwise the place is dirty. You'll see rats in broad daylight. The beach is dirty. The moto guys are relentless in pushing their 'tours', or massages or 'boom-boom'. They won't take no for an answer. They follow you or ride alongside, while repeatedly asking the usual questions: 'Where you go?, 'Where you from?' 'What you looking for?', etc. I had to get rude with a couple of them. Getting a map out is sure to attract three or four, like ants to a chip on the floor. You've got to hide when you get your guidebook out.
My room was okay but even there, the cable tv sucked.
A walk to the Long Son Pagoda and the Giant Seated Budha was the only touristy thing I did and what a misadventure it was. When I got to the sight a young lady in an official looking shirt with a nametag hanging from a lanyard told me that since I hadn't bought a ticket, I'd have to purchase postcards to help support a children's school. I'm all for supporting children but this was smelly. Besides, I was under the impression this attraction was free. I told her if I was so inclined, I would prefer to support the school directly and then asked where the ticket office was. As I suspected, there is no ticket office. On the stairs leading to the Budha, there were the usual couple of vendors selling incense and a little one-toothed begging lady. When I declined to give her anything, she tossed a bagged beverage towards the bag of my feet. I turned back and told her I didn't think that was very Budhist of her. She just scowled. What a strange place.
Upon my return to the guesthouse, I purchased a bus ticket to Dalat, leaving the next morning. I'm outa this shithole.
Later that night I enjoyed a burger at Shorty's Bar and Grill and met a guy named Wayne. He came from Bonnyville and played a few games with the Bruins in the early 70's. He lives in LA now. Great fun chatting with him, although he seemed to like Nha Trang. I kept my opinion to myself.
On to Dalat.
