Day 6 - The bus arrived earlier than planned and by the early afternoon I was wandering through the charming UNESCO historical town of Hoi An looking for my backpackers in the old quarter. The backpackers' hostel was very nice and good value (10$ per night) including a very good breakfast and free hire of bikes...the only downside was that they were catering for people 30 years younger than me and I was sharing a room with an 18 year old boy!! Can you imagine both of our feelings when we saw each other?! However there was no other choice apart from finding another hotel and after 18 hours in the bus I couldn't be bothered and we managed to get through the three nights fine. I set off to see more of this town which has been trading spices for two thousand years and a very important port in the 16 and 17th centuries and the architecture is a mixture of the Chinese, Dutch, Japanese who had huge emporiums for trade in that period. In the 1990s it started to become a tourist attraction and it is famous for the tailors and the lovely restaurants and shops. It is delightful and known as the city of lanterns with beautiful silk coloured lanterns hanging everywhere. I sat down for a drink and saw the same Australian girl that I'd met on my first night in Hanoi. She had already been to a tailor and ordered 200US $ worth of clothes and by the time I had got back to the hostel to change I had ordered a pair of blue leather sandals (20$) made to fit my feet! We met up later and went to a bookshop/bar and had a mojito and then on to another lovely restaurant of which there are many.
Day 7 - I went off on the bike tour organised by the hostel with some new arrivals - a Portuguese brother and sister and 2 German students. We all got on really well and were unanimous in our dislike for our Canadian guide who confused ducks with egrets among many other stupid statements! We eventually ended up at a gorgeous beach after riding through the padi fields and spent the day there - mostly keeping out of the sun and chatting. By the time we got back to the hostel we were in time for happy hour and the BBQ and we ended up staying there and our group was enlarged by two lovely Italians. They were all so nice and friendly and didn't make me feel my age although some people assumed that I was someone's mother!
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| Another shop or restaurant? |
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| The beach at Hoi An |
Day 8 - I finally ordered something in the tailors opposite the hostel. It was a bit of a whim and the choice was endless but I ordered a silk Vietnamese style top and a pair of linen trousers which cost 40 $ including material. If I ever go back I will bring some of my material store to get made into things but I wasn't that keen on any of the materials in the shops. People obviously do come prepared and they were getting many things made! We spent the morning together wandering round the market and shops and then I decided to do the visits to the historical houses, temples and museums which I found very interesting. I collected my lovely blue shoes and had a fitting for my top and trousers which were already finished apart from minor tweaks to be done. Happy hour again and then Cao Lau noodles on the street which was fantastic. I was persuaded to go on to a bar with them which was definitely for the younger generation but it was fun and I had a good night out with them all.
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| Japanese Bridge |
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| The market at Hoi An |
Day 9 - My last day in Vietnam and I collected my trousers and bought some ground coffee (the coffee is delicious!) and a few lanterns with my last dong. I said farewell to my new friends and got the mini bus to Danang airport where I waited for my flight to Siem Reap. Danang is a very modern airport and my very superficial impression of Vietnam is that it is thriving. The people are welcoming and friendly and very industrious and traditional and modern life seem to coexist happily. I met a Korean physiotherapist who was working with the victims of agent orange which is nearly 50 years after the American war but yet I didn't feel any animosity against white people surprisingly. I would like to visit again and explore more of this lovely country - thank you for my visit!
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| Cao Lau with friends |
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