Hoi An
c
Hoi An. Hoi fucking An. I'm not sure why I had built this place up in my mind, and I'm not sure why I was dying to get here, but after all that build up, Hoi An actually turned out better than expected. On the bus from Hue, I ran into a few backpackers I met in Hanoi, so we decided to join together and try to find a place to stay. Sure the bus let us off in front of a nice place, but it must be some backpackers code, that you just can't take the first place that offered, you have to shop around. And booking ahead? That's just cheating. We tried to find a place that Lonely Planet recommended, but neglected to give the address for. Thanks Lonely Planet. We must have walked for about an hour before finding the place, and later we found out it was a 5 minute walk from the first place we went too. The Green Field Hotel was OK. Cleanish, cheap, had a pool and free internet. What clinched it for us though was when the guy said "free drinks". Our ears perked up, "how many?" we asked. "As much as you can drink he laughed". There had to be a catch, and of course there was. We asked how many, but neglected to ask "How long?" Turns out it was just for Happy Hour. Honestly though, the drinks were strong and nasty, so you really didn't want to drink them for that much longer.
I ended up sharing a room with Rachel and Jasmine, since the triple rooms were a queen bed and a single, and non of the guys wanted to share a room. I felt that I was kind of imposing, but we had all slept in the same dorm, so it really wasn't that different. After a dip in the non-heated pool, we decided to rent some motorbikes. The guy we were renting them from ran out however, so he ended up lending me his. We negociated a good price, and then he said he wanted to take us to his Aunts shop, so we can get some clothes made. Always a catch. Now Hoi An is famous for its tailors. They can copy anything, and have it done in a day including a few fittings. There are shops all over the place, and you can get a new suit made for like $50. So we went to his Aunts shop, and she started trying to sell us stuff, we tried to tell her we just wanted to know the location, since we weren't trying to buy stuff until tomorrow. So after that if was off on the motor bikes.
If there is one thing more fun than sitting on the back of a motorbike, it's riding one. Those things are fucking awesome. Sure it took me a bit of getting used to, and in the mean time nearly killed a few people, but still, too much fun. Hoi An isn't that big, so we just cruised around for a while, and met up with some other people and had dinner. Hoi An has some culinary specialties, which make it unique. One of them is Cao Lau Do, which is a noodle dish that can supposedly only be made in Hoi An, since the water used in the dish comes form an ancient Cham well in Hoi An. Aficionados can supposedly tell the difference, but since this was the first time I had eaten it, what did I know. The other thing that you only seem to find in Hoi An is Fried Won Tons. No idea why, but they're on all the menus...and they're good. They're usually topped with some kind of fruit salsa, and that makes them much tastier than the crap you can get in Chinese restaurant in North America.
The next day it was time to hit the beach. After the cold and rain of the North, it was nice to actually put on a pair of shorts and just sit in the sun. How 8 people can go to the beach , and all forget sunscreen is beyond me though. We're all fricking morons. Eventually Rachel went back to get some, but I still got a little burnt. The beach was too much fun. You can get anything there. Cold drinks, fruit, massages, pedicures, and this weird string-leg shaving thing, that apparently works, but I just don't get. We were buying so much stuff that at one point we had more hawkers than travelers. One of the coolest things, was what they did to pineapples. If you ordered a pineapple, they would take off all the leaves and making of a stem, then they cut away the outside, and did these diagonal slashed to remove the nasty woody bits. What you're left with in a pineapple on a stick, and you just eat it like a candy apple or something. I think I about 3 just so I can watch them make it. I've got to try it at home, but I know I'll just butcher it.
After the beach it was time to do some clothes shopping. All the pants I had brought are heavy cotton, and they're just too hot, so I figured I'd get some light pants made, and some 3/4 length pants. One of the other girls we were with, took us to the shop owned by the sister of the hotel owner she was staying with, but I felt I had to be loyal,a and go to the bike guys shop. I ran into him there as I was looking through catalogs, and he asked where my friends were, I said I didn't know, but he eventually saw them in another place, and he wasn't impressed. He started lecturing me about it, and how dissapointed he was, but I explained that I had known these people for a week or two, and therefore had zero control over what them did. I was there like I promised and that was all I could do. He eventually got over it, but it ruined any chance I had at negociating a good price.
Later at the hotel, I ran into another group of Aussie girls from Hanoi, and we hit the poolside bar for happy hour. Those drinks were nasty, but it don't stop us from pounding them back. I don't think I've seen a group of women that can drink as much as Australian women. Those girls are hard-core, and if you want a fun time, where ever you are, then find your nearest Aussie. If you have trouble finding one, just yell out "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie", and then head in the direction that the "Oy, Oy, Oy" came from. We ended up drinking all night, and it just got worse when they found out they had missed my birthday. We ended up shutting down the bar, taking some for the road and then cleaning out the hotel mini-bar. Then for some reason we thought it would be a good idea to head to the beach. That actually was a pretty good thing, because it was a nice clear night, and I think it was the first time I had seen a load of stars since landing in Vietnam.
The next day was a little rough. Did get in some sightseeing though. Hoi An was barely touched during the American War, so it still has this old French feel to it, that is then mixed with some cool Chinese buildings, and it makes for quite a beautiful place. Some of the streets are even closed to motorized traffic, which makes it even better. There were also some really cool markets by the water with a wide assortment of weird foods, and crazy fruits and vegetables. After walking around a bit, I headed back to the tailor to pick up my clothes, and on the way back, ran into the bike guy, who needed his bike back. We agreed to meet at the hotel in 20 minutes, and after we met, he never even asked for any money. He then offered to drive me the 50 km to My Son to see old Cham ruins. This was going to cost me I thought, no one can be that nice. Turns out one guy can. He took me for free,and even bought me breakfast and lunch. Every time I tried to pay, he would refuse and kind of turn away. At the end of the day I tried to give him $20 bucks, but he just said no and drove away. I was starting to feel a little guilty about not buying more clothes. I still am in shock over how nice that guy was. After that anytime he saw me on the street (and Hoi An is small, so you run into everybody at least twice a day), he would stop to chat. Totally amazing guy. The Cham ruins were pretty neat, but I think I was expecting more. Very interesting place though, and it just made me all the more excited to go to Ankor Wat.
I hung around Hoi An another day, and tried in vain to get on a train to Nha Trang, unfortunately they were all full, which meant I had another god damn 12 hour bus ride to Nha Trang. Learning my lesson though (finally), I did buy a plane ticket from Nha Trang to Saigon. Just the thought of a long bus ride made me ill. Plus the flight was only $35 bucks so how can you go wrong. I hadn't quite realized that my time left in Vietnam was rapidly coming to a close, so if I want to tour the Mekong, I really need to start moving. It meant missing Dalat, but oh well, I'll just have to come back. On my last day in Hoi An, everyone I knew had already gone so I decided to treat my self to a nice meal. I went to Hoi An Hai San, an amazing seafood restaurant run by a Swedish Ex-pat. The food was insanely good. It started with Steamed clams, then fried Calamari, then these huge grilled prawns, and ended with this grilled Tuna skewers. It definitely was one of the best meals I've eaten in Vietnam (the best being the dinner in Sapa with a Tay family...which I just realize I still haven't written about). For desert the guy homemade homemade passion fruit ice cream, which was a nice cool down after being in the Vietnamese sun all day.
The cherry on top of my trip to Hanoi, was that the bus wasn't full, so I got the whole row to myself. Me and this other Canadian were the only ones to get that, and every time the bus stopped we just prayed no one else would get on. So Hoi An....go there you can't have a bad time. Shopping, food, beach, Aussie girls (but not in that way, you pervs)....it's like paradise.
Hoi An. Hoi fucking An. I'm not sure why I had built this place up in my mind, and I'm not sure why I was dying to get here, but after all that build up, Hoi An actually turned out better than expected. On the bus from Hue, I ran into a few backpackers I met in Hanoi, so we decided to join together and try to find a place to stay. Sure the bus let us off in front of a nice place, but it must be some backpackers code, that you just can't take the first place that offered, you have to shop around. And booking ahead? That's just cheating. We tried to find a place that Lonely Planet recommended, but neglected to give the address for. Thanks Lonely Planet. We must have walked for about an hour before finding the place, and later we found out it was a 5 minute walk from the first place we went too. The Green Field Hotel was OK. Cleanish, cheap, had a pool and free internet. What clinched it for us though was when the guy said "free drinks". Our ears perked up, "how many?" we asked. "As much as you can drink he laughed". There had to be a catch, and of course there was. We asked how many, but neglected to ask "How long?" Turns out it was just for Happy Hour. Honestly though, the drinks were strong and nasty, so you really didn't want to drink them for that much longer.
I ended up sharing a room with Rachel and Jasmine, since the triple rooms were a queen bed and a single, and non of the guys wanted to share a room. I felt that I was kind of imposing, but we had all slept in the same dorm, so it really wasn't that different. After a dip in the non-heated pool, we decided to rent some motorbikes. The guy we were renting them from ran out however, so he ended up lending me his. We negociated a good price, and then he said he wanted to take us to his Aunts shop, so we can get some clothes made. Always a catch. Now Hoi An is famous for its tailors. They can copy anything, and have it done in a day including a few fittings. There are shops all over the place, and you can get a new suit made for like $50. So we went to his Aunts shop, and she started trying to sell us stuff, we tried to tell her we just wanted to know the location, since we weren't trying to buy stuff until tomorrow. So after that if was off on the motor bikes.
If there is one thing more fun than sitting on the back of a motorbike, it's riding one. Those things are fucking awesome. Sure it took me a bit of getting used to, and in the mean time nearly killed a few people, but still, too much fun. Hoi An isn't that big, so we just cruised around for a while, and met up with some other people and had dinner. Hoi An has some culinary specialties, which make it unique. One of them is Cao Lau Do, which is a noodle dish that can supposedly only be made in Hoi An, since the water used in the dish comes form an ancient Cham well in Hoi An. Aficionados can supposedly tell the difference, but since this was the first time I had eaten it, what did I know. The other thing that you only seem to find in Hoi An is Fried Won Tons. No idea why, but they're on all the menus...and they're good. They're usually topped with some kind of fruit salsa, and that makes them much tastier than the crap you can get in Chinese restaurant in North America.
The next day it was time to hit the beach. After the cold and rain of the North, it was nice to actually put on a pair of shorts and just sit in the sun. How 8 people can go to the beach , and all forget sunscreen is beyond me though. We're all fricking morons. Eventually Rachel went back to get some, but I still got a little burnt. The beach was too much fun. You can get anything there. Cold drinks, fruit, massages, pedicures, and this weird string-leg shaving thing, that apparently works, but I just don't get. We were buying so much stuff that at one point we had more hawkers than travelers. One of the coolest things, was what they did to pineapples. If you ordered a pineapple, they would take off all the leaves and making of a stem, then they cut away the outside, and did these diagonal slashed to remove the nasty woody bits. What you're left with in a pineapple on a stick, and you just eat it like a candy apple or something. I think I about 3 just so I can watch them make it. I've got to try it at home, but I know I'll just butcher it.
After the beach it was time to do some clothes shopping. All the pants I had brought are heavy cotton, and they're just too hot, so I figured I'd get some light pants made, and some 3/4 length pants. One of the other girls we were with, took us to the shop owned by the sister of the hotel owner she was staying with, but I felt I had to be loyal,a and go to the bike guys shop. I ran into him there as I was looking through catalogs, and he asked where my friends were, I said I didn't know, but he eventually saw them in another place, and he wasn't impressed. He started lecturing me about it, and how dissapointed he was, but I explained that I had known these people for a week or two, and therefore had zero control over what them did. I was there like I promised and that was all I could do. He eventually got over it, but it ruined any chance I had at negociating a good price.
Later at the hotel, I ran into another group of Aussie girls from Hanoi, and we hit the poolside bar for happy hour. Those drinks were nasty, but it don't stop us from pounding them back. I don't think I've seen a group of women that can drink as much as Australian women. Those girls are hard-core, and if you want a fun time, where ever you are, then find your nearest Aussie. If you have trouble finding one, just yell out "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie", and then head in the direction that the "Oy, Oy, Oy" came from. We ended up drinking all night, and it just got worse when they found out they had missed my birthday. We ended up shutting down the bar, taking some for the road and then cleaning out the hotel mini-bar. Then for some reason we thought it would be a good idea to head to the beach. That actually was a pretty good thing, because it was a nice clear night, and I think it was the first time I had seen a load of stars since landing in Vietnam.
The next day was a little rough. Did get in some sightseeing though. Hoi An was barely touched during the American War, so it still has this old French feel to it, that is then mixed with some cool Chinese buildings, and it makes for quite a beautiful place. Some of the streets are even closed to motorized traffic, which makes it even better. There were also some really cool markets by the water with a wide assortment of weird foods, and crazy fruits and vegetables. After walking around a bit, I headed back to the tailor to pick up my clothes, and on the way back, ran into the bike guy, who needed his bike back. We agreed to meet at the hotel in 20 minutes, and after we met, he never even asked for any money. He then offered to drive me the 50 km to My Son to see old Cham ruins. This was going to cost me I thought, no one can be that nice. Turns out one guy can. He took me for free,and even bought me breakfast and lunch. Every time I tried to pay, he would refuse and kind of turn away. At the end of the day I tried to give him $20 bucks, but he just said no and drove away. I was starting to feel a little guilty about not buying more clothes. I still am in shock over how nice that guy was. After that anytime he saw me on the street (and Hoi An is small, so you run into everybody at least twice a day), he would stop to chat. Totally amazing guy. The Cham ruins were pretty neat, but I think I was expecting more. Very interesting place though, and it just made me all the more excited to go to Ankor Wat.
I hung around Hoi An another day, and tried in vain to get on a train to Nha Trang, unfortunately they were all full, which meant I had another god damn 12 hour bus ride to Nha Trang. Learning my lesson though (finally), I did buy a plane ticket from Nha Trang to Saigon. Just the thought of a long bus ride made me ill. Plus the flight was only $35 bucks so how can you go wrong. I hadn't quite realized that my time left in Vietnam was rapidly coming to a close, so if I want to tour the Mekong, I really need to start moving. It meant missing Dalat, but oh well, I'll just have to come back. On my last day in Hoi An, everyone I knew had already gone so I decided to treat my self to a nice meal. I went to Hoi An Hai San, an amazing seafood restaurant run by a Swedish Ex-pat. The food was insanely good. It started with Steamed clams, then fried Calamari, then these huge grilled prawns, and ended with this grilled Tuna skewers. It definitely was one of the best meals I've eaten in Vietnam (the best being the dinner in Sapa with a Tay family...which I just realize I still haven't written about). For desert the guy homemade homemade passion fruit ice cream, which was a nice cool down after being in the Vietnamese sun all day.
The cherry on top of my trip to Hanoi, was that the bus wasn't full, so I got the whole row to myself. Me and this other Canadian were the only ones to get that, and every time the bus stopped we just prayed no one else would get on. So Hoi An....go there you can't have a bad time. Shopping, food, beach, Aussie girls (but not in that way, you pervs)....it's like paradise.
Labels: Asia
posted by Peter at
10:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home