Hoi An and My Son
13th December 2010
Last Friday we got a bus from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, leaving at 8am for Nha Trang. Due to road work delays we only got time for a quick baguette in Nha Trang before catching an overnight bus to Hoi An. We are travelling north quickly so that we can get to the Friendship Village, near Hanoi, by 17th December.
Overnight buses don't seem to agree with me. This time I got a cold from lying under the AC vent. When we arrived in Hoi An at 6am, 22 hrs after our journey began, I was tired and sneezy. I found a veggie noodle stand ran by an incredibly sweet lady and her daughter. I rested on a tiny plastic stall and munched on a steaming bowl full of noodles, veg and tofu for $0.50, while Aaron searched out a hotel.
As Aaron commented, Hoi An is a bizarre place. It's a cute, small, historic town by a river. A quiet relief from the traffic in HCMC. Everywhere we strolled I couldn't stop gazing at all the colourful fabrics in an array of different, interesting clothing designs displayed in the many tailors shops. Suits, coats and dresses where everywhere. Seeing as Aaron had purchased a suite and trousers and I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket I ventured into a tailors. It was so much fun to be able to try on dresses and order, the top of that dress, with the skirt of another. In this fabric, with that trimming! And one dress was only $30! Thanks uncle Kiff and aunty Liz for the birthday money!
One problem we found with the town though was that touts were very persistent. They would even hassle you during dinner. However Aaron found a great cheap, quiet, veggie cafe, down a side street where you could heap your own plate with rice and a buffet of a variety of veg and tofu.
Whilst in Hoi An we visited My Son (pronounced Me Son). A site of Cham temple ruins, older than Angkor Wat. We arrived with a tour bus group, but soon ventured away from our overzealous guide. The ruins were set in beautiful mountains, but could not compete with Angkor.
Last Friday we got a bus from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, leaving at 8am for Nha Trang. Due to road work delays we only got time for a quick baguette in Nha Trang before catching an overnight bus to Hoi An. We are travelling north quickly so that we can get to the Friendship Village, near Hanoi, by 17th December.
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| Top bunks on the sleeper bus |
Overnight buses don't seem to agree with me. This time I got a cold from lying under the AC vent. When we arrived in Hoi An at 6am, 22 hrs after our journey began, I was tired and sneezy. I found a veggie noodle stand ran by an incredibly sweet lady and her daughter. I rested on a tiny plastic stall and munched on a steaming bowl full of noodles, veg and tofu for $0.50, while Aaron searched out a hotel.
As Aaron commented, Hoi An is a bizarre place. It's a cute, small, historic town by a river. A quiet relief from the traffic in HCMC. Everywhere we strolled I couldn't stop gazing at all the colourful fabrics in an array of different, interesting clothing designs displayed in the many tailors shops. Suits, coats and dresses where everywhere. Seeing as Aaron had purchased a suite and trousers and I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket I ventured into a tailors. It was so much fun to be able to try on dresses and order, the top of that dress, with the skirt of another. In this fabric, with that trimming! And one dress was only $30! Thanks uncle Kiff and aunty Liz for the birthday money!
One problem we found with the town though was that touts were very persistent. They would even hassle you during dinner. However Aaron found a great cheap, quiet, veggie cafe, down a side street where you could heap your own plate with rice and a buffet of a variety of veg and tofu.
Whilst in Hoi An we visited My Son (pronounced Me Son). A site of Cham temple ruins, older than Angkor Wat. We arrived with a tour bus group, but soon ventured away from our overzealous guide. The ruins were set in beautiful mountains, but could not compete with Angkor.
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