Hoi An
One of the advantages, or is it a disadvantage of independent travel is that you can change your mind and direction, even before you have finished walking down the block. Now if you are with other people plans are less flexible, decisions are made as a group and usually adhered to. I am sure that I have missed many “must sees” because I was tired, bored couldn’t be bothered and also because I had no daily itinerary, or anybody else to prod me along. Vietnam was deliberately not a very planned destination, wasn’t sure whether the elements would cooperate. As it turned out they didn’t, though I had a preliminary itinerary it had to be tweaked considerably.
I tried to go to Hue, though the weather reports were terrible, there were no flights, however I did get one to Hoi An leaving at 6 am. One out of two towns was not bad. I did manage to see the town, as well as having several pieces of clothing made from different shops. Was I thrilled with what I had made? I would say I had very mixed results even from the same shop.
Since I arrived at 7.30 am, by taxi from DaNang, to glorious sunshine, the first order of business, was breakfast, which was noodles with shrimp that I ate across the river. Then it was time for the market, it is an amazing market, everything seemed to be sold there. I walk by a vegetable stall and the woman looks at me and says “you are beautiful” those may be the only English words she knew, I didn’t care, it made my day. As I walked further in I get cornered by Kim who has a haircut shop and does $1 pedicures. I wasn’t in the mood for a pedicure but promised to return, which unfortunately I never did, since she was quite the character. It is time for lunch and I hit Cargo Club where I had my first all Western meal, a delicious perfectly cooked Hamburger, did that taste good. Go back to the hotel to unpack and watch the rain pour down, I did venture out a bit later, after a nap, with my plastic raincoat and umbrella. The rain coat selling women jump on me to buy, what did they think I was wearing?
HoiAn is a cute little town basically consisting of a main street where many of the antique shops and tailors are located, as well as some of the sights. The outskirts are very nice with rice fields and the river appearing every so often, it was appealing despite the downpour.
It came time for dinner and I decided to try Brother’s Café, after quite a lengthy walk I reach it to discover, that I would have been a solo diner, at extremely high prices, nixed that idea. Next door was DaoTien which supports disadvantaged youths. Do not consult my notes, which tell me this is the one restaurant to skip, don’t know where I got that information. Have a nice dinner with steamed Crab, for about $12. There were a few other restaurants that had been recommended but they were no longer in business. Since the rain had really picked up by now, I take a taxi back.
The next day the rain came and went, I explored a bit further and signed up for a cooking class at Citronella, which is across the Japanese Bridge. I was the only student and it was a hands on class. Made Shrimp Fritters, Squid grilled in Banana Leaf, and Crab Soup. The cost was $15 including my meal Did I learn something, yes that grilled Squid in Banana Leaf is not as good as plain grilled Squid. It was a pleasant enough evening and the food was tasty. Since the rain didn’t seem to ease I decided to move on to Saigon the next day. I had booked an afternoon flight, in order to visit My Son in the morning, while on the way to the airport. Well that didn’t work out since the road was closed because of flooding. My really sweet taxi driver, who was the brother of one of the shop owners where I had some clothes made, suggested Marble Mountain. Why not, I had a lot of time. We arrive, pay my entrance fee, receive a map with the caves and temples clearly marked and start climbing the steps. It is drizzling, I am all alone and realize that I must be insane even thinking of doing this, the climb looks interminable and I turn around. Take a few photos of the Marble Statues and we leave for DaNang, so the day shouldn’t be a total loss culturally, I do get to see the historic museum before we head to the airport and on towards Saigon or Ho Chi Min City.
