Vietnam - Hoi An

26-30 May '08

On arriving in Hoi An, Preya fluttered her eyelashes, and negotiated a huge room with bath tub, a/c, balcony and satellite tv for 6 quid a night - nize baby.... it sure was a sight for sore eyes after that bus ride. Hoi An was a quaint little town beaming with character.... a paradise for clothes shoppers since its central area was littered with silk-tailors. After settling into the hotel we took a walk along the riverside which hosted a selection of charming restaurants and cafes. The 'fresh' beer along here cost 3000 dong (or 10p) and was cheaper than water (a dangerous ploy for beer lovers). After enjoying several beers whilst people watching, we bumped into a few travel-buddies from Dalat and the 6 of us went out for dinner that evening.

The following day after taking in some of the exotic food aromas of the central food market, we enrolled in an evening cooking class (at Hai Cafe).... we were joined by 6 friendly American guys who had just completed their MBA's. Our chef was well-spoken, humourous and sarcastic - he kept referring to a man's asset as his 'population stick'! That evening we learnt how to make vegetarian spring rolls, shrimp salad, and barbecued fish in banana leaf.... after which we all sat down and enjoyed devouring the feast we had just prepared. After a few beers at dinner, we joined the Americans for a few more drinks at the 'Salsa Club' (strange name for a place that had no connection to Salsa at all). The young barman there became friendly with Preya and plowed us full of his speciality cocktails.

Each morning we would have breakfast (and sometimes lunch) at a local cafe where the little old lady owner would wave us onto her outdoor patio from a distance. Amusingly, everytime after taking our order, she would hop onto her moped to go and get the ingredients for our meal.... the overall wait would sometimes be long but mostly worth it. After breakfast the next day under a temperature reaching nearly 40 C (or so we were told), we visited Marble Mountain (about 20km away). We climbed an array of steep pathways to visit various pagodas and bat-infested caves, and once again we saw some impressive views. After retiring back to central Hoi An, we headed out for some more fresh beer and sampled the local speciality dish ('Cau Lac' - salad, noodles, croutons, topped with your selection of tofu or pork - very cheap and highly recommended).

Once bitten, twice shy.... the following afternoon we boarded a 15 hour train to Hanoi. The experience was a lot better than the overnight bus, albeit that the vietnamese love their opera-esque sounding music which they would blare out at all hours of the journey. The train ride from Hoi An to Hanoi is known to be one of the most scenic routes and we weren't disappointed - the railtrack runs right alongside the coast.... a trip we highly recommend by train.