Hoi An

19th - 21st December

We’d been looking forwards to visiting Hoi Ann, a favourite destination of many visitors to Vietnam. We’d also been assured that our second leg of the journey, from Hoi Ann south to Saigon would be more enjoyable due to the warmth of the easy going southern Vietnamese. So no more hard sell then?!

Hoi Ann is seen as the best example of Vietnam’s yesteryear. The charming old town has been named as an Unesco World Heritage site and is a nice place to wander around both before and after dark, when the lights emitted from the buzzing cafes and restaurants make the narrow, cobbled streets glow. Set upon the Thu Bon River, the town grew up as an international trading port from around the 17th century. As such, the early architecture has been influenced by the Chinese, Japanese and Europeans and remains so to this day, 150 years later.

The usual mission to find a cheap room ensued. For some reason, hotels in Vietnam feel the need to provide a TV, fully stocked mini fridge, free toothbrushes, shampoo and soap. A basic room in a budget hotel will still contain these same “essentials” as a 5 star establishment, but starts to scrimp on the quality of the fundamentals (in our eyes) like a good mattress, pillow and clean (cotton) sheets. If you can’t sleep because the bed is like a sack of tatties and the pillow resembles a beanbag I guess at least you can get a beer and a packet of Pringles from the fridge! It was just so frustrating and to us an absolute no brainer of a business opportunity for someone with money to spare to establish a chain of decent budget guesthouses. Hoi Ann was no different to other towns in this respect, but for the yardsticks had been moved significantly and a $5 room elsewhere was more like $10 in Hoi Ann. We begrudgingly handed over our dollars and spent the night breathing in mildew and dustmites.

Hoi Ann is also known for it’s dozens of tailor shops. Apparently, anything you could ever want can be made up here for you, in a matter of days. Being in “the industry” back home, Sam was fairly sceptical as to the quality and workmanship, but the excuse for new clothes of any description led to a morning in a recommended outfit and some fun choosing styles and fabrics and being fitted out. An old All Saints skirt from home was the inspiration. A price was agreed, much more than we’d expected, but I suppose we’re not buying 10,000 units this time!

The skirt was ready just a few hours later – now that was impressive, it normally takes at least 6 weeks! To be fair, the seamstress had made a reasonable attempt and the finished garment was nice, if quite a lot too long. Perhaps she thought the requested mini skirt was just too indecent! Not wanting to miss out, Ady had put in a request for a new pair of prescription sunnies with a local optician. The end result wasn’t quite as attractive as the skirt, but the poor optician had a mission on his hands, making a chunky -6 lens look cool!

Hoi Ann has also grown as a tourist destination due to its close proximity to the ancient city of My Son. Also an Unesco world heritage site, the ruins of My Son are some of the most important remains of the ancient Cham empire. The site is extensive, the ruins beautifully preserved and the jungle setting make for a must-see visit. If you can time your trip, as we hdid, with the departure of a bus load of Hoi Ann day trippers then so much the better – deserted and peaceful is definitely the best way to appreciate the place.

We’d hired a motorbike for the short 35km journey out of town to My Son. Despite assurances from the woman who rented us the bike as to the supposed 1 litre of petrol in the tank, we ground to a halt just outside of town. After walking a short way we managed to hitch a “tow” with a local guy, who tied a piece of rope onto the back of his bike and pulled us along with him, Ady hanging on for dear life to the other end, trying to steer us and not pull the guy over at each corner!

He dropped us at a roadside stall where an old woman sold us a litre of petrol, for a slightly inflated fee. At least it would get us to the nearest garage…if there was one! Shortly after we passed what looked like a makeshift petrol pump and promptly pulled over feeling relieved. Before we’d even spoken the guy said to us $2…!!! How much?!? Aside from the fact that nobody pays for anything in dollars in Vietnam (you can’t get them from the cash machines) We rode another couple of kms to the proper petrol station where we paid about 70 cents per litre!

Top Traveller Tip #10 - Never Trust Anyone! This applies to everyone and everything. When you ask someone the duration of a bus journey, take their answer and add on 2 hours. If they say there is a litre of petrol in the tank; check. There won't be, and you'll run out! If they tell you the room is quiet, look forward to Karaoke all night long. We could go on...

Although Hoi Ann is not famous for it’s beaches, there are a few luxury resorts situated on a nice white sandy beach just a short distance from town. We managed to catch a few rays of sun there that afternoon, the first we’d seen since our arrival in gloomy Vietnam, though we were kitted out in our makeshift “bike gear” and must have looked a sight next to all the bikini clad tourists!

Another overnight bus loomed, this time we made sure it was really a sitting bus before we loaded our bags on. Southward bound, to warmer weather we hoped!