|
|
> TDMLIFE Home Page
> Help Fund the Adventure
> Updated Journal Entries
> About Todd & Maggie
> Our Getaway Itinerary
> Where are They Now...?
> Contributors & Sponsors
> Photography (Buy Option)
|
|
|
|
Featured Sponsor
|
|
 |
06.05.2005 -- HOI AN - VIETNAM --
Island Motorbikes and Traffic That Would Ruin Buddha's Patience...
|
|
|
We are sitting in an Internet cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam attempting to escape the afternoon heat and killing some time. We returned from Hoi An via bus this morning and are catching a night train north to Sa Pa.
Our last entry was from Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay, and the torrential downpours did stop long enough for us to get a two hour motorbike ride around the island. We rented a motorbike for just over $3 (petrol included) from a guy at a hotel - yep, it was his own personal motorbike! When we hesitated, as we didn't want to chance wrecking someone else's motorbike, he just smiled and said "It's ok, I trust you." So, off we went.
It's a beautiful island - terrain straight out of Jurassic Park. As we motored back into town, the thunder and rain resumed and we headed straight to "our" little oceanside bar/restaurant. Nga and Phoung were waiting for us with big smiles and a "high five". These were our sub 5 foot waitresses that we befriended. One thing we've learned in Vietnam is that it's beneficial in many ways to frequent the same establishments. Not only can you then "work the deals", but you get behind the initial $$$ exterior that seems to be present with many Vietnamese who encounter tourists regularly.
As the rain in Cat Ba did not show any signs of letting up, we decided to head back to Hanoi and try elsewhere. We had heard great things about Hoi An from numerous travelers as well as locals. Upon our arrival in Hanoi, we headed back to the real Sinh Cafe at 52 Hang Bac Road and found overnight minibus tickets to Hoi An for $10 per person.
The minibuses aren't exactly made with the 6 foot person in mind! We found ourselves silently hoping that the seats in front of us were broken so that they couldn't recline; but recline they could and our kneecaps took a beating! We were able to catch little cat naps between the bus driver's fits of honking and swerving - letting someone, somewhere know we were coming and willing and able to run them down. Needless to say, the 40 exhausted travelers the bus was carrying let out a sigh of relief when we reached our destination and put our own feet on solid ground again!
Hoi An is a quaint little town in a beautiful setting - green, rolling mountains to the west and beaches and sea to the east with rice fields in between. It's a cultural center in Vietnam - full of tailors and artists. It's heritage clearly includes the French, noted by both the architecture and the food. Hoi An is known primarily for the tailors and ability to get inexpensive, custom clothing made. We were no exception to this draw.
Our mission was to get a traditional Vietnamese shirt and pants made for Todd's grandmother. But how could we resist all that fabric and the offer to have skirts, shirts and pants made to fit for $12-$15? Those tailors can be so convincing! We had fun with ours, whose name was Lisa (Sa in Vietnamese) and were pleased with how things turned out. There is a question however of whether or not we will get to wear them as we sent them to the US via seamail!
Hoi An has many other attractions to explore: great restaurants, beautiful beaches and My Son, which is an amazing ancient place of Hindu worship for the Champa people - many of the buildings were built in the 11th-13th century. We took a 5am bus to My Son to avoid the heat and tourists and it paid off - there were only 8 of us there to roam as we pleased. Unfortunately, of the 48 buildings that were standing prior to 1969, only 20 remain due to US bombs. This was a hideout for the Viet Cong at the time.
Another thing we enjoyed about Hoi An was running in to other travelers that we had met in Thailand and elsewhere in Vietnam. It's such a great surprise to be walking down the street and see a familiar face! We bumped into an Aussie (Michael) that was on our trek in Thailand and hung out with his friend and him at the beach and met for dinner. We were also excited to meet a guy from Swaziland, Africa - how many people can say that? And we can't forget the first day at the beach when we met Ellen and Michael (from Sweden) and met up with them for dinner. My sister and her in-laws will be happy to know that we have run into multiple Danes and all have been fantastic! We will definitely have to make it to the Scandinavian countries in the near future!
Our next stop, Sa Pa, is north of Hanoi in the mountains. We plan on doing some trekking to some of the hill tribes, but don't expect any pictures. We have heard the hill tribes have an entrepreneurial spirit and charge to have pictures taken!
-- Todd & Maggie
############
|
|
|
|
|
