Monday 9 April 2012

Hoi An Day 11

Im sitting typing this in our hotel/Flashpakers/hostel whatever you want to call it in Hoi An. Before the trip we only booked our accommodation in Bangkok and a bit of Thailand. The idea was simply to find a place as we arrived. Our budget for accommodation is 20 quid a day. I did some checking before we left of places to get a rough estimate on price and 20 quid was ample for both me and Candice i.e a tenner each. The reality is 20 quid is more than enough. We haven't really stayed in a back packers yet its mainly budget hotels as they fit our price range with a bit to spare. The place we are currently in has an indoor swimming pool which is handy after a day in the sun. It took me a while to adjust to the heat in Vietnam. I think I mentioned it in a previous blog post but it really is quite potent. Everyday except one has been 30 plus and the humidity is close on 100%. At least thats what the app on my iPhone says. You need an afternoon nap most days as the sun drains you. I have felt better the last couple days by drinking at least 2 litres of water and having an istonic drink which keeps you hydrated.
On the train up here we slept in a six sleeper cabin which was a really interesting experience. The cabin was a hard sleeper as the soft sleepers were sold out. A hard sleeper sleeps 6 people is pretty small and not the most comfortable. It was myself,Candice and an American plus three Asian/Vietnamiese people.
I was lying awake reading and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a massive bug. On closer inspection of the cabin I noticed one of the people had a bag of like dry leaves that seem fairly fresh that they were transporting with them. I'm not sure if that was the source of the bugs but I was squatting bugs pretty much the whole trip. The cabin also smelt quite bad like urine to be exact so not very pleasant. Either way it was an experience even though its not that fun waking up with a bug crawling on you. When we arrived at the station after about 11 hours on the train we teamed up with the american to make the trip to Hoi An. We decided to give Da Nang a miss as its the third biggest city in Vietnam. Hoi An is 30km from Da Nang. Its a world heritage site and has a lot of charm. The beach is about 3-4km away which we stopped at today for a swim on our way to Marble mountain. Hoi An is very well known for its tailors and you can get clothing made for next to nothing. The interesting fact about it being so touristy is that the people here speak better english. In Ho Chi minh City (HCMC) and Nha Trang the english is pretty bad so its hard to make conversation and sometimes get exactly what you want. The really weird thing about Nha Trang is the amount of russians their on holiday. So much so that when I had a haircut at the local hairdresser beautician she spoke russian to the woman that came in. On our boat trip in Nha Trang, in the resturants and bars there were just plently russians. Its also interesting we met Chase an american guy and a british couple on the boat and last night when we were in Hoi An old told we saw them both. We had a beer with Chase. He is a chef from America here doing some food travel writing.
The one negative about Vietnam is the vendors on the street and even the shops trying to get your attention to sell you something or the other. Literally "you want to by something very cheap price happy hour for you". It gets a little annoying if you sitting eating or just having a drink and someone wants to sell you something. I realise its there livelyhood but they also don't take no for an answer. Now and again you will say no and they will say "why not good price buy something". No thanks I don't want anything. "Please buy something cheap price for you". I'm okay thanks really just want to relax. "Please sir buy just one thing". Okay how much. Lets say I've ended up with some interesting sh!t.  I have a couple paintings, braclets etc. Anyways thats the only negative and without the tourism Vietnam would suffer. Just googled tourism and GDP and its seems like it contributes quite a bit.38% in 2004 thats 8 years ago. Tourism and GDP. The coffee in Vietnam is really good if you are a coffee drinker. Its served short and strong in most places like a expresso. You can get a normal cup of coffee but its usually served with condensed milk instead of normal milk which gives it a different taste. Bit sweet sometimes but a good energy booster.
When we drove from Da Nag to Hoi An I took notice of the roads and it seemed pretty quiet. Nothing like HCMC so we rented a bike today. We drove to marble mountain which was good. Its basically a cluster of five marble and limestone hills sticking out the ground which has caves and massive statues of buddhas carved out of marble. The one cave had holes in the top with the sun beaming down. I took some pics so will post them but it was pretty picturisc. After that we drove to Cua Dai beach and just relaxed. We had some seafood there. It was pretty cheap but wasnt that great. Candice and some prawns and rice and I had fried rice with Calamari. The sign said fresh but Im not sure how fresh it was. Either way I was hungry so still ate it.
Going to take a dip in the pool now and then try and go for a run. After that we will find some street food in the old city. We leave tomorrow for Hue. We are going to stay there one night and then head for Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. Hopefully I wont leave so long till the next post.
Cheers
Jeremy.