HOI AN

Does anyone remember those shoe holders that hook over doors holding one shoe in each pocket? Well picture one of those with wheels and 30 pockets and you have an idea of a sleeping bus. Departing from Nha Trang at 8pm and arriving at Hoi An at 0630. It was an experience that's for sure. The seat belts were a must as one had a tendency to become airborne when going over the bumps. It was just as well that it was dark because there were a few close calls I'm sure.

When we arrived at Hoi An we were met at the bus station by the hotel bus. We checked into the Grasslands Hotel, which is the first hotel since Singapore that has boasted a lift/elevator. I guess it was just as well, as the parents were relegated to the fourth floor, while us children were on the second. Another point, at home where the higher up a room is, the more you tend to pay. Here the higher the room the less you pay, as you have to climb more stairs to get there.

However on a side note, the elevator is not such a plus in a place like Hoi An, where the power has a tendency to get cut off at any point during the day. During one day I think the power went out several times and if somewhere did not have a generator, they were stuck in the dark till the power came back on.

Anyway, back to the events. We had a little time to freshen up and rest before we borrowed hotel bicycles and cycled to 2ks or so to the town centre.

Hoi An is an old and mostly heritage listed town, no where near as frantic as other places. Hoi An, aside from other things, is famous for it's tailors. Of course the hotel concierge had a "good friend" who had tailors in town. Mrs. Tam Tam. Well we left Mrs. Tam Tam with 2 suits, 6 shirts, 4 pants, 3 nighties, 2 kimonos, 2 evening dresses and 3 ties in the making and $USD700 in the owing. Dad was rather distressed at the amount. we rode back to the hotel where we had another chance at a rest.

Mum and Dad decided that they wanted to have a look-see at the older parts of town so they snuck off while us children were resting. Now the hotel offers you free transport into the centre of town and back, so Mum and Dad requested a lift into the centre of town, little expecting the two motorcycles that turned up. Much against Dad's "No Motorcycle Policy" (Spoil Sport!!). so these two motorcycles, complete with driver and helmets. So Mum and Dad arrived in the centre of town, VERY FAST.

When they deigned to collect us from our room, we caught a taxi into town for $1. Via the lonely planet we found a dark, dingy laneway with an equally dark and dingy looking restaurant, called BaLe Well. Small plastic chairs and tables, as are the norm set up into the laneway. We were cornered and ushered to a table. In a matter of minutes they were piling food onto the table, til it was almost groaning with the effort. We had BBQ pork on sticks, Satay Pork on sticks rice paper, egg pancakes, spring rolls and greenery. As we all looked decidedly confused, the hostesses showered us with food and kept pushing more and more in front of us. I finally got to use my single line of Vietnamese. "Toi an Chay" and she understood!!! So I had all of this minus the pork and "rimpless" (shrimp-less) spring rolls and pancakes. It was very authentic and very delicious.
We then rolled back to the tailors for our fist fitting. And then after a few adjustments were made and alterations ordered, we were told that these would be ready for collection tomorrow.

HOI AN - MY SON - HOI AN 10.01.09

Well the highlight of the day today, was not the 1000 year old Hindu temple, or the boat ride to Cham Island, but the truly scary bus ride. This bus had no Speedo, no odometer, but the driver was able to smoke, talk on the phone, incessantly honk the horn and DRIVE! (lucky that dogs have excellent road sense). I lost count of the number of time that I braced myself to stop going through the windshield (stupidly I thought that the front would be a good place to sit, it was a lot scarier).

Our guide Mr. Dung (pronounced Zunt), who reminded Dad of Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heroes, in his delivery, had a very sharp mind, a wicked sense of humour, and decent English.

So we traipsed through the mud and sludge admiring the Hindu temples that have been much bombed by the American aggressors. Just the greenery, was breathtaking the sites were just beautiful.

We then embarked on a boat trip, with lunch of rice and tofu, and visited the Cham island of Wood Craftsmen, and headed back to Hoi An. We traipsed to the tailors for a last fitting, and got a taxi back to the hotel.

We rested up for a little, then headed back out to try on the clothes one last time, and as the final products came to 10 kg of fabric and such, we got Mrs. Tam Tam to ship them home for us. After that we found our way back to BaLe Well for a second round, which was just as good as the first, and as it was full moon, Buddhists do not eat meat, so I had a special dish, which was very nice.

We then set out to find a massage parlour, which we found a bit of a hike away, and the boys resignedly accepted to have a foot massage, "one small step for man, one giant leap for male kind". This is one thing that they have been refusing to even consider since we went away. So after 2 body massages, 2 foot massages, a facial and a mani and pedi, we all walked out rather relaxed. And knowing us night owls it was 2300 before we got back to the hotel...the latest we've been up since we've been away. Disgraceful.

HOI AN 11.01.09

Today, after a sleep-in Mum and Dad headed off to the market, to find some nibblies to take on our bus trip from Hoi An to Dang Ha, a little town up near the DMZ. Our bus leaves at 1330 and arrives at Dang Ha at around 2030. it's not a sleeping bus this time, just a normal old sitting bus. So that has bought you all up to date with the adventures of us!!!