05-09-09
Boy am I glad I decided to leave Da Lat! The weather was cold and windy and of course the air-con on the bus worked a treat. Never does when it’s really hot!! We went downhill for about two hours before we stopped for a meal and when I got off the bus it was beautiful and warm again.
The whole journey took about four hours and usually when you arrive someone has a hotel – not this time. I got a taxi to drop me off at the train station – the ticket office was closed until 13:30 and it was just gone noon. I checked the train times but there was nothing for Hoi An and when I looked at the map, the line bypasses Hoi An and goes to Danang higher up. I needed a taxi then to the long distance bus station and some clever dick asked for 100,000 dong. I’d just paid 10,000 so there was no way it was that much. I said to take my bags out of the taxi and got one out before another man said OK, 10,000. He then dropped me back at the original bus station which doesn’t go to Hoi An! I asked for directions and was told it was about 2 kms so off I went. It wasn’t too far but boy was it hot again. When I finally got to the office the girl asked did I want to go that night. I booked the sleeping bus ticket there and then, hoping that it wouldn’t be full and I could have a bed to myself.
I left the bags at the office and took a walk to the beach. I was sorry then I’d booked to leave that night as it was really nice and there were loads of guesthouses I could have stayed at. It was nice to see the sea as that was the first time in all the trip. The beach looked nice and clean and there were several islands out in the bay. Too late, the booking was made.
I got back to the office in good time and to my relief, the sleeping bus was all single beds! A bit on the neat side but I managed to sleep well enough. It rained solidly all night.
06-09-09
We arrived at Hoi An at approximately 6:30, stopping right outside Sea Star guesthouse who happened to hav a room for $10. If I’d only looked over the road a little, there was a hotel with a swimming pool which would probably would not have cost much more. Not to worry, I have a hot shower, fan and TV.
After a shower it was time to go exploring. The rain had stopped by then so first was breakfast and then have a look at the river. Apparently here is the place to get made-to-measure clothing and hand-made shoes but the shop keepers drive you potty asking you all the time to buy from them, What part of ‘no’ don’t they understand?
I bought a ticket for the old town attractions. You have the choice of which ones to go in but you cannot go in all of them unless you pay more money – strange. I booked to go to My Son Monday, another World Heritage site, and a ticket to Hue Tuesday. I walked over the bridge to one of the islands then walked back again. The rain came again so the sightseeing went on hold and into a restaurant for the Hoi An specialities. There was a fixed price menu so it was possible to try the ‘white rose’ – steamed shrimp dumplings as well as ‘cau lau’ – flat noodles with pork, croutons and bean sprouts in savoury broth - and fried wonton. They were OK, I tried them but I won’t be having them again!
07-09-09
I got up nice and early for the trip – 04:15. It was hammering it down then and it hasn’t stopped all day! I had my waterproof jacket on but it dripped onto my shorts and worked its way up. One young man hadn’t even a plastic mac with him so I lent him my umbrella.
My Son was very interesting but would have been more interesting with better weather. It was set in lovely surroundings and was an ancient Cham city which became a religious centre in the late 4th century and lasted until the 13th century. At least there weren’t too many tourists there – infact there were only the four of us off our bus.
I got back about 9:30 and it was still raining. Had a shower then went over the road for breakfast. Still raining – everybody here wears plastic flip-flops – now I know why! My sandals were soaked. I went on the internet – still raining. I needed to go into town to change some money – still raining. The bank was closed for lunch – the rain was absolutely bouncing down with rivers running down the street so I just had to go and have a coffee. I did think about a beer but decided against it.
The rain finally eased off about 13:35 so I took the chance of seeing a couple of the sights in town. As the rain started to get heavier again, I changed money then came back to the hotel to write this up. There is nothing else to do in this weather as there is no pleasure in paddling through torrents of rainwater rushing down the streets!
Boy am I glad I decided to leave Da Lat! The weather was cold and windy and of course the air-con on the bus worked a treat. Never does when it’s really hot!! We went downhill for about two hours before we stopped for a meal and when I got off the bus it was beautiful and warm again.
The whole journey took about four hours and usually when you arrive someone has a hotel – not this time. I got a taxi to drop me off at the train station – the ticket office was closed until 13:30 and it was just gone noon. I checked the train times but there was nothing for Hoi An and when I looked at the map, the line bypasses Hoi An and goes to Danang higher up. I needed a taxi then to the long distance bus station and some clever dick asked for 100,000 dong. I’d just paid 10,000 so there was no way it was that much. I said to take my bags out of the taxi and got one out before another man said OK, 10,000. He then dropped me back at the original bus station which doesn’t go to Hoi An! I asked for directions and was told it was about 2 kms so off I went. It wasn’t too far but boy was it hot again. When I finally got to the office the girl asked did I want to go that night. I booked the sleeping bus ticket there and then, hoping that it wouldn’t be full and I could have a bed to myself.
I left the bags at the office and took a walk to the beach. I was sorry then I’d booked to leave that night as it was really nice and there were loads of guesthouses I could have stayed at. It was nice to see the sea as that was the first time in all the trip. The beach looked nice and clean and there were several islands out in the bay. Too late, the booking was made.
I got back to the office in good time and to my relief, the sleeping bus was all single beds! A bit on the neat side but I managed to sleep well enough. It rained solidly all night.
06-09-09
We arrived at Hoi An at approximately 6:30, stopping right outside Sea Star guesthouse who happened to hav a room for $10. If I’d only looked over the road a little, there was a hotel with a swimming pool which would probably would not have cost much more. Not to worry, I have a hot shower, fan and TV.
After a shower it was time to go exploring. The rain had stopped by then so first was breakfast and then have a look at the river. Apparently here is the place to get made-to-measure clothing and hand-made shoes but the shop keepers drive you potty asking you all the time to buy from them, What part of ‘no’ don’t they understand?
I bought a ticket for the old town attractions. You have the choice of which ones to go in but you cannot go in all of them unless you pay more money – strange. I booked to go to My Son Monday, another World Heritage site, and a ticket to Hue Tuesday. I walked over the bridge to one of the islands then walked back again. The rain came again so the sightseeing went on hold and into a restaurant for the Hoi An specialities. There was a fixed price menu so it was possible to try the ‘white rose’ – steamed shrimp dumplings as well as ‘cau lau’ – flat noodles with pork, croutons and bean sprouts in savoury broth - and fried wonton. They were OK, I tried them but I won’t be having them again!
07-09-09
I got up nice and early for the trip – 04:15. It was hammering it down then and it hasn’t stopped all day! I had my waterproof jacket on but it dripped onto my shorts and worked its way up. One young man hadn’t even a plastic mac with him so I lent him my umbrella.
My Son was very interesting but would have been more interesting with better weather. It was set in lovely surroundings and was an ancient Cham city which became a religious centre in the late 4th century and lasted until the 13th century. At least there weren’t too many tourists there – infact there were only the four of us off our bus.
I got back about 9:30 and it was still raining. Had a shower then went over the road for breakfast. Still raining – everybody here wears plastic flip-flops – now I know why! My sandals were soaked. I went on the internet – still raining. I needed to go into town to change some money – still raining. The bank was closed for lunch – the rain was absolutely bouncing down with rivers running down the street so I just had to go and have a coffee. I did think about a beer but decided against it.
The rain finally eased off about 13:35 so I took the chance of seeing a couple of the sights in town. As the rain started to get heavier again, I changed money then came back to the hotel to write this up. There is nothing else to do in this weather as there is no pleasure in paddling through torrents of rainwater rushing down the streets!
I will leave Tuesday morning at 07:30 and hope the weather is better in Hue. I'm not holding my breath though as the weather forecast for the whole of South East Asia is for more rain, due to a tropical storm off the coast of the Phillipines.
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