Days 161 to 163 - Hoi An

Fishermen near Hoi An

The town of Hoi An lives up to its hype as a town stuck in the past. Indeed in it a world UNESCO Heritage site. It's easy to see why. Our first night we walked towards the Ancient Town, and wandered through the streets lit with Chinese Lanterns. We found ourselves by the river bank and a little Taverna where we sat drinking gin and watching the peace of the boats on the water, and lit lanterns floating on the river. Very serene.

The morning after we woke up late and after a breakfast of Pho Bo, we made our way to the water again and to see what we saw yesterday in the daylight. Of course the ambience of the small Chinese looking shops lit up was different, but daylight did nothing to rob Hoi An's Ancient City of it's beauty. I want to describe Hoi An as being to Vietnam as Ubud is to Bali. The shops are overwhelmingly craft shops, art shops, photography shops. There is a big representation from tailors, but it feels like you are wondering around somewhere steeped in culture. The art I liked was the abstract paintings, symbolising the Vietnamese people in conical hats. Perfectly formed works and free from stereotype. The photography showing fishermen throwing nets in black and white, was something I felt I wanted to purchase. Instead I set out to copy it with a photo of my own (see top).

Bridges of Hi An County

We took a boat trip for an hour up the river, just Sarah and I. Past the markets, the thin tall houses and out into the brown river away from the port town. We met up with some fishermen as we were supposed to. They threw the nets for our benefit and showed off their catch.  Then one comes aboard our boat, with his net and offers me the chance to throw it, which of course I did. I wasn't very good as a fisherman and got the net stuck in the deck boards of the ship and briefly worried if I'd broken his nets and his livelihood. This was an irrational fear, we as tourists were his livelihood. He asked us for money, I gave him VND20,000, he said no VND100.000. VND20,000 was all he got.

Another evening on the town ensued, again drawn like moths to a lamp with the bridges spanning the river, covered in lanterns. This was truly a very magical town. We were staying on a less magical side, but the walk towards the centre was very short.

The last evening in Hoi An, we found ourselves taking advantage of the countless restaurants in the side streets selling beer at VND 3000 a glass. A half pint glass, but at 10p that is a bargain. Suddenly we had two smiling Germans saying hello. They were our next door neighbours in Nha Trang. Mike and Sabrina were their names and we asked them to sit and join us for a beer. With 10p a beer and Mike being German, there were copious amounts consumed. Together we talked about new Europe, holiday allowances in Germany, UK and USA. Sarah did it first, she mentioned Hitler. "Don't mention the war" the Basil Fawlty in me shouted. But we did and it was an interesting perspective from Germans, and what their grandparents went through. Apart from that we are travelling in the same direction and I hope we meet up again. We shared travel stories, and experiences. They gave me their email, and maybe we will see them in Hanoi.

Today we edged further up the coast to the city of Hue. We have had a brief explore today, and the attraction seems to be a big citadel, a forbidden palace of sorts. Tomorrow we are exploring on bikes. The more we move north, the more real Vietnam looks. This comes at a cost however. Travelling on the sleeper buses is a big discomfort. As we approach the last 12 days of our Vietnam Visa, we have to make a few jumps in distance. We have to suck it up. Vietnam will probably be the country we've explored the most. The geography of the country, being long and thin, means that south to north (or visa versa) itineraries are norm, and in land travel between to two big cities of HCMC and Hanoi, much is seen in between.