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29 June: Hoi An
We were woken up prematurely by new guests, at least only 15 minutes before we had to get up. We got up freshened up and waited outside. They had told us that the bus would be there at 06h30 to pick us up, we waited with a cup of filter coffee watching the boats on the sea and early morning bathers. The taxi arrived at 07h00 and we jumped in with an elderly couple from New Zealand. At the bus station we were shown our bus, boarded it, the trip to Hoi An would be 6 hours and we would arrive at 13h00. We spoke almost all the way with John and Barbara, they were seasoned travelers. John had retired at the age of 50 and spent the following 18 years traveling Asia for 3 to 6 months of the year. Barbara unfortunately could not join since she had to work, but unfortunately she could not always join him while he cycled through Singapore to Bangkok or Southern China to India. They tried to travel every year staying for 3 months at a time, but only in Asia.
Just before half way a stench filled the bus, it wasn't someone who had eaten a bit too many chilies the evening before, rather some one had literally "shat his pants", or in this case hers. We continued like this for at least another 15 minutes before it became to bad and everyone was complaining. The driver pulled over, but to our amazement it wasn't for the poor elderly lady to go to the bathroom. Rather we had a flat tire and it needed to be changed, talk about coincidental! While the tire was being changed, the seat was cleaned. Back on the bus heading to Hoi An, it hadn't helped much and we continued with open windows and complaints. At least it passed with time, the discussions continued between John and myself ranging from sports, politics, economics to travels and cultures.
Half way we stopped at a restaurant where we were herded out to enjoy lunch. They only had a set menu, vegetable soup, chicken and rice and tea, all for just over a dollar each! After lunch we were off again, a little noon siesta caught me off guard while Leanne continued her conversation with Barbara. Another hour before we are dropped off on the side of the road, the turn off for Hoi An, since the bus was heading for Danang.
On the side of the road we were met by 3 motorcycle drivers who were trying to haggle with us to use them as transport to Hoi An, only 12km away. They started at 150pp and we ended at 35pp! They took us into town but stopped at the first hotel. This wasn't the one we had agreed upon and they now wanted 10 000 dong each more! Luckily it was a short dispute and we were soon on our way. They stopped at the right hotel and we paid them the 70 000, checking the room of the hotel we left our bags and headed around to three other hotels to find one to stay.
The weather in Hoi An is hot, averaging around 35 to 38 Celsius, so we were inclined to look for a hotel with a swimming pool. (We had heard from other travelers that it's not much more expensive). After 15 minutes walking up and down the street we found what we were looking for although a little more expensive, but only by $2. We dressed in our bathing suits and headed for cooler places. Down by the indoor pool we ordered a mango shake which we enjoyed, while chatting with some Englishmen. After the initial cooling off period we headed out to town, stopping along the way at a flight travel agency to ascertain whether they could find any cheap flights out of Beijing, no luck. We turned around and headed to the central market, passing hundreds of tailor shops along the way. To say Hoi An was known for its tailors would be an understatement! Arriving at the central market we looked first to find food having only eaten breakfast. We found a stall on the street with small kiddie size chairs and ordered a Cao Lac to share between us. A dish containing soup, rice noodles, pork shavings and leaves. This was a delicacy of Hoi An and was really very tasty.
Afterwards we continued through the market heading towards the river, arriving at the river we met John and Barb sitting on two chairs, not in the restaurant but on the sidewalk, beer in hand, watching the sun set. We got two beers and chairs and joined them, chatting for 3 hours more before greeting and heading back to the street stall for two more dishes of Cao Lao. After supper we headed back home enjoying another cooling off period in the swimming pool, before heading up to our room to enjoy the late night movie, which only ended at 01h00!
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