Day 7 - Hoi An .. Vietnam

Hoi An... Vietnam. Wow.... what more can you say about this place on the east coast of Vietnam about an hours flight from Saigon! There is so much to tell to try and describe all the accolades Hoi An seems to get from everyone who has been here that I'm going to wait until we get to KL on Tuesday evening. Typing on this small notebook is hard work so I'll wait until I can get to a decent keyboard. So stay tuned folks. 

And thanks to those who have kept up with our travels via this Blog... we'll try and catch up shortly. Hope all are well at home though as we've heard of big storms again out around Penrith.

Just now waiting at Saigon airport for our flight to KL are we able to have a bit of a breather and catch up on the Blog. The wi-fi here doesn't work so I'll send this later.

Our hotel is on the coast about 3 miles from Hoi An and we catch the hotel shuttle. The drive to the main town is amazing and I'm wanting the driver to stop so I can take photos... this is real in-your-face Vietnam as we pass through busy villages and markets, green rice paddies, temples and over a bridge which has the most magnificent view of the river and fishing villages. So much photograph and so little time... I'm already wishing we could spend two weeks here.

The old town of Hoi An is a heritage town so no cars allowed but push-bikes and small motorbikes are everywhere, as well as the bike rickshaws touting for business. It's a Sunday and full of tourists as well as locals with small stalls and street sellers everywhere. Charlie would go ballistic as they are very persistent like in India!

The streets look just like those in downtown Melaka, quaint old Chinese shop-houses … restaurants, galleries, clothes shops, jewelery, you name it and it's here, and of course, the street sellers are never far away. It's a photographers paradise and I'm glad we don't use film anymore... I would have run out before we got to town!

My old school mate Lionel Adams-Acton (who I haven't seen for 43 years, but we caught up on Facebook) is currently in Siem Riep and our paths won't cross on this trip, but he was in Hoi An 2 weeks ago and recommended the cooking class at The Morning Glory Restaurant, so we make our way through the crowded streets and finally find it... crowded with people. I book a course for the next day, Monday, at 8:30am. Another early start!

It is starting to get hot and I'm indire need of a cold beer so we head for a restaurant down by the river called The Mango Rooms. Apparently Mick Jagger dined here so they just might let us in. We choose a seat by the window overlooking the broadwalk and the river.

There are old men and women in small boats who hang around the edge of the river touting for business. I'd love to go for a ride down the river but after my Apocalypse Now episode in the Mekong Delta... I kept hearing those haunting words... “Never get into the boat!” Besides, Liz said she'd divorce me on the spot if I even thought about it! I got some good shots of the people anyway.

Our lunch is simple Vietnamese food we've come to love and washed down with a cold Tiger. I can't believe that here in a communist country, Tiger beer is just $1 a can! It is $8 a can in KL! We could sit here all day watching the ever-changing scene... the boats on the river, the tourists riding bikes along the quay or the street food sellers. All the locals have definitely embraced capitalism in a big way.

I'm wanting to catch the sunset from the Cam Ram bride so we hang around the town until the sun starts to set over the misty mountains in the distance. Others have the same idea so the bridge is mayhem... photographers setting up on the narrow walkway, the locals getting the shits as they try and get past and avoid being run over by the constant flow of bikes, rickshaws and taxis.

There is a big cloud bank on the hills so the sunset is pretty tame but I get a few shots anyway. Tomorrow might be better.

We head back to the hotel in a taxi as we've missed the free shuttle bus. There is an opportun8ity for someone to make a lot of money here selling AeroGuard to the cabbies. The cab is alive with mosquitoes and the driver doesn't seem to notice but we don't want to risk malaria or one of those other nasties so we jump around in the back of the cab swatting the bloody things!

Back at the hotel and with the sound of the surf in the background we have a light dinner in one of the restaurants while Ross and Mandy, the musical duo, cover all of Liz's favourites... you know... all those soppy love songs!!!!

Off to bed with the surf raging a few metres away. I've got another early morning at the cooking class which starts at 8:30am.