Hoi An, Vietnam (Post #83)
Michele here…trying to catch up on the blogs…
We rode a bus for a little over 3 hours from Hue to Hoi An. We read in the guidebook that this bus trip had some fantastic scenary and, when awake, we certainly agreed. I took this photo during one of the bus stops:
After being very busy in Hue (our previous stop), we decided to take it easy in Hoi An (about 3 hours south of Hue). As usual in southeast Asia, we didn’t have a place to stay but the bus dropped us off in front of a guest house and when the girl said, “$10, air conditioning, hot water, balcony”, we said we’d take it. The room was fine and more than that, it was right in front of us. Hoi An was incredibly hot and humid. You really didn’t even want to leave the hotel in the afternoon and you certainly wouldn’t want to walk around looking for another place with a 35 pound pack on your back. We guessed that it was probably 90 degrees plus very high humidity.
The first thing you notice about Hoi An, is that there are hundreds and hundreds of tailor shops and the town is not even that big. Every time you walk down the street you hear, “Hello, how are you? Where you from? How long you here? Visit my clothes shop? Just five minutes? Have a look?” It did get old but we try to keep in mind that they are just trying to make a living. Hoi An is also known for its French architecture. The French occupied Vietnam for many years before it was an independent country and most of Hoi An was not destroyed in the war. So, the French buildings line the town streets. The small downtown area has several Chinese assembly halls (used for worship), lots of paper lantern shops, and art galleries. It was quite charming (now you know it’s Michele writing the blog since Mike would never ever use that word!) In the photo below you can see a Chinese assembly hall on the left and an art gallery on the right. I took this picture when I was walking around the town of Hoi An. As I was standing on a corner, all of the schools let out and the streets were suddenly filled with students.
My last observation about Hoi An and Vietname in general that I’ve been meaning to mention…..The Vietnamese women will do anything to shield themselves from the sun. They want to have white skin, not dark skin like the Lao or Cambodian women. They wear surgical masks (sometimes decorated with patterns or dyed to match their outfits) but they also wear hats and gloves and always have on long sleeve shirts regardless of the weather. When they don’t have a surgical mask on, you will see the women using a book or even a part of a sleeve to shield their face. And in fact, it’s been difficult for me to find any face lotion that doesn’t contain a skin whitening agent. I find this interesting considering the fact that many American and European women spend hours tanning to darken their skin (which Vietnamese people would think is very ugly.)
While in Hoi An, we spent time walking along the small river and eating at the riverfront restaurants. One night, just as the sun was setting (see photo below), we hired a boat lady for $2 to paddle us around the river for an hour.
She sang some Vietnamese songs and I sang some American songs with her that she knew. I’m sure Mike was dying of embarassment (although there wasn’t anyone around). Although the river is pretty small, it’s used by the locals to transport people and goods to the other side (as opposed to using the bridge). It was interesting to see boats completely overloaded with people and bicycles and motorbikes going across the water, looking like they were about to sink. The picture below shows the French architecture I mentioned earlier and it also illustrates that life in Hoi An really does revolve around the river. We also spent some time wandering around the market, which was also along the river.
Life on the river:
Market:
On our last day in Hoi An, we got up at 4:15am to take a special bus to see the Cham ruins at My Son. We chose this option because we heard it was a small place area and it could get flooded with tourists in the late morning and afternoon. So, we left at 5:00am in the dark to drive about 40 km to the Cat’s Tooth Mountains. My Son was a religious center under King Bhadrararman in the late 4th century and was occupied until the 13th century. There were only 8 of us when we got to the ruins. Once we saw them, Mike and I agreed, it almost took your breath away. The main group of ruins went undiscovered for 500 years and are in very good condition. The cool thing about them is that since they have been there for so long, grass and other greenery are growing all over the brick structures. These religous ruins are Indian (Hindu) and you can also see remains of several statues of the Hindu gods. It is really a beautiful site to see in the middle of a valley with the surrounding hills covered by jungle.
At night we decided to try a 5-course seafood dinner (for about $5.50 each) at a place we read about. The 5 courses included a Hoi An specialty food known as “white roses”. White roses are steamed dumplings with shrimp in the middle and dried crunchy onions on top in a vinager and chili based sause. Yum! We also had crab and fish corn soup, squid and vegetables with large crispy flat pieces of rice bread (more like giant crackers), sauteed fish with pickled vegetables, and creme brule. (Gee, I wonder why I’ve gained weight on the trip!) On the way back from dinner we went to a bookstore and bought several more bootleg (xeroxed) books. I’m actually not sure you could find an original book, CD, or DVD here in Vietnam.
Tomorrow (Jan 22nd), we take a taxi to Danang ($7) where we will catch a flight ($53) to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). (We’ve decided to just say “no” to overnight buses!)
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Tags: Category #22: Vietnam
Michele Harmon
Mike, the year before I married your mother, I spent 7 months just north of Hoi An in DaNang. In fact the airport you will depart to go to Saigon was my home – east side, just a little north of runway center. Before that, for three years, I flew into Danang two to four times a month from California (via the Philippines). I was there from october thru april, and I agree, it was hot.
During the time I was at DaNang, we took more than 240 rockets, mostly at night. Most of them were launched from just north of Hoi Vang. Because of the risks, I did not get to Hoi An.
However, just wait until you get to Saigon! Several hundred miles south and that is really a hot spot. I spent 8 months there. The sun used to melt the shoe polish off of my boots as I waited for a bus!
rp
Those Cham ruins sound wonderful. How about some pics?
Mike is a charming guy…but, I’ll bet he’d be even more charming in a nicely tailored suit. Get thee to a tailor, Mike! 😉
Can I print this picture for my living room? It’s beautiful! Such great photos of your trip!