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Hoi An, Vietnam
and bits of the journey from Hue to Hoi An
Friday October 10, 2003
We took a tour from Hue to Hoi An, and on the way stopped at Lang Co beach.
FINALLY! A BEACH!!! I was SOooo excited, even if it was for only 20
minutes or so. When I first walked up to the Ocean's edge, I stood just on
the edge of where the water was coming. The next wave that rolled in came
up just to where my feet were as if in greeting. It has been too long, and
finally we're here...
If your name is Sybille Saint-Leger, please click
here.
The next stop on the tour was at the top of the pass where there was an American
battery and tower left from the war. You can (kinda) see the beach that we
visited previously in the second image. The air generally has a fairly
dense haze that reflects a lot of light, so the images don't come out well for
me....
Beautiful Hoi An. Really quite a gorgeous town, but overrun with tourists,
and to the point where the locals are fairly aggressive in their self marketing.
The town is one of the few areas in Vietnam that has been relatively untouched
(militarily) by both the French and Americans, and much of the town dates at
least several hundred years. The inner streets are too narrow to allow
cars, so just motorbikes, cyclos and bicycles are allowed to endanger
pedestrians. Notable local products include the gorgeous cloth and bamboo
lanterns in the pictures, tailored silk, wood carvings, stunning ceramics, and
little clay flutes in curious figurines that are slightly reminiscent in size
and color of certain indecent Peruvian carvings I've had occasion to see, but of
a wholly decent and wholesome character. Same same, but different.
Left to right, 1. naked lantern frames, 2. Lantern Store, 3. Fishing net, 4.
Tourists and locals, 5. Gongs (on the wall) and ding-a-lings (in the cyclos).
The last picture was quite a site to see. There were literally 30 cyclos
in a row shuttling a group of tourists to their hotel. I'm sure it was
part of their package, but I've never seen so many cyclo drivers with customers
at one time, and certainly not all in an orderly line with the same destination.
There is an old Japanese Covered Bridge connecting two parts of the old town.
The bridge has been rebuilt many times since the 16th century, always
maintaining the original design.
Inside there are statues of two dogs and two monkeys to commemorate that the
bridge was started during the year of the monkey and completed in the year of
the dog. There is also a small temple on the bridge, but entrance requires
a ticket. It is possible to buy a
ticket that allows entrance to various historical sights throughout the city,
from various churches to gathering places for specific groups to groups of
potters or wood carvers. We walked by many of these sites but didn't feel
terribly compelled to purchase the tickets. You can walk through the
bridge without a ticket (it is in use), but just can't go into the temple part
of it.
Phu Thinh Hotel
144 Tran Phu St., Hoi An
Tel 0510-861-297
Fax 84.510.861.757
minhthaoha@dng.vnn.vn
This is the Hotel where we stayed. It is very nice and comfortable, and
the price was fairly reasonable at $8 a night for a double bed with A/C, private
bath and hot water. We discovered later that another hotel offered the
same rate but included cable TV with HBO.... The staff was also very
friendly, though not entirely forthcoming. When we booked in, I
specifically asked if the room was quiet, and was assured that it was. And
it was, until the next morning at 05:30 am when there were 20 people outside my
window playing Badminton. Loudly. When I talked with the
receptionist up front about it, she said that she didn't understand why they
were opened, but that they shouldn't be playing until 10:00am at least.
We briefly discussed changing rooms, but I chose not to because I believed (for
my own shortsightedness) that indeed nobody would be playing badminton the next
morning until 10:00. At 5:30 the next morning, shouts arose from outside
my window once again. I woke the attendant sleeping in the lobby to see if
he couldn't address the issue, and he assured me that they were supposed to be
playing at 5:30, why hadn't I moved rooms? Many apologies, mumblings about
getting the authorities to address the issue, and a small discount on checkout,
were helpful but did not entirely compensate for lost sleep or misinformation.
Booking tickets through their office was also similar, but problems could
have been avoided by careful reading of our travel guide. When we booked
tickets to go to My Son we were not informed of
the 50,000vnd entrance fee on top of the tour price, and were meant to
understand that we would have 3 hours at the temple when in fact it was
1½ hours. When we booked the train ticket
to Nha Trang ($15 USD each for a soft seat) we did not understand that the
train left from Da Nang, not Hoi An and had to arrange another $8 cab fare to
get us to the station. Again, these misunderstandings probably could have
been avoided by doing more homework, but I think ticket booking services should
make sure to provide thorough information to customers.
Despite these shortfalls, I would still recommend the Phu Thinh, because it's
right in the old part of town, so away from cars and horns and convenient to
walking around. The rooms are comfortable, and the atmosphere is pleasant.
The booking office also offers relatively cheap tickets. Just make sure to
ask for a room away from the badminton courts, and do your homework and ask
questions when booking the tickets.
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Copyright 2003, Dana M. Brash. All Rights Reserved.
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