Choose another map, showing:

• Thailand
• South East Asia
• Asia
• Eurasia, Africa & Pacific
• The World

Other entries in Hoi An

Hoi An, Just like a Greek Fishing Town

Well after long moto trip to Hoi An, 20km(very hard work as a passenger.) I was glad of a nice hotel to dump my bags in and have a descent meal, sat by the river watching the world go by. It was a little expensive for my taste, $10 a night, so I went out to explore the town. I eventually found a Hostelling International Hotel, although it was at $12 a night, The Thanh Van Hotel offered, AC, Sat TV, free intenet, breakfast and a swimming pool, (shame the water wasn't that warm but at least there was a fish pond for company while swimming.) I thought I would have to live it up a bit before I got to mud floors and bamboo roofs.

I booked onto one of the many tours that are availible. It was a day trip to Cham Island. The Island is where a group called the Cham people come from and is the site of an ancient Stupa and Bhudha. There was also a fishing village there to look at and enjoy there local food. I got talking with the tour guide (Mr.Quang) and there friend (Kim Ang) that was also on the boat to visit her friends on the island. I was invited back to their house later on that eveing for some food and later taken out for coffee.

It dosen't seem very fair that the person inviting everyone out for a drink ends up paying for all of the drinks, and dosen't get any back in return.

 It was an odd feeling being the only Westerner amongst all of the local Vietnamese, an odd feeling, but quite a good one. It was even more strange and refreshing, to see all of these teenagers and people in there early 20's sitting around listening to dance music and drinking tea. No body was dancing or fighting and there was barely any alchol drunk. Such a strange contrast to back home on  Friday and Saturday nights, out on the town where a heavy nights drinking and usually ending up in a fight, is the order of the day.

I made a tour around some of the silk weaving factories and becaue the prices seemed to be cheap had a shirt made by one of the local silk centres, at a fraction of the cost than back home. Later after the receptionist at the hotel suggested if I wanted any more shirts to be made, then heading accross the road to his friends shop would be a good idea, and cost a lot less than the other places in town. I went in to check out the price and at only $5 a shirt to be made, found the other place was 6x more expensive. There we go, you have to expect to be taken for a ride some times. So now having had my PURPLE and green silk shirts made I won't be able to wear them for at least another 8months till I get home, lets home I don't get fat or shrival away.

I was invited to tea bye Mr. Quang and Kim Ang's friend from the boat, and after mentioning that my Dainsh friends, Line, Christina and Jan where coming to join me in Hoi An that afternoon, they invited them as well. When we got to the friend of Mr. Quang's house we found a banquet of Coa Li, the local flat noodles that were a delacase of the area, and a huge range of other foods. Some more of their friends turned up and insisted us tourists sang them a song. Having missed a good fry up, from back home, I had to sing them the Breakfast song, which they seemed to enjoy.

It was just after TET when I got to Hoi An and the market place across the river had been turned over to a fair ground. Every variation of  a cocanut shy you could think of and some. There were 2 stages, one with bingo on it. They played a very catchy tune singing about the numbers that were being drawn, unfortunately the catchy tune after 4hours a night for 4 days began to get very annoying. The other stage was givern over to, well I don't want to say Kareoke, because they weren't but it may as well have been. Most of the songs were out of tune and there dancing was as bad as mine. They like there kareoke alot out here but don't seem to care how bad it is. After a few evenings, the songs began to get better, or rather the people singing them did, but only slightly.

My time in Hoi An was coming to an end and it was time to depart, I had forgottern how bad road travel was, very noisey, harsh braking and swerving around lots of motos and water buffalo. The Danish crew were heading south as well to Nha Trang and we met up at a bus stop half way through the journey. It seems as if all of the busses depart Hoi An at roughly the same time, (about one hour late) and race each other down the road, scattering what ever viechles there are on the road out of the way. I didn't sleep much that night as it was a very noisey and uncomfotabvle ride as well as being very close to crashing most of the way down the 12 hour trip.

Add to del.icio.us Add to reddit

Photos / videos of "Hoi An, Just like a Greek Fishing Town":