Hoi An was wonderful. The Hotel was great. It had a very western feel to it, which of I’ve decided I’m ok with for this trip. I know you’re supposed to integrate with the culture, live like they do etc. But you know what, something about squat toilets and bacteria filled water doesn’t really appeal to me. Instead I’m cool with an ivory tower that I leave for day trips to the market.
I bought some great art from a dealer there. His name was Hoang Trong Tien, apparently he has done exhibitions through out the world. I also had a suit made with a really nice wool coat. I opted for a cashmere wool suit with a wool knee length jacket. I really loved having all the little Asian girls running around me, taking my measurements and trimming the clothes. It cost quite a pretty number, but it’s hand tailored to my unique contours whatever they may be. Now all I have to do is drag it to Saigon to FedEx it back to the states.
While in Hoi An, we also took a bike tour to the beach, only about 6km but it was quite a nice ride. We got to dodge traffic, and pray for our lifes a bit along the way. Saw some of the really rustic areas too, which made me quite sad. I wish I could take some of the 4 person families I know, living in their 3000 sqft+ houses, and show them the craptacular shacks, families of 13 are happy to own. The beach was pretty nice. The South China Sea was a bit colder than expected but still modest. Unfortunately, since my tour started we’ve had maybe one day of sunshine. This is like the worst dry season ever.
Yesterday we left for Nha Trang. We got to the train station and not surprisingly the train was delayed. We sat there for about 2 hours and realized the train wasn’t coming anytime soon. So our fearless leader got us a tour bus to take us the 400km which in the states would take approximately 3.5 hours. Unfortunately this little journey took about 10 hours. It didn’t help we boozed up before hand and had to stop about every 30 minutes to pee in the most rustic outhouses ever. (They lost the right to be called bathrooms) The bus driver was crazy swerving in and out of traffic on the two lane road available. Not like on straight roads, but turns on mountains with oncoming traffic. Just scary. We thankfully arrive in one piece and my ongoing stomach ailment didn’t require me to use any of the outhouses, so that’s always a plus.
More on Nha trang later.
-Halfcent out.