Hoi An a jewel in the crown of Vietnam.
Early to bed, early to rise. Lets forget about the rest eh!
I was up, packed and ready to go very early, now when you book a ticket make
sure you check the time of leaving, I was sure it was 07:00 but in fact it was
08:00, so arrived at 06:30, I wonder why the hotel owner looked at me a little
funny when I said I didn’t want breakfast as I checked out the prior evening. (Thinking
no one would be up and about the next morning). But better to be early than
miss the stagecoach, is what we say out in the West.
But in any case I was early (it was less than 100 meters
from the hotel) so I just sat in the early morning sun and waited, I waited
07:00 came it was then that I discovered that I had been rather early, as I
asked the bus chappy, he said 8 O’clock you wait there, it come, I tell you.
Several buses came and went as did 8 O’clock, several other backpackers had by
this time joined me sitting outside on the pavement, we chatted about our
experiences so far and were in unison about Nha Trang not being one of the best
ones.
Some more buses came and went picking up and setting down passengers
and cargo (these buses carry anything
and everything. The bus chappy said sorry bit of a delay but it is coming,
08:30 also passed then just as everyone was giving up hope a bus pulled up and
the bus chappy said your bus, funny thought I the buses are normally chocker
block that I had seen departing from here, but that had always been evening so
could be that early morning ones don’t have many passengers.
But after stowing
our backpacks in the cargo hold we boarded, 10 backpackers and this was the
full compliment. This was my first trip on a sleeper bus, but I knew you do not
sit (or in this case lie) over a set of wheels, I chose a middle of the bus
capsule.
Before we go any further let me explain a little about these
sleeper buses and open tickets. These sleeper buses travel most places in SE
Asia (but very few in Laos), they are not are a little taller than the normal
bus, this enables them zo have two tiers of very reclining seats lying 3 with a
very thin aisle between each row, the back two rows do not have an aisle and
have 5 beds in each row, these are often preferred by groups of lad and the odd
lass backpackers as they can play cards without having to stretch across open
space.
An open ticket, is a ticket that is from one destination to
another, that is all that is fixed you can hop on and off at the stops along
the way. Mine was Nha Trang to Hué and I had decided to make a stopover in Hoi
An (I had read and heard good things about it).
But back to the bus, everyone gave a little sigh of relief
as the bus pulled away from the office and headed through the early morning
traffic, this sigh turned into a groan as the bus turned into a place that
looked like a scrapyard, the bus drive and co-pilot got out went to the rear of
the bus and there was a lot of knocking and banging, and what I imagine was a
lot of cursing and swearing, a hose pipe was produced and vast amounts of water
sprayed everywhere. The problem seemed to be fixed, our two driver/ mechanics
boarded the bus and with a mighty black plume of smoke and half burnt diesel
the engine sprang into life, we were off. An ironic cheer rang through the air,
but this was short lived as the bus now had to pull into a filling station, but
that done we really did set off on the road to Hoi An.
I did doze a little but as we were passing through some stunning
scenery and crossing some rather high passes, I preferred to look out of the
window.
Though I did chat a bit with a fellow Grey Nomad we had been chatting
at the bus booking office and he was also heading to Hoi An, we got adjacent
middle window bunks and so were able to swop notes, his name was Brendan from
NZ Rotorua to be exact, he had let his house out on a long term lease (I think
he said three years) so in this time he was traveling the world.
 |
| A Duck farm |
 |
| Entering into Hoi An |
It was growing dusk by the time we pulled into town, after
getting off the bus, Brenden and I set off, we both having not booked in
advance had decided to search in unison (search is a bit OTT, there are always
loads of places but at what price is the question? As we turned a corner we saw
two Europeans riding bikes in our direction, it is always a good ploy to ask
someone already in town. We flagged them down and asked the question do you
know any place that is reasonably priced (for reasonably priced read cheap).
They said they had arrived yesterday and had searched for 2 hours until they
found rooms above a tailors shop, good do they have any other ones, don’t know
said the fellow (they were both Swedes), hang on it is just around the corner I
will ride there and find out with, that he sped off. We walked along and
chatted to the Swedish girl (embarrassingly in English not in Swedish, I must
take a course with Kalle), he partner returned and said yes there was a room
available. Good we walked about 100 mtrs and there was the Tailors shop, down a
small gated alley way through a courtyard and there waiting for us was Mr
Tailor, we asked the price, he said $5 each, now you’re talking boy. He showed
us up stairs 2nd floor, a massive room with three double beds but
not en-suite, the toilet and shower being just across the hall way, as there
was only one other room on my floor this was no problem. Brendan likes his own
space, so asked did he have any other ones he said yes another single
downstairs, down they went the crux was it now cost me $10 a night for a
massive treble room.
.jpg)
I had a shower and then decided to explore town a little,
Brendan had decided to turn in as he was exhausted from the journey, he said he
was amazed that I could sleep in the bus, I said I can sleep anywhere (this is
true and at any time, this comes from watch keeping at sea). I only walked to
the corner where there was a large pagoda, across the road, I sat in the court
yard of a restaurant and drank a beer. I then headed off back to the tailors
shop for a spot of shut eye, well I did watch a bit of tele.
The room was without breakfast so I was up early and decided
to breakfast in town and have a good look around in town, there wasn’t actually
a lot open but I hit on a nice place that had WiFi (important need to keep in
contact with home) it was called Bo Bo.
I ordered an omelette and coffee and
started communicating with the world. I was sitting in a wonderful courtyard garden,
it had tangerine trees, and other fruit trees and a one that I have no clue
what it is, it is big green and called “Bong” in Vietnamese, or that is what it
sounds like, it was a strange looking fruit the largest about the size of a
small water melon. (I think it could have been a Pomello)
In the garden was also a family temple, there are a lot of
these in Hoi An, many large elaborate affairs. A woman came out of the
restaurant dressed in a light grey cassock and began to pray at several of the
small offering altars.
It was a very nice breakfast in a very nice setting.
I dallied a while I that wonderful setting, well it did have
free WiFi, by the time I was ready to move on the rest of the world was coming
to life, the tailors shop (cheap cheap but very good).
The art galleries and
the fabulous silk workshops, I know a bit about art (just a little bit, but a
bit) I honestly had to go right up close to be sure they were not photographs.
For one of the really intricate ones it can take one of the
girls about a month to complete.
What dedication and nothing but a photograph
as a pattern.
Upstairs you can see the process from feeding the silk worms
(caterpillar’s) to the weaving of the silk, I had seen this in Thailand at the
Jim Thompson Museum, but this is what you can actually buy down in the shop
below (you can also buy it cheaper at the stalls and shops (which I did).
Hoi
An has also a very lively art scene and I would say that after the tailors and
the silk this is one of the main money earners, well not really as tourism is
the biggest.
This is a wonderful city, it lies on the banks of the Thu
Bon river, with some interesting colonial and precolonial buildings on the
North bank, on the South-bank are a lot of new tourist hotels going up, but nice
to see not a high-rise hotel in sight.
Hoi An was originally a Chinese town it had been settled by
Chinese traders and was split into
family quarters even today it is split into 5 bangs (under the influence of a distinct
Chinese family group), these each have
their own temple and will often even have, like at Bo Bo their own back yard
one.
The streets are well laid out and the whole town is easily
navigable on foot, most hotels and guesthouses hire our bicycles (at the most
$1) you can also hire a pedalo (mostly Americans and Japanese tourists of advancing
years) but I find you miss so much, far better on foot and delve into all of
the nooks and crannies.
They also have some amazing cafe’s still with a French flare
and lots of very good restaurants, eating houses and wonderful street food and
all very reasonably priced.
I passed this one, it had under the French been the Scouts
Headquarters, they didn’t bother removing the fleur de lis, they just stuck up
their sign and it was open for business (I did have a look around but couldn’t
see any Wolf Cubs being turned slowly on a spit).
I walked down to the river and walked along the quayside and
watched the ferry coming into dock. The ferry terminal must be seen to
believed, it is a plank that the motorbikes come down, it is also what the
fisher folk and farmers bring their produce on to the quayside and covered
markets.
 |
| In the background the ferry approaches |
I tarried a while, well what else do you expect? And watch the goings
on, I actually bought a few implements for the kitchen back home.
It was quite warm, so feeling the need for a drink decided
on a coconut, from an old lady, I sat at the table while she went about
chopping the top off the nut, the knife was a little blunt (baby James) so she
just sharpened it on the curb, top shaved, on went the straw and how is that
for a refreshing drink.
The old lady also sold sugar cane water, this was
pressed with a great amount of noise from a machine that she worked, passing
the cane through the press rollers, folding the cane and repeating, until the
last drop of sugar cane juice was extracted.
I then walked under the shaded fish market, it was
unfortunately just about finishing, many stalls had already sold out and you
had to watch your feet as they swilled the floors down with buckets of water
and if you got in the way you would also be brushed into the river.
Outside the fruit, vegetable and household goods market was
still in full swing, I even bought myself a Julien grater and a flower maker.
Just past the markets and on the riverside is the remaining
old French colonial quarter, these had been the houses of the French high
ranking military and Civil Service officers ,
very grand buildings, that had now been put to a far better use. These
now housed restaurants, so what do you do at midday when in the close proximity
of a Restaurant? Have lunch of course!
I did and it was delectable. I sat in the sun, watched the
goings on from the market up stream and dined pretty well.
I had a nice spicy Green mango salad with pork (always a
favourite of mine) and a smashing sizzling hotplate with chicken skewers on a
bed of spicy vegetables.
It was so wonderful and I relished the tranquil
setting.
As I finished my beer I sat and watched as the last of the
fishwives boarded a boat that chugged past me carrying them on their way home,
more than likely to cook the menfolk their lunch, I wonder if it would be
fish’n chips.
After lunch I walked back and went to the central covered
market, Chó Hoi An.
This has the usual array of stalls selling everything from
a pin to a pigs whisker, I love them, do you think this is a fetish I have? I
could as in all markets had a very good cheap meal, but I had gone a bit up
market, though I would I am sure enjoyed a meal here just as much.
I then walked through the streets for a while reveling in
the old buildings and of course one of the better remnants of French
Colonialism, the breads and pastries, I defy anyone to tell me that Paris has
better.
I actually stopped for a flat white and a hot fresh croissant,
it was delicious and that from someone that does not eat pastries, but it was
the smell, it was enchanting, it was bewitching, it was lovely.
In walked along the river bank sucking in the atmosphere,
until I arrived at the Japanese Bridge, this spans one of the tributaries that
lead into the main river.
It cost money to cross the bridge, so I followed the
stream a short distance and saw that on the other bank looked like an art
workshop, not any old workshop but a one doing contemporary art, this made my
day.
I walked a short distance and there was a none Japanese bridge, which led
to a Chinese Family temple, by my reckoning it would also lead me to the art
workshop, and again I wasn't wrong.
At the rear of a small building I saw the real workshop, I
entered (well you get nowhere by being shy) there was no one around, well I saw
no one, there was a family engrossed in the little child, but besides that no
one batted an eyelid at this stranger poking around the art.
I walked out
front and asked, the young lady shouted something in Vietnamese (well at least
it wasn't Geordie) and a chap appeared, it could only be an artist. It was Tran
Viet Son (Nom de Plume “SANSONTO”)
We had a great chat he had studied art at Hué University,
Son (last name is the first name) said it was a really hard life, the art scene
is so over flooded with cheap reproductions that true art just does not have a
chance. He explained that many artists, noes study first art then architecture
otherwise there is little chance of them getting a job. Such a shame because I
liked him and his works. I realise that contemporary art is not everyone’s
cuppa, but it is mine, I belong to a broad Church when it comes to art, but
then I am open mined in most things.
I then wandered back into town and was once again entrapped
by art, I was passing a gallery and noticed that it was run by the artists
themselves outside hung a sign about the artists and their aims, I was
interested, one of the artists was an American, I entered and sitting on a sofa
was Megan, so I asked could I sit down and have a chat, she said of course,
that is the idea of our gallery.
She explained that she and her partners, both artists, had
been traveling SE Asia and had stopped over at Hoi An, they were so taken with
it, that they had stayed and invested in a place where Vietnamese Young artists
could show and sell their works. Wonderful a fantastic vision, I hope that
Megan’s vision works as it is so worthwhile. I had a similar vision back in
1990 about opening an art café/restaurant in Berlin, where young artists could
show and sell their works for free, have the odd music group, or jazz evening,
alas times have moved on.
I wandered passing more tailors shops with wonderful evening
jackets, I just don’t think that they are quite me.
It was dusk by now and I was feeling peckish, well we
couldn’t have that could we. I was looking at the menu and noticed that they
were selling "White Rose", I had seen this advertised on several other menus as a
local Hué delicacy, so now was the time to try it.
I was shown to a table by a very pleasant lady who turned
out to be the owner, I ordered my white rose starter and we had a chat about
her restaurant, she said that until a few years ago she had been one in the
street, but with the great influx of tourists others had opened up, but with a
nod down the street she said but they are not real cooks, I am trained. I asked
what did she suggest to follow the starter? She said try another Hué speciality
it is called Bó nuóng chanh, I asked what it was, I knew by now that Bó is
beef, but that was it, she said try it and see. So I ordered it as well.
The white rose or to give them their real name Bánh Bong
hong trang came first, these are a bit
like ravioli but made with rice flour dough and steamed, they were as light as
a feather and filled with a shrimp/fish paste, of course also a local fish
sauce mixed with rice wine vinegar to dip them into and a sweet chilli jam.
They were covered in deep fried onions and sautéed shrimp pieces, wonderful, I
was in heaven, they just melted on the tongue.
We chatted a bit more about this and that, she said that in
the last 5 years the tourist trade had really taken off and that it had made a
great difference to the local economy, she said just look around how clean our
town is compared with most of the other Towns and Cities, this was true you could
see that the Town had made a real effort to keep the tourists happy. I must
also keep the tourists happy and though I don’t like it, I must also offer
Western food, it is such a pity because they are missing so much. But the
Americans will always want Hamburger, French fries and the like. But at least
Big Mac and KFC haven’t reached Hoi An yet!
My next course came, this was slices of beef, that had been
beaten thin and then marinated in crushed garlic, shallots, lemon juice and
another special seasoning, I asked what it was, she said if you guess right I will nod (I could taste fish sauce
and a small amount of chilli and cumin), she nodded at all of these, but said
the rest you will never guess, so I gave up.
The thin slices of beef had first been grilled quickly then
wrapped around long strips of caramelised onion. This was served with plain
boiled rice and the sweet chilli jam. The meal was delectable, we had a great
time chatting, she stood out the front of house complaining about the cold (it
wasn’t to us but the spring was a little late turning into summer) what a
wonderful woman. If you’re ever in Hoi An please drop in to Dong Au, it is not
far from the Japanese Bridge on 734 Hai Bà Trung. I said I would plug her
restaurant on my blog so there you go.
I walked home a satisfied and happy chappy, it had been a
very interesting day and I had met lots of interesting people and hope that
tomorrow would be as good.
Next morning I was up early (as normal) as I wanted to get
to the market to see the selection of fresh produce as I had been a little late
the day before and a lot of the fish stalls had already sold up and shut up
shop. So that is where I headed first.
 |
| Fermented fish, a speciality |
I walked through the lanes of tiny stalls each one selling
something just a little different to the next, some specialised in shell fish
others bonito, sword fish, horse mackerel, prawns, squid, cuttlefish, mangrove
crabs and swimmers, the lot was there.
In front of the fish stalls was the live
poultry (but not for long) stalls with the eggs and baby chicks and ducklings
(do it yourself rearing), the immense array of veg and house hold goods, most
destined for the home market but I did buy a couple of julienne slicers and a
rosette maker to make green mango and papaya salad and decorate with carrot roses.
Watch this space.
Looking at all that food had made me hungry so I popped into
a restaurant that had been recommended in my guide book, I ordered Morning
Glory (water spinach) and a prawn fried rice, this was late morning so it would
also serve as my lunch, it was very tasty and very garlicky, but as I had no
intention of kissing vampires I think I was pretty safe.
After my late breakfast, early lunch call it what you will, I
next visited another very worthwhile project, a shop selling tableware and
hanging lights, these are all made on the premises, in a workshop out the back
of the shop, what makes this so different is that those making it are disabled
in some way, either mentally or physically, they all have their part to play
and all get great satisfaction in the wonderful end products.
I then wandered through some of the other workshops and
galleries, selling lacquered artwork and wood carvings, all quality works, I
had a great time chatting and watching them at work.
It was time for a bit of afternoon shut eye as that evening
was a special evening when lanterns are floated down the rivers to get rid of
the bad spirits, you pay a few Cents and these are then sent down the river
with a wing and a prayer, every one turns out in their best finery, and you buy
your floating lanterns from the boat people, the lanterns are either lowered
into the water with a long handled bamboo pole or direct from the boat. They
are sent on their way down the river with a prayer and good will before
disappearing into the darkness.
And that was where I was off to as well, as I was off to Hué
early the next day.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)