Taxi scams

We had no choice but to take a night bus from Nha Trang to Hoi An. I suppose the good thing about doing it that way is that you get an extra day there, and don't have to pay for a nights accommodation. As always, taking the night bus is never a good nights sleep, so when we arrived there at 8am we were still tired. There were people hassling us off the bus, and I just woke up, so told them to leave us. They wanted us to take a motorbike, but I certainly wasn't getting one here when there were taxis there too. They said expensive, but it's our choice at the end of the day. So we decided to take the taxi. We agreed a price (100,000 dong)with the driver, but then out my own curiosity, I asked him to put the meter on. At first he said it was broken, but then after a while I saw it was on. When we arrived it would have only been 40,000 on the meter, so we paid more than double the price. So if taking a taxi, I would suggest using the meter rather than agreeing a price for a short distance.

When we arrived, we were greeted by our host. We booked a home stay, as that's mainly what comes up when booking rooms in Hoi An. She was the daughter of the couple who own the place and she introduced herself as Ngoc. We were welcomed in, she brought us some cold water and a yoghurt, which was really kind. We sat there and chatted for a while and she checked us in, keeping the passports. We didn't know if we'd be allowed to check in yet, as they may not have a room ready for us. But luckily it was, so we checked into our room and went for a nap for a few hours to catch up on sleep.

Bicycles

As we were ready to go out, Ngoc asked if we would like to borrow some bicycles to ride into the old town. The location is about a 10 minute bike ride from there, or probably half an hour walk. It's perfect using the bikes though. I've only ridden a bike once in the last 10 years, (in Gilli T) so my skills are a bit rusty to say the least! It's a good place to ride here in Hoi An, as it's not too hectic, although there are a few bikes around the place. I felt I could cope with riding it here. So off we went peddling along by the river. The scenery was lovely and our road had hardly any traffic on.

We made it into town and parked our bikes up. We locked them and walked around town. It's a beautiful town, it's just so quaint, old, charming and it kind of reminds me a little of Hythe. A small town near where I live. We found a little restaurant and had some lunch. We sat in there to cool down for a while after eating. Riding the bikes keeps you cool, but when you're walking in the heat, you just sweat buckets.

Tailoring

While walking though the town, you notice how many tailoring shops there are. Apparently there's over 400 of them here, so it would be hard to choose which one to use. Hoi An is famous for making tailored clothes, so it would be rude not to get an item of clothing made while here. I decided on a dress, and John wanted a shirt made. Before we came to a tailor shop, Ngoc recommended Bebe tailor, which is suppose to be the best one. We checked trip advisor reviews, and sure enough, they were really good. So we decided that would be the tailor we'd choose. After-all, with so many, you wouldn't know where to start.

I had found a few designs of dresses I liked online, and we got some ideas of a shirt for John. When we went into the shop, we were greeted by a couple of really friendly ladies. They gave us some cold water, and some towels to cool down, which was lovely. Then they sat us down. We started to look through the brochures to give us some ideas. They have loads of catalogues, but if you have a design you like already, it's best to take that along to save time. Not that we were rushed, far from it. They asked us what we wanted, we showed them the designs, then we got to pick and look at the fabrics. They have so many patterns and colours, which is a bit daunting. John found it hard to pick and was umming and aahing about which to choose, but with a little input from the ladies, and myself he chose some colours.

Then I had a look and found some patterns I liked. Lan, my tailor helped me try some of the fabrics as if they were a dress to get an idea if I liked them. Some looked ok, but some just looked wrong on me. We found a pattern I liked, then they wanted to sell us some more things. They wanted John to buy more shirts or a suit, and for me to have another dress. We didn't want to at first, but they agreed on a good price, so we did get another item, another dress. So I got measured up, they were very through and took so many measurements from me. One of the other ladies took John's measurements. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished results. These ladies are so skilled, they can make an entire wardrobe in 24 hours or so.

UNESCO town of Hoi An

The next day, we said we'd go and have a proper look around the old town, as yesterday, we didn't really look around much. I found out that since April this year (2014) the government has imposed an entrance fee to this part of the city of 120,000 VND, which is around £3.30 at the present exchange rate. It allows entry into 5 attractions around the old city including the assembly hall and a few other temples. We did consider buying a ticket, but when we went out on our bikes, we saw many people just walking around without tickets. So we decided not to buy a ticket unless anybody approached us telling us we need to purchase one.

We rode down zone controlled areas where you need a valid ticket, and nobody stopped us, so we carried on riding around exploring the old city. We weren't that bothered about visiting the temples and assembly hall anyway, so not buying a ticket suited us. I think you are allowed to do this if you aren't planning on visiting the tourist sites. You can still visit the Japanese bridge and the other main bridge, which are both really pretty. I don't feel like we missed out on much to be honest.

Champa kingdom

Around the town, life feels like it hadn't changed on centuries. Hoi An was conquered by the ancient Champa people in around 200BC. However, it was not until the first century AD that Hoi An was actually founded. The Champa kingdom was a very powerful one, with Hoi An being the commercial capital. Hoi An was the largest harbour in Southeast Asia. From Hoi An, the Cham gradually built control over the spice trade, bringing great wealth to the city. From the seventh to the tenth centuries, Champa-dominated Hoi An ruled the trade in spices and silks, with their dominance stretching as far west as Baghdad. The Cham exported aloe and ivory.

Japanese bridge

We parked up the bikes near the river, so we could have a look around. No ticket inspectors stopped us. We firstly stopped to have a look at the Japanese bridge. It remains a symbol of the significant impact that the Japanese had in the region. The bridge was originally built to connect the Japanese community with the Chinese quarter - separated by a small stream of water. It is as a symbolic gesture of peace. Whoever built the bridge still remains a mystery. There weren't too many people here yet as it's so hot, but I reckon the evening would see many tourists packing out the area.

Then we wandered around by the markets, there were many local women selling spices, fruits, vegetables and many selling noodle dishes like Cau Lau on the go. I loved the Vietnamese women who wore the traditional pointed, straw hats. One did pass my by carrying her heavy load, right near the bridge. I couldn't stop snapping away! I can imagine it would have been like this years ago. We stopped for some refreshments by the river, having a mango smoothie. The local women tried to get us to go on a boat ride, but we politely declined.

Sunset over the river

Then we walked back towards our bikes, the sun was going down over the river. I wanted to go on the other bridge, not the Japanese one, but I don't know the name of it. It's a lovely one, with lots of gold detailed columns along the bridge and some kind of dragons. We walked to the middle of the bridge and watched the sun set. As it was beginning to get dark, all the lights were starting to come on. It looks beautiful. I must have looked like a mad woman, snapping away! John was getting bored and hungry by now, so we went for a curry in a lovely Indian restaurant. We also went for a fitting in the tailor shop, it's amazing what they can do in such a short time. Then we cycled back in the dark.

We were suppose to be leaving the next day, but as we liked Hoi An so much, we decided to book another night at our home stay. The family are lovely and we just didn't feel like taking a 20 hour bus ride today! So we booked the bus for tomorrow instead. We had a very lazy morning and a long lay in, then we only really went out later in the afternoon when it was cooler. We've only used the bikes to cycle into the old town as without them it would take ages in the heat. I've really enjoyed riding the bike, so I must invest in one when I return home.

We parked up around by the river again and had a walk around for a while. We walked the other side of the bridge and over to the bit which joined up with the Japanese bridge. We then walked across the bridge and back into the old quarter. The sun was beginning to set again and it was an even more beautiful sunset than yesterday. There were lots of ladies on the main bridge trying to sell us candles to float down the river. They kept saying 'lucky', but I think it's just a money making scheme, so we didn't buy any. You could see lots of them floating down the river though and it did look nice now it was starting to get dark. There are many Chinese lanterns all lit up either side of the river, the whole town comes alive at night.

By now, there were crowds of people walking about the old town. The Japanese bridge lights up different colours at night, which looks better than it does during the day. I think I just love Vietnam for all it's bright lights. The places just look more appealing if they are all lit up beautifully. The main bridge looks really nice all lit up and the gold dragons just reflect the lights, making them stand out more. There are also gold lanterns along the bridge near the dragons. I think this bridge has got more going on, so it definitely interests me.

After taking too many pictures that my camera could cope with, we decided to go for dinner in one of the restaurants overlooking the river. There are so many to choose from and people like to hassle you here, so they all want you to look at their menus. We found one and settled on having a traditional Vietnamese dinner by the Thu Bon river. I settled for a chicken noodle dish, while John went for their set menu, consisting of white rose, spring rolls and a wanton soup. When the food arrived, John's was just like a starter. So he had to order another dish when he finished that, as nice as it was, it wasn't enough for his big appetite! Mine was sufficient for me though and I even had some ice cream for afters.

When we'd finished our dinner, we went out to watch some traditional Vietnamese games and singing. It takes place in the old town every night, where tourists and locals alike come to spectate and take part in the event. We were happy to watch their singing and dancing, which was entertaining to say the least! Then everyone cleared out, so we left to ride our bikes back in the dark to pack our stuff. We're getting a 20 hour bus to Hanoi tomorrow!