Hue to Hoi An

Did half an hour of yoga in my hotel room before taking the bus to Hoi An from Hue. Mind you yoga practice is not quite the same when there is no sunrise to admire but at least it woke me up! The 4-hour bus trip cost just 40,000 dong or 1.50 euro (which for comparison purposes was exactly the same amount I paid for the pineapple shake at the stop off en route.)

Once in Hoi An I got a decent enough single room with shower in a little family-owned hotel, Hoi Pho for 9 dollars (6.50 euro). The usual barrage of questions accompanied my booking in. How many days was I staying in Hoi An, Have I my onward bus ticket, What tours do I want to see. I'm getting better at dodging the questions and have even resorted to outright lying at times to save on the discussions.

Hoi An was made a Unesco world heritage site in 1999 and with over 800 preserved buildings, it has become a major tourist destination. Happily it was spared bombing during the American War and its centre (which is earmarked for walkers and 'primitive vehicles' (i.e. bicycles!) only looks pretty much as it did in the 17th / 18th century in its trading heyday.

It was a major trading post (the biggest in South East Asia at one point) and pretty much all the big names were here at some point - Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Indonesians, Spaniards etc. Today instead of silk traders, there are a zillion tailors on every street corner ready to make anything you want. The tailors are accompanied by 'boutique' restaurants and souvenir shops.

Hoi An is also famous for its good cuisine. I tried the local delicacy for lunch in a well known spot called The Mermaid. Delicious vegetable spring rolls and 'white rose' (see the photo) which is shrimp steamed in rice paper.

With no cars and only motorbikes allowed in certain parts, it is alot quieter than anywhere else I've been. Thank God. On the downside this region is also prone to typhoons (including the recent one about 2 weeks ago when about 20 people died across the area). Some of the buildings have watermarks up to 2 metres high.

It had been a few days since I had any real exercise so I really felt the need for a run to loosen me up. Ran to the local beach Cua Dai (about 5km from the centre of Hoi An) in the afternoon. It looked really nice but it was late when I got there and most of the tourists were cycling home.

13 Nov 2009