When we got to the airport this morning, we were surprised to find out that we had been upgraded to Business Class. It was the first time my mother or I ever flew in business class and we both giggled like school girls as we were given access to the Business Class lounge and then were escorted to the front of the line when boarding time came. The seats were spacious and I managed to sleep on the plane for the first time since we boarded for Vietnam. We were so comfortable that we said we'd try to get an upgrade for our plane ride home - even if it costs us more money. :)
When we arrived in Danang, we were greeted by our tour guide, Huan. He drove us to a local cafe and said that we had to wait for an hour at the cafe until the rest of the group arrived from Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City, I should say). While we were there, my mother had an iced coffee and I had a Soursop Milkshake (Sinh tố mãng cầu). This is one of my favourite milkshakes, next to the avocado one.Once we left the cafe, we headed towards Hoi An because it was too late to explore Danang (we'll be returning there the morning before our flight on the 29th instead). As we drove through Danang, I was surprised to see how much development is taking place. It is a mountainous region that is also right by the ocean. The amount of resorts that are being built in this little city is amazing...the resorts rivaled any that I've seen in the Caribbean!
It took us a while to get to Hoi An because the roads aren't as straightforward as they are in more developed countries. Most of the time, what should only take about 15 minutes may take about an hour - with a lot of stops and honking along the way. When we got to Hoi An, our hotel was across a tiny old bridge so our tour bus couldn't go over it. Instead, we stopped in a nearby parking lot and were transported in minivans across the bridge to our hotel while our luggage followed in another small truck. We stood out like sore thumbs on the streets of Hoi An where cyclo drivers and bicyclists rule the streets.
We stayed at the Van Loi Hotel in Hoi An, which was fairly nice for a 3-star hotel. My mother asked to be on the lower level so she didn't have to climb stairs but when we got to our room and turned on the air conditioner, about a litre of water started to drip out of it...right over the television. The hotel sent a repair man who arrived in what seemed like 30 seconds and the only thing he was equipped with was a screwdriver, a towel and a tube so he could blow out the water. My mother and I laughed and she said, "Oh my goodness, he doesn't even have tools! We're going to get electrocuted." It took us about five minutes to call the front desk and move to another room. After getting situated in our hotel and taking an afternoon nap (I'm starting to get used to these), we headed out to town on a walking tour of the different pagodas within Hoi An's downtown area. The downtown core is saturated with clothing stores as Hoi An is known for its expert tailors. I'm told that you can get a whole new wardrobe sewn for you here in a matter of days. I set out determined to find another maxi dress tailored to fit me perfectly. There are a lot of tourists in the area too - more than I've seen anywhere else, which made it a little difficult for bargaining. I found that almost ALL of the vendors knew a little bit of English and that meant that my mother and I couldn't share our desired price in English before bargaining! hehe!
When I finally found a dress that I wanted, after what seemed like visiting a hundred different stores, the sales lady (at Thu Van Tailors) told me to go try it on in the back. Excited, I ran to the back with the dress only to find a half naked lady trying on another dress in what seemed like a back storage area of the store! She gave me an annoyed look and continued to undress! The sales lady nudged me and said, "Go ahead. Take off your clothes and try it on!" Then she laughed and said, "Oh ok, if you're shy, I'll just turn around." You can imagine the look on my face - half horrified and half embarrassed, totally mortified. After the other lady left, I hurried put the dress on and went out to the front of the store so they could measure me. She asked me to put down a deposit and said she would have the dress altered within an hour and will deliver it herself right to my hotel. Now, that's customer service!
Hoi An is really beautiful, with the Thu Bon river passing right through it and the many colourful vendors that line each street on both sides of the river. You will not find a more happy and light place - it caters to tourists with the many cafes, bars and bright hotels. In between the businesses, there are historical pagodas that are centuries old and you can pay a minThe best part is, many of the historical buildings have been preserved even through development and natural disasters. At night, the entire city is lit up with paper lanterns and soft Christmas lights. Floating paper lanterns are sold along the river and you can find children sending them into the river with their well wishes.
Life feels different here - people work hard but they also have time for play. All the retail vendors close at 9pm and there is a band that plays music by the river every other night. We went down to the river yesterday night and enjoyed the fun atmosphere a little. When we got a little tired and decided to head back to the hotel, my mother suggested that we try taking a cyclo back. I was hesitant at first because the men who ride the bikes look like they are all of 95 pounds and there's no way they can push my mother and I both the whole 5kms back to the hotel, especially across the arched bridge. For those who don't know what a cyclo is, click here.
We chose a young cyclo driver who we thought could handle the both of us and he gave us a quoted price only to turn around and tell one of the oldest cyclo drivers on the lot to take us! My mother sat in the back and I had to sit on her lap. You can only imagine how ridiculous we looked on this cyclo being driven by what seemed like a 70 year-old man. The worst part was, because we were too heavy for him, he was going incredibly slow and only picked up momentum when we went down a small hill. To get people to get out of his way, he insisted on yelling at the top of his lungs, "Yo yo yo! Yo yo yo!" You can see it here in this video... note that the little fat boy on the left outran our cyclo:
