The one day in Quy Ngon gave me a repreive from 'folks that look (even slightly) like me' which was nice in that I got a sense of the real Vietnam. It was also nice because I didn't get attacked by touts every few seconds trying to sell me everything I could possibly need or not. Hoi An could not be any more different than the place I left yesterday. Before that, another transportation anecdote, however.
I took a taxi from my hotel to the train station yesterday. It started out OK with my driver driving in the style most favored by the Vietnamese, namely as a homicidal maniac. About a third of the way there, I think he realized that if he maintained the pace, he wouldn't be able to charge me what all his buddies are nailing all the tourists for, so he slowed down to an embarassingly slow pace. For my benefit, he (ironically) buckled up so I would think that he was slowing down because cops were looming or something. Old ladies on mopeds were whizzing by us. I tried my best to indicate that I didn't appreciate his tactic, but to no avail. The ride ended up costing 140,000 dong or not-quite $9. Seriously, it was one of the more expensive things I've bought here. The hotel room was only $15, for goodness sake! I scoured my guidebook frantically trying to figure out how to say something along the lines of you disgraceful son of a flea-ridden dog, but strangely, it was nowhere to be found.
Although the train left at a little after 9:00 am, the only 'seat' was a soft-sleeper bed in a sleeping compartment. Normally, you only get a sleeping compartment bed for a train that departs in the evening and runs all night. That was all there was so I had to take it. I shared the compartment with three Vietnamese men right around my age, more or less. I chilled out on my bottom bunk bed listening to my iPod and reading. At some point I dozed off and was awakened by one of the dudes who had sat next to me the way one would sit on the bed of say, a sick kid or something. I mean his butt was right up against my waist. He and his buddies were about to eat lunch and the little table that sticks out of the side of the compartment was (inconveniently for me) right next to where I lay. I tried to make it clear that I was having some space-issues. Rather than sit on his friend's bed, he only moved closer. Great. Again, my guidebook didn't have the phrase sorry, but I'd really rather you not get chicken parts all over my sheet please. I finally made him understand that he needed to sit somewhere else, but then I relented, good guy that I am. I moved my sheet out of his way and allowed him to sit there, but I got out of his way and sat upright for a while as they ate lunch. To their credit, they offered me some chicken and rice, but I declined. By the way, this train was only marginally better than the hard-sleeper and certainly only a little cleaner. The bathroom was also an improvement in that there appeared to be soap and a few squares of tissue on a roll.
Upon arrival in Danang, I hopped on the back of a motorcycle and some guy at the station brought me to Hoi An. On the way here passed by China Beach and the ruins of the U.S. Military base. The beach is quite nice and is slowly being developed in a Cancun-like manner, so not so sure if that's a good thing. So, finally Hoi An. The old part of the city is a Unesco World Heritage site, so it's very picturesque and crawling with tourists and touts. This is a great place to shop for any number of things. There are over 500 tailors in town! They can make a suit in a day for next to nothing, apparently. I walked all over town this morning taking pictures and ignoring the cries of "Hello!", "Hey you!" and "Motorbike!" by getting lost in my iPod. It kind of stinks to have to go that route, but I have to keep my sanity. I'd rather not hear them than have to say NO every nine seconds. I remind me of some of those iPod kids that walk around school between classes in their own little worlds. The difference is that no one is hounding them and it's 9 minutes between classes, not three hours of tout inundation. So, my strategy may be ugly, but I've got to keep my head above water.
My hotel ($25/nite) is kind of a splurge for me. It has a very refreshing pool (!), free internet access (that's why this is so long) and breakfast included. By the way, the meal pictured was part of my lunch. Pictured is something called white rose, which is like a wonton thing that was delicious and a fresh beer. There is a kind of beer here that is like cidra in Spain, I suppose. It's meant to be consumed within a few days of being brewed and is very low in alcohol so you can have lots and lots of it. It costs 4,000 dong/glass which is like (I am not kidding) 23 cents or so. Two glasses of that, the white rose thing plus a bowl of amazing noodles made only in this town and served with pork slices, pork cracklings, basil, mint and a tangy sauce came to 43,000 dong: about $2.50. Money isn't everything, but seriously, as a traveler, it is an important consideration and I have to say that it certainly makes having decided to come here appear to be a good move.
Time for a nap before heading out again. Oh yeahh, haven't whined about the weather lately. It is bloody hot. It's approaching Kyoto-hot, which is why I am indoors wating out the worst part of the day before I head out again in search of more good eats and fresh bia!
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