Hoi An

HoiAn (Cat Tien, DaLat and Nha Trang) :: May 3 to May 15

One of the things we really wanted to investigate while in Vietnam was getting custom tailored clothing. There were plenty of taylor’s in Hanoi, but our concierge staff told us the fastest, cheapest and best tailors were in Hoi An. So we figured we would start heading North from Saigon to Hoi An, then cross over into Laos for our next country. From Saigon, we took a mini-van “bus” to Cat Tien and stayed the night in a bamboo/straw hut right next to the (Cat Tien) National park. Although it was a short stay, Cat Tien was a natural beauty. Cicada’s from the treetops produced the loudest calls. It was hard to believe such small creatures could be Sooo loud. There calls were akin to an air raid siren!

The next day, another mini-van to Da Lat. This was an interesting ride! It started by me placing my backpack in the trunk, on top of the chicken coups filled with live chickens. A while down the road, we stopped to pick up about 25 large burlap sacks of grain. We all squished to the back so the (probably 2000lbs) of grain could be loaded in. At this point, the only way out of the van was through the side window, sigh. We weren’t done the pickups yet though. Next we picked up a load of jack fruit and about 30 large Durian fruits. For those who don’t know, Durian is a very expensive fruit thought to be an aphrodisiac. It is also well know for its…stink. It is the smelliest fruit of them all, by a long shot. As a few of the durian were partially cut into, the rest of the ride was not only uncomfortable, but very smelly! One positive however, was that Da Lat is a mountain town, and the ride there did proved absolutely stunning views. Winding roads along the side of one mountain then another. To one side, an amazing view of the valley and surrounding mountains in the distance. To the other side, the mountain itself with waterfalls cascading.
We stayed the night in Da Lat, a very laid back, sleepy town. We enjoyed the night market, and a fabulous bakery in town.

The next morning we continued on our journey from the South, to the middle of the country. This time a big bus to Nha Trang, on the coast of the South China Sea. With this being our 3rd stop in 3 days, we decided to take a short break here. We found a hotel with a tiny but nice pool on the 9th floor. Finally, our first pool in Vietnam, and I think our 17th of the trip. We woke at 430am the next morning and headed to the (east facing) beach to swim and catch the sunrise. To our surprise, there were hundreds of locals there doing the same thing.

Nha Trang is a vacation hotspot with resorts lining the shore. A very large Russian presence there, so much so, that most of the signage and menu’s are actually in Russian.

Anxious to give ourselves a lot of time in Hoi An so we could take advantage of the tailors as desired, we decided to try our first “sleeper” bus. So at night, we boarded the big bus filled with single bunk-beds. Now, we always book 3 seats when travelling by bus, so we were a little concerned about how this would work out. As it happens, these buses have one section at the back with 3 single beds all side by side, so we took that and the 4 of us fit quite comfortably. In the morning we arrived in Hoi An.

We were in rough shape, or at least I was. I probably slept all of about 10mins on the bus. The girls both totally passed out, and probably slept a full 10hrs. This of course was a bad combination. We made the short walk from the bus station to a Homestay that was recommended to us by a someone we met in HCMC (Thanks Dionne!!). At only 7am in the morning, I was sure we would have to wait until mid day to check in, the thought was dreadful. But when we arrived at “The Moon Homestay”, we were greeted with open arms by none other than Moon herself. She promptly showed us around and gave us the key to our room. She suggested we go for a quick dip in the lovely pool while she made breakfast for us, compliments of the house.

Moon was not only the owner of the B and B style homestay, but a tailor herself with 30yrs experience. Part of the main floor was also a showroom, she showed us suits, overcoats, dresses and more, very impressive. At $120 for a custom made suit, I was in. Ellie was excited and got to work in her notebook designing dresses. I even reached out to a few friends back home to see if they were interested, as the clothing could be put in a box, and shipped back to Canada. Lisa placed an order for a suit and a few dresses. We quickly went from backpacking bums to debonaire debutants.
While Moon was hard at work filling the rather large order for all this custom clothing, we enjoyed Hoi An. She had bicycles for us, complete with child seats for the girls. This was an absolute breakthrough for us, as for the first time in over 3 months, we were free as birds. Not having to rely on Taxi’s or tuk-tuk’s, nor public transportation. We just got on our bikes and were explored wherever and whenever we choose.

One morning we set our alarm for 4:30am, and rode our bikes about 20mins to the beach to watch the sunrise. A few days later we woke early again, and rode 30km’s to the “Marble Mountain”. It is a fabulous place with a labyrinth of staircases that led to different cave’s, temples and viewpoints. We explored it for hours before we realized it had become mid-day, and we still had to cycle back! On the way back, we stopped 3/4 of the way home at a little “Cafe” (for a lack of a better description) and filled up on water. There we met a really cool guy who had been travelling by bike all the way from Europe. He had a tent packed up, which he called home each night. His name was Jason, from Ohio, and instantly reminded Lisa and I of my brother Graham (miss you bro).

In the centre of Hoi An was a river, surrounded by “ancient town”, a very beautiful part of town that had become the tourist centre. We had dinner there a few nights, and would watch as the moon lit the calm river waters.

All in all, after the blistering week or so leading up to it, Hoi An really gave us a place to slow down a little, and enjoy each other in total comfort, and in a beautiful place.