Hoi An, and the journey there

Hoi An in so many words - an Epcot dream, a movie set, a most definite Unesco prize, a rustic architectural beauty preserved (maybe too preserved), and painted in flood washed yellows, oranges, and browns. The quaint city is decorated by hanging trees and lanterns, bright flowers, bird cages, art galleries, tailor shops, boutique coffee, fair trade, and fine dining restaurants. Thankfully, sharing in the streets and daily life are the locals and their produce market along the riverbend. Otherwise, the culture is only really otherwise felt in the tailor shops that most tourist spend much of their time. Hoi An is the tailor capital of Vietnam, and it is very clear by the hundreds of exact same tailor stores that line the streets. Pick up the latest fashion mag, chose a design, and within a day they will custom make your chosen outfit. I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, picking out an outfit for myself or watching Clay design and figure out his. My perfectionist and flirt made these ladies day (the white faces blushing with smiles) when he walked in their store, even when demanding a 10th change/redo/tweak....when all I got was attitude!

We stayed in Hoi An for a week that flew by with our custom tailoring, bike riding to the beach, and many meals with Stephan and Susana. And, that brings me to Stephan and Susana (S&S). Great friends we met in Paradise Beach (a small all inclusive guest house located in the middle of nowhere between Nha Trang and Hoi An) and traveled with to Quay Non, a night train we will never forget, and finally Hoi An before they headed back to Singapore. 

Not sure how to tell these great stories in a nut (maybe coconut) shell because they were too perfect for our first months in Asia. 

Leaving Paradise Beach with S&S the instructions were to have the taxi drop us off at the end of the long road and hold up a sign to catch the bus to Quay Non. It sounded a bit odd, but we were not about to ask too many questions to our very scary, screaming guest house owner. We arrived on the corner and the "road corner store" lady handed us a sign to hold up in the street that said, "Quay Non." Ok....? Many regular buses came and went with signs in Vietnamese...surely one for us? But, no, we were instructed to wait longer - those were not our buses. A minivan pulled up with no sign and started haggling with the store lady that seemed to be "taking care and watching out for us" between skinning some carcase on the concrete.  She told us this random bus was the deal and negotiated a price and urged us to hop in. In our minivan we were in the company of 10 other people, a driver and his sidekick and 3 cocks to keep things fun. 

About 30 minutes later we pulled off the road and are instructed to get out with our bags. Coconuts started filling the floor under all the seats and our backpacks that were placed neatly in the back were now thrown on the top of the van to make room for the hundreds of coconuts that would fill the entire trunk area, floor to roof. So, the coconuts, cocks, locals, and Dutch and American couples all continued north, hopefully to Quay Non. 

We finally arrive and spent another amazing day on motorbikes in search of a fishing village called Ly Non, 30 minutes outside the city. To our amazement this fishing villages sat along a private, white sand beach. Heaven has found us once again. As we play in the water and sand, a group of boys approach the beach with a look of suspicion in their eye. Not to be sure, but we were sure they were after our bags....13 years old, good looking, and clever; they surrounded us. Rather making a scene, we snap some shots of them and told them we were leaving and headed down the beach a bit further to resume our private beach exploration. 

After a great day, we cruised back to catch our night train to Hoi An. The tickets for the regular train were all sold out, so we happily opted for the local train....hahahahaha. Pretty funny, us backpackers. 

Armed with cards, whisky, peanut and sesame snacks we were shocked to board our train at midnight and see where we would be spending the next 6 hours. All open rickety windows, hard wooden benches for seats, moms and babies lying on the floor, chickens in cages every few seats, and every bench filled with Vietnamese curled up and sleeping. We found our seats and the whisky and attempted a few games of Crazy 8's before we could not yell to one another any more. The train slap and slid on, over, and around its rails catching the wind and whipping it into the train and screeching in our ears. Needless to say, sleep didn't happen. But, we were greeted by the morning sun...then moved to another bus for 30 minutes, to finally find ourselves in the luxurious Hoi An. Whew. 

Nha Trang by Motorbike

The not so popular, and bar galore city of Nha Trang surprisingly became a great solo trip and an adventurous motorbike adventure. Nha Trang is the pulse of the young backpackers lure lined with happy hours, ladies nights, punch bowl discounts, and plenty of drunken company. I made my way through the main street only for a minute before meeting what would soon be my new pals for the next two days. Alya, Paul, and Stew. We made our way through the unexciting town and quickly decided to grab a beer to waste the rest of our afternoon, and then, into the night. I was with professionals. Booze bargaining professionals that is....all night I followed my friends chasing after the punch bowls. Let me be clear, the red bull, vodka. whisky, gin, coke mix stirred in a large bowl served with 4 straws. Now, don't get me wrong, I came and drank many of these punch bowls in college...but it has been awhile....feeling good we bar hopped the night away. At some point, deciding we would all rent motorbikes and seek out a waterfall 40 kilometers away the next day; yeah right! 

The morning came too quickly, and I was out of Excedrin, but I kept my promise and met the wild ones for an early lunch expecting a sure rain check. Oh no, within an hour we each hoped on motorbikes and made our way through the city streets, into the outskirts, along desolate coastal roads, onto a busy highway, and into hidden villages pushed far back from any paved road. We had to stop for directions dozens of times, which also meant we were invited to sit for tea dozens of times...so we did...and the sun kept shinning and the journey to the unknown, and non-existent waterfalls just kept getting better. We cruised through cows, pigs, rice fields, thick mud and grass, every other mushy and dirty collection on these off roads. When finally, an English speaker appeared and pointed us to the waterfalls. 

The waterfalls were only the excuse to ride....but, they were well worth it. We headed back into Nha Trang with a belly full of sea food from a local hot pot restaurant, a few beers, sun burnt, and ready to crash from the events of the last 24 hours. The journey, full and fun spirit of my friends, and the feeling of controlling a motorbike on my own made for another experience that I will never forget.