2 B's 1 Blog: Central Vietnam

Hoi An

After a short plane/bus ride combo from Hanoi, we arrived in the small town of Hoi An. Like Luang Prabang, Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and has beautiful French Colonial style buildings which have been restored and maintained to give a very unique, old world look and feel. With very small streets (which only allow pedestrians and bikers), weathered yellow buildings and blue shutters, street vendors selling amazing local fare, I again felt like I had time traveled back to the 1700's.

Aside from the cool buildings and great food, Hoi An's main draw to tourists are the custom tailors. Amidst the charm of the town, lies hundreds upon hundreds of these custom tailors trying with all of there might to coerce you into their store to suit you up in any kind of clothing you want, and for pretty cheap too. It actually takes a little while to appreciate Hoi An because between the tailors, restaurants, and pedi cab drivers, you are CONSTANTLY being bombarded by people just trying to get a little bit of your business. Whatever kinda business that may be.

"Hello sir, you look my restaurant, vely cheap plice fo you, vely goo food"

"Hey handsome man, you come my shop, I make good suit fo you, vely cheap cheap"

My favorite were the ladies who had mutliple services and things to sell though, "Motorbike, bicycle, laundry, cold dlink??" One time Brooke and I needed to do some laundry so we hit the street in search of a spot. Sure enough, there was a lady with everything we needed. "Motorbike, bicycle, laundry, cold dlink??" So we approached her and could instantly see how excited she was to actually have somebody interested. We negotiated a price and she enthusiastically took our bag of clothes, weighed it ( you pay per Kilo ), and the very instant the money hit her hand, it was like somebody had stuck a key in her head and hit the reset button. "Motorbike, bicycle, laundry, cold dlink??" And not to somebody else, to us! Somebody who had just bought something from her! I couldn't help but find it hilarious but you had to applaud her efforts, these people just do not quit.

Our custom tailor experiences were filled with highs and lows, with Brooke making out with some great dresses, and myself with one shitty pair of jean shorts. Ya that's right, jean shorts, I wanted some.

Overall, Hoi An was a great town and we had a lot of fun. We were able to meet up with all of our new friends we met in Ha Long Bay, rented motorbikes, discovered some really cool beach hut bars, and ate some great food. A must see when visiting Vietnam.

Nha Trang

From Hoi An, we hopped on an eight hour overnight train to get down to Nha Trang, Vietnam's most renowned beach town, and very popular with Vietnamese tourists. For overnight trains in Vietnam, you pay for one of four beds in a four bed room or "berth", which you share with whomever may be in the room with you. We boarded the train at 10pm, found our room, and opened the door only to find a Vietnamese family occupying the two bottom bunks, looking like they had been living in this damn thing for over a week. They had plants, little shrines with offerings, tons of instant noodle containers both opened and unopened, stuff on our top bunks, and worst of all, they were fast asleep! So here we are, two big Americans with tons of luggage, flinging open the door and shining light into their tiny dark room like a damn spot light, trying to cram into an already jam packed four bed sleeper car and trying to do it with at least an ounce of courtesy. The light is shining in, they are covering their faces, the baby starts crying, we have to get the husband up to have him move his shit off our bed, and the whole room is jingle jangling as I try to climb my way up into the tiny nook that would soon become my sleeping space. We found one place for my backpack, Brooke ended up having to sleep with her suitcase at her feet, and myself with my guitar half hanging over me, and both of us slept with our valuables in hand, spooning them like a couple in their honeymoon stage. I'd like to personally give a big thanks to Ambien for making my hopes of sleep become a reality.

In Nha Trang, we again met up with our friends (we ended up meeting up with them in every city we visited in Vietnam ), relaxed on the beach, and ended up SCUBA diving. I never thought I would dive in Vietnam, but the diving was supposed to be pretty good, and with the majority of us certified, we decided to go for it. I went into it not expecting much, but came out of it surprised and happy I did it. The visibility was only about 25 ft, but what the dive lacked in viz it made up for in coral and reef life. It ended up being beautiful and a very cool experience.