Day 81 - Hoi An
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday 28th October
Now that my clothes are finished, I have two days in which to fill in before leaving for Nha Trang. Today I decided to head to Danang, the town in which I'd flown into. Finishing breakfast (the hotel had a good set-up - you could order any breakfast item and any drink off the menu, and it was included in the room tariff), I used the hotel car to go into Danang city.
I'd researched Danang the previous night using the hotel's wi-fi on my iPhone, and it didn't seem to be an interesting place (Abi had also previously told me this). All I could find of interest (well, to me at least), was the Big C shopping centre, and a few main streets which sounded promising.
That wasn't to be. I had fun in Big C, exploring their toiletries section - Vaseline for 50c? Clean and Clear moisturisor for 50c? (I stocked up, knowing this will save me money in the long run!) I then proceeded to walk the main streets of Danang, along to the dirty river and eventually ending up at a hairdresser salon. Through a great game of charades, the hairdressers worked out that I wanted my hair straightened. What a fun experience - I had a hairdresser either side of me, straightening each side of my hair; whilst the rest of the salon stood around and watched. (I was a little off the beaten path - maybe they hadn't seen too many Westerners, particularly with blonde hair as they touched it in amazement!) The grand total was 20,000 dong - $1!
During my research the previous night I'd also found a movie theatre that showed films in English (not just with sub-titles), so I watched 'Wall Street 2' for less than $3. What a great movie! I walked out totally in love with Shia LaBoeuf - no wonder his work is applauded!
I tried to find a cafe I'd both been told about by a local Vietnamese guy and read about in the Lonely Planet, which was a bakery/cafe run by deaf students. Unfortunately, I was unable to find it, so I took a taxi back to my hotel.
After a brief respite, I headed into Hoi An town, determined to take some photos of the heritage-listed town. I've barely taken any photos in Vietnam - it feels more like an experience than a group of attractions, and it's been the people that have made this trip bareable as I haven't really enjoyed the country - it's definitely been the best country to find people to talk with!
Continuing this trend, as I walked into Hoi An town I bumped into Kym, Julie, Donna and Debbie, the four ladies who I'd initially met in Sapa and then again on the flight to Hoi An. They invited me to join them for dinner, but first had a few pit-stops to make. The first was to a jewellery store, where they seemed to have purchased half of the store - and I could see why. The jewellery was not only beautiful and cheap, but it could also be either customised or custom-made to your specifications. They were supposed to be picking up some customised items, but couldn't resist purchasing a few more items.
They had spent most of their time on the 'east' side of the town, whereas I had spent my time in the 'west', so they weaved through a number of streets and called into shops I hadn't come across, before we arrived at the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was owned by the same person who owned the jewellery store, and the ladies were welcomed warmly by the staff - they were the kind of people who would talk to anyone, and would become friends with everyone in an instance!
The food was beautiful, the setting was great and the company fantastic - we had a great evening. They were booked on a flight to Nha Trang the next morning, where they'd booked two nights at the Diamond Bay Resort, which hosted the 2008 Miss Universe pageant. However, as onward flights to Ho Chi Minh City were booked out on Sunday, they now had to leave Nha Trang on Saturday, which meant they couldn't use their second night at the resort, which was fully paid for and non-refundable. Was I interested in taking up the room?, they asked.
I accepted the offer, and arranged to meet them at the resort on Saturday morning once I'd arrived on the sleeper bus (I was worried about arriving too early, given the sleeper bus was scheduled to arrive at 6:00am, but Kym assured me she'd be awake). With that sorted, and dinner finished, we went our separate ways - them to pick-up their last items of clothing, and myself to snap a few more photos.
Now that my clothes are finished, I have two days in which to fill in before leaving for Nha Trang. Today I decided to head to Danang, the town in which I'd flown into. Finishing breakfast (the hotel had a good set-up - you could order any breakfast item and any drink off the menu, and it was included in the room tariff), I used the hotel car to go into Danang city.
I'd researched Danang the previous night using the hotel's wi-fi on my iPhone, and it didn't seem to be an interesting place (Abi had also previously told me this). All I could find of interest (well, to me at least), was the Big C shopping centre, and a few main streets which sounded promising.
That wasn't to be. I had fun in Big C, exploring their toiletries section - Vaseline for 50c? Clean and Clear moisturisor for 50c? (I stocked up, knowing this will save me money in the long run!) I then proceeded to walk the main streets of Danang, along to the dirty river and eventually ending up at a hairdresser salon. Through a great game of charades, the hairdressers worked out that I wanted my hair straightened. What a fun experience - I had a hairdresser either side of me, straightening each side of my hair; whilst the rest of the salon stood around and watched. (I was a little off the beaten path - maybe they hadn't seen too many Westerners, particularly with blonde hair as they touched it in amazement!) The grand total was 20,000 dong - $1!
During my research the previous night I'd also found a movie theatre that showed films in English (not just with sub-titles), so I watched 'Wall Street 2' for less than $3. What a great movie! I walked out totally in love with Shia LaBoeuf - no wonder his work is applauded!
I tried to find a cafe I'd both been told about by a local Vietnamese guy and read about in the Lonely Planet, which was a bakery/cafe run by deaf students. Unfortunately, I was unable to find it, so I took a taxi back to my hotel.
After a brief respite, I headed into Hoi An town, determined to take some photos of the heritage-listed town. I've barely taken any photos in Vietnam - it feels more like an experience than a group of attractions, and it's been the people that have made this trip bareable as I haven't really enjoyed the country - it's definitely been the best country to find people to talk with!
Continuing this trend, as I walked into Hoi An town I bumped into Kym, Julie, Donna and Debbie, the four ladies who I'd initially met in Sapa and then again on the flight to Hoi An. They invited me to join them for dinner, but first had a few pit-stops to make. The first was to a jewellery store, where they seemed to have purchased half of the store - and I could see why. The jewellery was not only beautiful and cheap, but it could also be either customised or custom-made to your specifications. They were supposed to be picking up some customised items, but couldn't resist purchasing a few more items.
They had spent most of their time on the 'east' side of the town, whereas I had spent my time in the 'west', so they weaved through a number of streets and called into shops I hadn't come across, before we arrived at the restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was owned by the same person who owned the jewellery store, and the ladies were welcomed warmly by the staff - they were the kind of people who would talk to anyone, and would become friends with everyone in an instance!
The food was beautiful, the setting was great and the company fantastic - we had a great evening. They were booked on a flight to Nha Trang the next morning, where they'd booked two nights at the Diamond Bay Resort, which hosted the 2008 Miss Universe pageant. However, as onward flights to Ho Chi Minh City were booked out on Sunday, they now had to leave Nha Trang on Saturday, which meant they couldn't use their second night at the resort, which was fully paid for and non-refundable. Was I interested in taking up the room?, they asked.
I accepted the offer, and arranged to meet them at the resort on Saturday morning once I'd arrived on the sleeper bus (I was worried about arriving too early, given the sleeper bus was scheduled to arrive at 6:00am, but Kym assured me she'd be awake). With that sorted, and dinner finished, we went our separate ways - them to pick-up their last items of clothing, and myself to snap a few more photos.
Post a Comment