Hi from Hoi An

Day 6

We have arrived in Hoi A today, another place we had supposed to visit in 2022 but a typhoon but a stop to that. Getting here was a bit more of a challenge than it should have been. We’d pre booked tickets on a train from Hue to Da Nang, arrived at the train station accordingly only to find the schedule had been changed without letting us know, and therefore we missed the train. By 4 minutes. Boy was I cross, not helped by the fact two taxi drivers then decided to literally fight over our custom for a lift to Hue. Helped by the kind lady at the station, and sympathetic head shakes and universal eye rolls, we brushed them off, got ourselves booked onto the next service, which actually we were lucky was running, despite it being 3 hours later than planned and an hour longer in journey length and headed back to our oasis in Hue, the Indochine Palace hotel. They stored our luggage for us and we took a walk down to the river, following the path alongside the Perfume River. We clocked up 3 miles even in the 91% humidity and 34 degree sunshine!

We went to the train station 1.5 hours early -just in case if any more schedule changes- and hung out round there for a while enjoying a street beer and chat with the bar owner .

We learnt that this train was a brand new service hence the schedule shake up, but it was good news for us as we had a nicer carriage to look forward to and very good AC. We started to feel better about the whole ordeal and before we knew it, it was time to board the train.

The journey south follows the coastline for a large part – with large lush green mountains to our left and the sea to our right. There was a Buffett cart and they kept us stocked up well with cold beer whilst we enjoying the relaxed journey.

On arrival into Da Nang, despite it being almost 4 hours later than originally planned, our driver was waiting for us and we made the final hours drive to the hotel, Emerald Hoi A Riverside. It was now 7:15pm and we wasted no time in getting showered and straight out to explore. The hotel was only 10 mins walk from the main area of the old town and as soon as we saw the lanterns alongside the river we began to relax. We were finally here!

We had a wander, a beer stop and even took a boat ride, before making our way for dinner.

Tonight’s feast consisted of local Hoi A dishes- all of which were delicious.

A local delicacy- white rose dumplings – filled with shrimp and vegetables

Spinach, pork and mushroom dumplings

Cao Lau – thick Japanese noodles with pork

Hoi an Chicken and rice

Day 7

We booked onto a viator half day trip to My Son, a UNESCO site not too far from Hoi An, once used by the Champ people as a worship complex during the 4th-10th century’s. When the King passed away, the site became lost to the jungle and was rediscovered by French tiger hunters in the 19th century. Work is still ongoing to uncover roads and temples, and there is a bit of bomb damage from the Vietnamese war, however the site is still impressive. Keith particularly was interested in the use of brick for construction given the years in which the site was built.

We enjoyed the Champ performance at the site which included traditional costumes and musical instruments.

On route to My Son we had stopped at a farmers house to learn how to make rice paper which was interesting and I got to have a go too.

After a quick lunch included within the trip, we took a boat ride along the river and then returned to our hotel for a siesta- it was boiling hot and the humidity so high, the air was thick like treacle.

After a snooze, we took a walk into town to see Hoi An and its historic houses in the daylight. Some of the wooden houses were open as museums, but we decided to just enjoy the atmosphere of walking around and exploring the nooks and crannies. It was very easy to imagine this historic port back in the day full of traders – silk, lanterns, spices all helped to make this port town a lively and prosperous place indeed.