Just a short bus ride and I was in Hoi An - though by the look of the bus, I wondered if we'd ever make it at all! The bus was so old in made Westward Travel buses look state if the art! Nevertheless we made it safe and sound.
My hotel had sent a minibus to pick me up, and just 10 mins later I was at my hotel. And what a hotel! It was tr nicest place I've been since I've been travelling (with the exception of Mine and Lucy's Koh Tao resort, which was spellbinding). The room was a double, small, but with everything I'd need - tv, Shower,toilet, Bed, Minibar (not necessarily in that order). The only downside was this hotel seemed to house couples and families - neither of which seemed overly approachable here.
After a shower I took a wander into Hoi An 'Ancient' Town, 15 minutes walk away (I tell you, I'm gonna be fit coming back after all this walking!)...(or fitTERat least). The town wasn't what I was expecting. Whilst all the old buildings and streets were beautiful in their quaint and old design, every single building was either a souvenir shop, tailor or bar/restaurant - this place was either a tourist's heaven or hell. There was an obscene number of tailor shops, many springing up due to tourism rising, many not actually tailors. Despite the constant barrage of locals trying to make me buy stuff that would serve no purpose in my life other than to remind me how I'd been scammed out of £5-10 I didn't wanna spend on something I didn't want, the walk round was pleasant (it would have been better had the weather been better). Walking through the market was a laugh too - I do like markets for the weird things you see, like old women sleeping on a table whilst someone decapitates chickens. The town was divided by a river littered with boats of all different sizes - big ones, small ones, some as big as your head (this would never have happened under Mufasa...) and the centre piece was the Japenese Covered Bridge...which whilst beautiful and intriguing, couldn't capture your attention for overly long.
I managed to shake off the desperate attempts by 'tailors' to buy a suit, or even go in and look, though I admit I was kinda tricked into looking in one less than 15 metres from leaving my hotel!
That night, I met up with the Archie's and Charlie (did I mention these before? I met them in Hanoi and again Hue) for free cocktails in their hotel. We then headed out for dinner and fresh beer (literally a day old, which made it so refreshing...and at 13p a glass seemed a good buy. Funnily enough, at the same restaurant we met Mike and the people he was staying with! After we ate we headed out to enjoy the Hoi An nightlife - and enjoy we did, including a free motor bike ride with a nutcase local between bars!
The next day, whilst nursing a very slight hangover, I watched films in my room...all day...not even joking, I only left my room for 20 mins to get dinner! I must have watched about 20 films that day! It was nice though, just having a bit of privacy. So not much interesting to write here...
The next day nearly promised to be the same, til I forced myself out of bed. I hired a bike and cycled the 5km to the beach. The beach itself was really nice, but the lack of friends and decent weather meant my stay was very short. Instead I much preferred my slow cycle to and from, cutting through countryside. It was really quite stunning and interesting. Hoi An, although not having an awful lot to do there, is a really pretty place. I headed back to the town for lunch, where I bumped into Mike again. After another lap of the town, I headed back to my own private theatre (A bit of a waste of time I know, but I was knackered! Plus Rocky was on).
My final day really has nothing to report. I checked out, wandered round town again looking for a bargain in the market, before coming to the conclusion that anything I bought would be for the sake of buying something, for me or others). My bus left at 6, and arrived into Nha Trang for 5am, where check in to my hostel was at 12... I couldn't wait.
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