Off to Hoi An

After loading up the bus, we started our journey to Hoi An. We had to take a little bus as we were driving through the mountains and switchbacks in the mountains were very tight. We’ve driven through the mountains in Vancouver and this was nothing compared to that. They were constantly sign showing that your car could fall off the cliff and go into the South China Sea! We stop briefly at a roadside Café so we could check out the view and in the distance you can see the city of Da Nang. Will be returning to Da Nang when we fly out to go to Ho Chi Minh City in a few days.

The bus riders are there uneventful but the scenery was quite beautiful. We eventually arrived in Hoi An at about 3:30. The old quarter of Hoi An is a UNESCO heritage site. As such, the close it to scooters at several points during the day.

Retard hotel in McGill about an hour to get changed and ready to go. This hotel also has an indoor pool but there is no roof, so it is kind of like an open air pool. Once we were all ready to go, we went to the old corner to buy tickets. We had a ticket to enter the old quarter and this is how they make money in order to restore various sites in the old quarter. We also had about a one hour tour provided by a guide of the old quarter. Our guide showed us various tailor shops, as that is what one of the things that Hoi An is known for.

After the tour ended, our main guide, Tong, ushered us to a restaurant for supper. Is Hoi An is a bit of a tourist attraction for Koreans, the food wasn’t anything to write home about but was still tasty nonetheless. Also, a group of lots of laughs at dinner as we are starting to each other pretty well in the jokes were flying. The Brits, especially, have a great sense of humor!

Many of us return to the tailor shop after dinner because we wanted to get things tailor made. I am getting a dress made, and I will go back for a fitting tomorrow and then a final sitting on the last day that we are in Hoi An. I don’t believe I’ve ever had anything tailor made for me so this is pretty exciting. We also chose a fabric for the dress that is symbolic of some flowers that appear in Vietnam so I’m hoping it makes for a great souvenir. Brad is getting a leather belt made as well!

Once all her measurements were taken, and everyone was satisfied, our guide took us to a bar. The bar was only about a quarter full until we arrived, filling up the rest of the place. There was a cover band playing and the band members were pretty young. They kept playing very old songs by Bob Seger and Dire Straits as well as the Beatles, and when they played a rendition of “Hey Jude”, we brought the place down by joining in and singing along. The young Vietnamese singer told us afterwards that we had made his day by singing along with him. I think he felt like he was a pretty big rockstar as we belted out “na na nananah hey Jude!” so loudly that people were taking videos of us! It was a memorable moment!

Brad and I packed it in around 10 o’clock as we were pretty tired and we were eager to get some sleep. We are happy to be in Hoi An for a few days so we can rest relax and get our laundry done!Read more