Goodbye Hoi an and Vietnam

Well this is our last update in Vietnam as our months here comes to an end.

The final week started with a 6 hour bus journey during the day, that was completely uneventful – those that have travelled in Vietnam know that is a good thing. So we arrived on a lovely day, although it was 38 degrees.

As this is our second time here we decided to forego a number of the ‘tourist attractions’ of boating, tuk tuk rides and shopping for ‘tailor made clothes’. Instead we got on the free bikes and cycled through paddy fields (which are due to be harvested), went to the local’ish beach and explored the ‘old town’ of Hoi an.

To try and keep out of the incessant heat, our daily routine has been breakfast, cycle 3.5 kilometres to the beach (a big thank you to the staff at Jasmine Cafe who kept us both hydrated with beer and diet coke) and re-hydrate by drinking a few beers/diet cokes. Once the temperatures reaches a mild 33/32 degrees we get back on the bikes, stop off to get a Banh Mi from a 80/90 year old lady around the corner from where we stayed, (at The Blue Clouds Homestay) take a shower and then head out into the ‘old town’.

The town itself is very sleepy during the day, although there are plenty of Tailors, Art shops Cafes, etc – we tried to get Bex to order a leather jacket, but the US$150 price tag was too much of a gamble with her being 10,000 kilometres away. However, the town comes to life at night when lanterns are lit and lights aluminate the canal and rivers. One of our key realisations is that there are multiple resort complexes being built in nearby Da Nang which see’s bus loads of tourists that come in for a brief 3/4 hour visit – we’re not sure if this is a good thing for the town.

It has to be said, it is still probably one of the most beautiful places to sit with a beer/cocktail and people watch as they partake in the various boat rides, buying trinkets, taking tuk tuk rides and of course get hassled by the never ending chatter of Vietnamese bar/stall holders trying to sell their goods.

Today we fly to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand to explore new regions and then in mid May we cross over to Laos (this has been a country we have wanted to visit for so long but never had the time).