Finally (having sorted out our tickets again in Kota Kinabalu) we flew into Da Nang airport Vietnam late at night as we were routed through Kuala Lumpur and HCMC. We were met by a lovely young man with his car and taken to our guesthouse in Hoi An - Hoi An Field Resort and Spa where we were to stay put for one month. Greeted there by Nat we had the choice of several rooms - very unusual but lovely - and we settled in for our stay.
Hoi An Field resort and Spa is outside of Hoi An township, in the countryside and amongst the rice fields which suited us fine. Pushbikes were free to use, the pool exceptional and the staff absolutely wonderful.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. We biked on a daily basis everywhere, through the paddy fields, into Hoi An, to local restaurants, to Cua Dia beach - anywhere and everywhere. We certainly got used to the local traffic and its idiosyncrasies and, of course, the constant tooting!!!!! We also utilised Grab taxis for evening travel which are very cheap and readily available where-ever you wish to go. There is no problem calling up one of these cars as wifi is readily available everywhere in Vietnam.
Food in Hoi An is amazing and the beer very cold. We biked to restaurants local to our guesthouse and were able to form close friendships with the owners. "Little Flower" was our favourite where we met Nah and her husband and children and ate genuine Hoi An food. Always complimentary fresh fruit and tea was served to us at the end of each meal and the children "high fived" us each time we arrived. Another great place was "Hiep Ky" where all the locals eat. The food is so so cheap and the locals have a crate of 24 big bottles of beer brought to their table to drink whilst they eat. One crate was 360,000VD (NZ$23) or 15,000VD (NZ.95cents) each!!!!!! We would spend all of NZ$6.50 for a huge meal for both of us plus drinks too.
Dentists are cheap too as Gary found out. Unfortunately he broke a front tooth and was having issues with hot and cold sensations on another tooth. Off he trots on his bike to the local dentist - has 3 white fillings done for $73??? - turns out they run a laundry on the side there too which is a little strange - but they were amazing and the fillings great.
In Hoi An itself it was a different story - the food was much more expensive but still comparably cheap - catering mainly for tourists rather than locals. Gosh they can make a mean Mojito though in that little town. In many of the restaurants you can sit in the evening looking over the river flooded with lights and back-dropped by glowing lanterns. Hoi An is all about the lanterns, especially at night, and is very pretty with its Chinese Bridge, narrow streets and pedlos. At certain times of the day the streets are closed off to all traffic, except push bikes, for a few hours and sanity rules. However at around 4pm each day and until night has fallen Hoi An is invaded by coaches full of both Chinese and South Korean visitors. This time is best avoided unless you have been lucky enough to secure a seat somewhere to watch the unbelievable unfold.
As I said earlier we met some amazing people. Cycling through the rice fields one day we came across, in the middle of no where, the American Cafe run by this incredibly interesting hippy American from the front garden of his house. He had been a lyric writer for some very famous artists in his time - or so he told us - and was quite famous for "shooting a TV" (literally) because it was annoying him - or so he told us too. He made good iced coffee, which is what we needed at the time, regardless of his previous life.
We met a proud granddad and his young grand daughter when we stopped for water one day after a long and fruitless bike ride - it was very very hot and humid in Hoi An and hydration very important. The little girl wished to practice her English with us with the help of her cell phone. She was only little but very comfortable in our presence, taking Gary off to see the fish pond her Granddad had formed and chattering away with him. They were so cute together but unfortunately we never got to see them again as they were always closed whenever we passed by.
Several of our bike rides were fruitless as we tried in vain to navigate our way to Cua Dia Beach. The problem being that the Chinese have built a bloody great highway - which carries very little traffic - between the beach and Hoi An. It seems totally absurd for the region but finally we mastered the changes and made it to the beach which was absolutely lovely. We fulfilled that need to swim in the sea a few times, reading books with our backs up against a coconut tree and no other person in sight, but we also stumbled across a local restaurant selling the "best pizza we have ever tasted in our lives"!!! We ate that pizza on two occasions - we just had to.
It was on one of these fruitless bike rides that I fell off my bike and I can tell you it was that bloody great roads fault!!!!!! The day was excruciatingly hot, we had missed the elusive turn off to the beach again, a truck reversed between us, Gary took the high road - yes that bloody great highway - and I landed up below the road on the hard fill hence the fall and leg injury - oh and the bike also had no brakes!!!! Gary said it was like watching it all unfold in slow motion????
Whilst on the subject of bikes.....ours, parked happily in our usual spot in Hoi An township and locked together, suddenly did a disappearing act. Not trusting our memories - nothing to do with age but the fact that most crossroads in Hoi An look very similar - we walked around for a while but came to the conclusion that they must have been stolen.......but NO....wait there is more!!!!!! It was the "bike police" who had come round and snaffled them - "loading" them and others into their truck and taking them to the "Police station"?? "And the Police station is where?"......"Well, go along here to the next turn and turn right"....."Ok thank you very much". This was the start of our subsequent 4 hour journey.....every time we asked we would get new instructions which actually took us to places in Hoi An we might never have explored but yes.....you guessed it......we did not locate the "Police Station". We found many warehouse type places that contained "bikes in piles" - some "open" but "not open" and one similar one which was locked and bolted. Our search was fruitless and we were no closer to finding our bikes or what had become of them.
Stumbling across a Tourist information office we implored the help of a lady working there. With a wry smile on her face she told us that there were many places they could have been taken and so our route march started all over again with her striding out in front in her high heels and us loitering behind trying to keep up.......and start from scratch we did, back to the place we parked them. It was easier for her as she spoke the language but there was a lot of laughing going on at our expense as we did the circuit once more, finally arriving back at........yes the one and only locked door. "Your bikes are in there" she said. "When you come to collect them tomorrow there will be a large fine to pay and you will get your bikes back"!!!!!!! Absolutely shocked but grateful we followed her back to her office where she called our hotel to explain what had happened and asked them to send someone to pick us up......which they did......one man on a motorbike......after all that?.....no way. We took a Grab taxi instead. Arriving back at Hoi An Field we discovered this sort of thing happens regularly - they accept it as the norm, pay the fines and carry on. Next day Number 8 and number 5 were happily back in their ranks at the hotel waiting for our next adventure. Gosh if only bikes could talk!!!
Hoi An is the place to have clothes made and to buy cheaply and we definitely took advantage of this needing to buy an extra, small case to get it all home. Having something copied though is a much better option than having something made from a photo as Gary's suit and my dress are testament to. Shirts and tops copied were however very successful and inexpensive and the materials we chose excellent quality. We tried both tailors and the market place with little difference between in both quality or price. It was actually quite fun but they are clever and wily and their attitude can change very quickly which can be a little disconcerting. There were some very upset customers in the market place from time to time, including us, but it always turned out sort of OK in the end. It just needed to be remembered that everything was very cheap. Likewise modern Nike shorts for Gary in quick dry, non iron material (great for travelling) for $5 a pair as were T-shirts and, of course, you always barter - it is expected.
We filled in our days well in Hoi An Field - the pool was amazing, the buffet breakfasts were great and when we tired of Asian food they made a really good burger too. We met some amazing travellers from all over the world and as I said earlier the staff were awesome. One day the security guard, Dung, who also was responsible for the bikes approached us via Lee (Nat's twin sister and the owners daughter) he wanted us to go to his house and meet his wife, Muoi and son - Lee would be our interpreter. We had a great time with him and his family - he was so proud of his house and what he had achieved in life - he was such an amazing person. We went there twice, loaded with gifts, and shared food with them and were so grateful that they passed through our lives like that.
One day we were told the owner, Vinh, wished to offer us a "hot pot" lunch. Assuming he would be joining us we wandered down to the restaurant to find a table for two set with all this food which would have been impossible for us to eat. Gathering some staff, Lee, Vy, Phat and another guest we extended the table and soon all were happily tucking in......it was so fresh and delicious and also an embarrassment was averted.
Our worst moment at Hoi An Field happened when we had just got out of the pool, ordered a couple of yummy cocktails and were settling down on the poolside loungers to read our books when there was this enormous "bang" from the road outside followed by this incredible wailing of a woman. I will never forget these sounds for the rest of my life - it was just awful and heart breaking. Gary and I rushed out to see two motorbikes lying in the road, two European young people injured and a local family of four also involved. Mum had been carrying a 6week old baby on her lap with Dad and their 4 year old son on the motorbike too. Mum seemed to be the only one with minor injuries from that group, amazingly the baby and child seemed untouched. Mum was being looked after by locals and was soon taken away by car to the local hospital. The Europeans however had a lot of abrasions and he a quite nasty looking knee but were not allowed by the locals to relocate until the police arrived which was at least three quarters of an hour. Trying to help and clean their wounds on the side of the road was pretty difficult but bottled water and ice brought them some relief thank goodness........not sure where all the other helpers from the hotel disappeared to!!!!! The police finally arrived, spoke to the local people and driver but not to Stewart the European driver, loaded both bikes onto the back of their truck and drove away? Long story short Stewart and the local man were summoned to the Police Station a couple of days later - Stewart paid the Police a huge fine, paid the local man an even larger fine and received his bike back. This all seemed a bit weird to us because it was obvious the local guy was clearly at fault having come out from a side road and into Stewart??? Stewart was just relieved to get his bike back and get it repaired so he could continue his travels without a Vietnamese Court case. Can report here we stayed in touch with Stewart and Cadence, had lunch with them one day as well, to make sure they were recovering ok and after several hospital visits and much nurturing of their skin, they made a full recovery and finally were able to continue their separate journeys. I, however, felt most embarrassed when photos emerged of me helping the injured in my swimsuit - not a good look - and yes we finally got our cocktails 2 days later.
On a brighter note there were several events happening in Hoi An whilst we were there. The full moon lantern festival was one and we took a boat ride on the river but I think the best was a local cultural show called A O (thats Ahhh Ohhh) - in the most amazing little, round theatre (the Lune performing centre) - it was so skillful. It was a blend of circus stunts using bamboo poles and coracles, acrobatics and contemporary dance. Truly amazing and very much like Cirque de Soleil.
In Hoi An itself there are obviously many peddlars, mainly women, currently selling fridge magnets, pop up cards, bookmarks and dried fruits and peanuts. They all have very interesting life-stories which we were eager to listen to - this meant that we did come home loaded with all of the above but it was well worth it. They do struggle to make ends meet but in no way are they intrusive. It is well worth striking up a conversation with them - we can learn so much from their humble way of life. In the same vein are the "eyebrow threaders" - goodness only knows how many people's eyebrows and ear hairs have been removed by that one piece of thread they accost you with - you have to learn to be quick to avoid them as they loom towards you........but it is all done with a laugh and lots of banter Lol.
We all know Vietnam can be a very sad place too although you can see the Western influence happening prolifically now but.......two very sad sights have left a lasting impression in my mind. One was a lady wheeling co-joined twins along the road on a push cart. They were quite large and I couldn't look for long - it was too upsetting - there just seemed to be a big bundle of rags with multiple arms and legs with a head at either end and she actually had a colander on one of the babies heads so it could not be seen but could breathe I assume.
The second was a bullock that had a ripped nose that was dangling down the front of his face - I assume once again there had been a ring there at some stage.
The weather in Hoi An was extremely hot whilst we were there and invariably there would be massive thunder and lightening storms, no rain, during the night - it was also very humid so the air-conditioning and the fan would be going full blast whilst you were in your room, Towards the end of the calendar month electricity power cuts became more frequent - all returned to normal at the start of a new month? There was never an explanation for this - it was something that just happened!!!
The night before we left Hoi An Field they held a big dinner party to say goodbye and to mark the end of the busy season. The hotel owner Vinh and his family put on this amazing seafood spread with lashings of red wine - all the staff were there and his chefs and this is where we learned "Mot Hai Ba Zo" - cheers in Vietnamese. It was a great evening and the most animated we had seen Vinh the whole of our stay. But there was one person missing.......Phi Phi.
Phi Phi worked at Hoi An Field when we first arrived but left the job to go to work elsewhere and we missed her greatly. We had met up in Hoi An for some drinks on one occasion and she surprised us by coming to our room to say goodbye the night before we left. Similarly Nah from the Little Flower Restaurant arrived with a bag of gifts for us the following morning and, before Vinh and Dung personally drove us to the airport, many of the staff who were off duty arrived with gifts as well. It was a very emotional time for us all. Even at the airport Vinh and Dung escorted us to the check in desk for our flight to Bali.
How precious can these memories be? They will stay with us forever.
Thank you Hoi An Field Resort and Spa for a wonderful stay.
