As I mentioned before we took the overnight train from Mui Ne to Da Nang. Actually the train station was about a 45 minute drive from Mui Ne in a place called Muong Man. Which I suspected was Dragon Fruit country as the street we drove down was surrounded by Dragon Fruit farms. Which is where the driver dropped us off. At a train station in the middle of a dragon fruit farm. At this point I was feeling a little anxious. Apparently I am a rookie traveller. We waited roughly one hour for the train and Steve had found some local person that could speak English to ensure that we were getting on the right train. I am sure that was more for my sanity than anything.
Boarding the train - I had no idea what I was in for. We found our cabin and disturbed a sleeping man. Steve helped calm me down and after a few hours (and one beer) later I was feeling better and managed to sleep the rest of the journey.
We arrived in Da Nang about one hour late - at 5:00 am. According to Vietnamese time this is on time. I like to consider is fashionably late. We finally arrived at our hotel the Palm Garden Resort Hoi An and immediately into the shower. The bathroom in this hotel was pretty amazing however I am not sure if my judgment was a bit clouded when comparing it to the bathroom on the train. Lets not get into that. After our showers we were again ready to hit the town at exactly 7am. Hopefully we can keep this up when we get back home.
Well I am pleased to report that Hoi An did not disappoint. Hoi An can be simply summarized as your one stop shop for a personal tailor. There are tailor shops on every street and sometimes in the oddest place. Actually its much more than that. It is an old ancient town that has both a charming and lazy vibe. Its definitely on my top places to visit in Vietnam and not only for the shopping. It is actually a place that made me grow tired of shopping, if you can believe it.
Within 5 minutes from entering the Hoi An market I was quickly seated by two eager shoe sales woman with binders full of shoes that they can copy. Well I was sold. About 15 minutes later I was having my feet measured in the most bizzare fashion and two pairs of shoes cobbled. One pair of heals (for fun) and one pair of ballet flats (for actual use). This process set me back about $45. The next day Steve decided that he also wanted his pair of birkenstocks copied. Needless to say this was also a comedic experience.
After that we spent the remainder of the day walking around the old town stopping here and there for beers and coffees. I am not going to lie - that has been one of the best parts of the trip. While wandering the streets there are countless shop owners and street vendors trying to sell you the most ridiculous things. One girl asked do you want to buy bracelet. No. Do you want to buy postcard. No. Do you want to buy tiger balm. No. Other vendors are selling whistles. Whistles made from what I dont know. You are often greated with a Man, girl, you buy whistle. During all that walking around I did manage to have one dress tailored. And Steve purchased a lot of ties. I think we made out OK.
The next day we awoke to a bit of rain but luckily we had a cooking class scheduled. I have not participated in many organized tours in Vietnam before and the ones I had done were amusing to say the least. My expectations of this tour were no higher. Let me tell you now that I was pleasantly surprised. We got a tour of the market (however Steve and I had toured it the day before). We took a scenic boat ride to the Redbridge cooking school. Where we enjoy the morning learning how to cook traditional Vietnamese food. With the added bonus of eating our creations. It was actually a lot of fun and I even managed to buy a few tools to jazz up my kitchen.
After the cooking school the rain still hadnt let up so we quickly bought a rain coat (which is more like a cheap plastic bag) and did a bit more shopping and looking around. We decided to bail on the fireworks in Da Nang since we didnt want to drive in the rain - but heard that they we spectacular. Which I am not surprised about at all.
We are now in Ninh Binh, which is a two hour drive south of Hanoi. We are staying at the Ninh Binh Legend Hotel, which has been interesting to say the least. Tomorrow we are headed to Ha Long Bay and I am pretty excited. This is a place I have wanted to visit for quite some time. The weather is supposed to be sunny and hot - just how I like it. However I will be happy as long as it is clear. As soon as we are at a hotel that provides free WiFi we should be able to post more frequently. But until then - enjoy this update.
Wow! What an adventure! Enjoy! Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog. :)
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