Hue to Hoi An

We headed out on the bus just after breakfast, so with a couple of stops on the way we were aiming to reach Hoi An by early afternoon.

Pass over the mountain

The passes over the mountains were a bit hairy in places, with the occasional hairpin turn! The drivers seem to take things a bit more carefully through these sections, thank goodness.

Pass

We stopped at a roadside stall selling distilled oil from some kind of tree that smelled a bit eucalyptus-y, which T told us was used as a cure-all kind of ointment when Tiger Balm was too strong.

Part of China Beach

The first proper stop was on part of what used to be called China Beach, where we paddled and relaxed for a bit on the beach. We also stopped at another section of beach in Da Nang, before popping into a bakery for lunch. Not much gluten free there (of course), but I’d been warned, so I’d grabbed some chips at the previous stop. T did say that one of the cakes was just made from rice, so I tried it, but the old tum wasn’t too happy later on, so I think it might not have been entirely correct. I resolved to not take the chance next time!

After reaching our hotel in Hoi An, the Phu Thinh “boutique” hotel, we all rejoiced in the aircon before heading back out for a tour of the town. Shopping is really the raison d’être for Hoi An – mainly tailors, but also cheap imported tourist tat clothes, quick-turnaround spectacles, jewellers, custom shoe makers, and the list goes on…

Markets

T showed us a couple of “recommended” places, and then left us to our own devices in Yaly, the best tailor company is Hoi An. Dangerous, dangerous place. I ordered three dresses (one linen shirt-dress, one cotton print dress and one silk chiffon maxi – delicious!), plus had a couple of tops copied for Mum, and R went to town on a suit and various shirts.

While on our way back to the hotel, clutching the smoking Visa card, we passed a place making those zip-off convertible trousers, which I’d always damned as “screams ‘tourist'”. These were black with flashes of red on the pocket, so I buckled under and ordered a pair. Then I saw twenty other shops with the same thing! Oh well…

We also got distracted into a shoe shop, Kim Anh, which copied shoes from pictures etc. R bought a parti-coloured pair of Converse-style hi-tops and some dress shoes, and I ordered some teal sandals and a pair of green with yellow piping Mary Janes, and a green handbag. The shoulder straps are even long enough, because they were made to fit!

While we were in there looking at the leather goods, the guy from the place I’d ordered the pants from came rushing in to check that charcoal grey was okay for the pants, as they didn’t have black. Amazing that he found us!

Visa card fainting under the pressure, we headed back to the hotel just in time to meet up with the gang for dinner. We were going to a “family” restaurant which an ex-chef had opened up in his home, to try some local specialties.

Tomato and fish soup

Dinner was fantastic, especially when washed down with a mojito or three. We had a tomato and fish soup to start, king prawns with a cumquat sauce, gummy shark with stir-fried morning glory (water spinach) and roasted pork rib. There was a bit of unpleasantness at the end when they couldn’t work out who hadn’t paid for one of the drinks ($3), which seemed a bit rich since they were the ones keeping track, plus they got a significant tip from the group at the end.

The whole tipping thing here is a bit weird. Everywhere we’ve read says that Vietnam is not a tipping culture, and not to tip unless for really amazing service, but T enforces tipping wherever we are. The taxi drivers here expect so much of a tip that they don’t even bother trying to give change, and just drive off without offering the change which was a quarter of the amount paid! A bit cheeky.