On to Hoi An

Hue had been interesting, but we weren't that bowled over by it, so we decided to cut it short and head onto Hoi An.  The 3 1/2 bus ride was not bad although the rain really came hammering down making the raods even more dangerous.  The bus stipped in central Hoi An right outside the Grasslands hotel.  We were exhausted so weren't in the mood for trapsing the streets looking for a good deal.  We checked in and at $15 a night including breakfast we didn't think it was bad at all.  It's your typical hotel with dozens of rooms, TV's, pool etc.  Blake had highly recommended Hoi An to us too so we're expecting great things. 

The old town is gorgeous.  Along the river lined with old french-style buildings and restaurants - although I've never been to France, this is what I'd imagine parts of France to be like.

We picked a restaurant with an open roof-top terrace overlooking the river and enjoyed a few Gin n' Tonics (our first on the trip I might add) and some good grub.  After dinner we were approached by one of the restaurant managers, Mr Trung.  He told us of his village near by and invited us to join him in his village for a day and he would take us fishing and to see the local pottery villages.

After reading previous tourists reviews in his little note book and taken a great liking to his warm friendly character, we decided to take him up on his offer for the day after tomorrow.

 

The City of Hue

Bridge:  The bus journey was a killer.  Almost literally.  12 hours in a sleeper bus crammed to the hilt with locals travelling to HCMC.  The driving was horrendous - the driver overtaking on blind rises and corners at ridiculous speeds and slamming on the horn and brakes every few seconds!

After trekking the streets in vain trying to find a guesthouse, we took a taxi to Moa Binh Guesthouse on Le Loi Street.  We had a long sleep and then took a "cyclo" (a man-powered bicycle with 2 chairs strapped the the front!) around the citadel - which again proved to just consist of an ancient outter wall with modern buildings and markets in the central streets.

Ninh Binh

Bridge:  The hotel was lovely.  $15 for a spotlessly clean and comfortable room.  Hoa and his wife, Xuan and their sons made our stay great.  We rented a semi-automatic bike and drove 8km to the Tam Coc River where we bought tickets for a boat ride.  We hopped into a tiny tin rowing boat and were rowed by a man and his wife we presumed).  The scenery was fantastic - like a miniature Halong Bay.  We rowed through 3 enormous "grottos" that had stalagmites and stalacites hanging down from the cave rooves.

Such a peaceful experience.  Unfortunately it was slightly spoilt when, on our journey back towards the boat dock, they stopped in the middle of the river and revealed a huge sack from under the seat full of souvenirs!!  They hassled us for almost an hour to buy their crafts which were ridiculously expensive.  We refused - not because they weren't nice souvenirs, but just because of how they'd gone about the whole procedure.  They then very rudely insisted that we give them both a tip when we got off the boat!!  

The great river experience had ended and had left a bitter taste in our mouths.

Worst Birthday Ever!

Bridge:  It started with 3 near head-on collisions - one after the other - when the bus picked us up from our "hotel".  Something I still haven't figured out - on Highway 1 the drivers drive at 40km/hr and on the narrow, winding roads on Cat Ba, they insist on driving at almost 120km/hour.  We were dumped at the pier with no explanation at all about which boat to get on or even who would be taking us back to Hanoi.

After half an hour, I went to look for our guide and I found him casually sitting in the shade having a beer and a cigarette.  I asked him to please come explain to the group what we should be doing or who we should be "reporting" to, as it clearly wasn't him.  Well that set him off - he went off screaming at me saying he was tired and sick of tourists and that I should SWIM back to the harbour!  I was shocked - absolutely gobsmacked.  Never had I seen a tour guide speak to a tourist like that.  Well, we made it back to Hanoi eventually after being passed on from one guide to another and being dropped off in the middle of nowhere on a road - we had to walk 4km back to our hotel / tour agent!!  After what a terrible time we'd had, she didn't seem to care - or believe us for that matter.

That evening we caught our open - tour sleeper bus to Ninh Binh - just 90km south of Hanoi.  We were met on the road by Hoa - the owner of the hotels "Xuan Hoa I" and "Xuan Hoa II".