Bob and I walked down to the train in Hue, about 2kms away, enjoying the clearer weather and drier conditions. Unfortunately, Bob is hindered by a calf injury which is causing him to limp and is quite painful. Maybe the walk wasn't such a great idea afterall!
After a short wait for the train, during which we chatted to an Australian, Travis and his English girlfriend who were also heading to Hoi An, we boarded the train bound for Da Nang. Many others on the train had obviously spent a long night travelling long distances, however we we on the eastern side of the train and this was to prove invaluable. After speeding along the outskirts of the city at around 70km/hr, we slowed as we approached the bays and found ourselves on a single track wedged between the bay and dramatic mountains rising to our west. From here, the train prattled along at around 20km/hr (gotta love the garmin), climbing up steep grades for a railway and winding it's way perilously along the barely-there track which clung to a whisper of ground before plunging down 100's of metres. It is stunning.
We shall repeat the journey in the other direction on Wednesday, having secured two tickets for top (of three) berths in a 'hard class' carriage to Ha Noi. It was all that was available, but will get us to our destination in time.
After collecting our tickets, we were approached by a man 'with a car' who offered to drive us to Hoi An for a price. I was wary, and unusual for our experience on this trip to Vietnam so far, he left us alone to talk among ourselves. Saving the travel and wait for a bus was alluring, and with some trepidation we agreed and were soon bundled into a white Mazda sedan, with a fat marble Buddha on the dashboard and were hurtling along with the horn constantly blaring in a vain warning to the cyclo's, bikes, scooters, other cars and trucks to get out of the way. Once again, it was a relief to have the garmin to check that we were actually being taken in the correct direction - it's little line was drawing a clear path first east across the streets of Da Nang and then south, just where we wanted to go! We somehow arrived in one piece, and paid the negotiated 100,000 dong fare. It was certainly quick, and we may use Mr Phoung's services again to drive us to My Song tomorrow to get there before the crowds.
Our first choice of hotel looked a treat and we were greeted by a charming woman, unfortunately they were full for the evening. We then moved 400m down the road to one suggested by Travis as being very new and including a good breakfast; ornate with heavy carved wood and with a faux chinese style relief of a village int he breakfast area, we looked at a room that was being cleaned (one of only two available for that night) and decided to stay here. At USD $25 it was a good looking room, however something about the hotel didn't grab me as much as the others we had stayed in; perhaps it was just bigger.
That afternoon and evening were wandered around the old streets of Hoi An, an UNESCO world heritage town, lined with old chinese style houses of two stories from it's past as the major trading port in this part of the world. With narrow alleys and interesting architecture is is very interesting, unfortunately the swarm of tourists and number of shops established to sell clothes and 'authentic' souvenirs to tourists gives it the feel very much of Venice in Italy; of undisputed value, but turned into something of a theme park of itself to survive. This is only a first impression however, and we shall give Bob's calf a rest today and do a little more exploring in the compact old town centre.
With many options to eat, we settled on a place which had fresh beer for 3,000 dong, something we had yet to see in Vietnam thus far, although well missed by Bob from his experiences in Ha Noi last year. The menu was interesting, and eschewing many of the local specialties because they are heavily reliant on 'shrimp' and therefore likely to create another anaphylactic near-death experience for Bob, we stuck to a stunning whole fish with 'the works' - chilli, lemongrasss, garlic and ginger; stir fried green vegetable with peanuts; cao bau a local noodle dish; and local fired won ton, crisp sheets of fried pastry studded with garlic and pork. It was very good indeed.
After a short wait for the train, during which we chatted to an Australian, Travis and his English girlfriend who were also heading to Hoi An, we boarded the train bound for Da Nang. Many others on the train had obviously spent a long night travelling long distances, however we we on the eastern side of the train and this was to prove invaluable. After speeding along the outskirts of the city at around 70km/hr, we slowed as we approached the bays and found ourselves on a single track wedged between the bay and dramatic mountains rising to our west. From here, the train prattled along at around 20km/hr (gotta love the garmin), climbing up steep grades for a railway and winding it's way perilously along the barely-there track which clung to a whisper of ground before plunging down 100's of metres. It is stunning.
We shall repeat the journey in the other direction on Wednesday, having secured two tickets for top (of three) berths in a 'hard class' carriage to Ha Noi. It was all that was available, but will get us to our destination in time.
After collecting our tickets, we were approached by a man 'with a car' who offered to drive us to Hoi An for a price. I was wary, and unusual for our experience on this trip to Vietnam so far, he left us alone to talk among ourselves. Saving the travel and wait for a bus was alluring, and with some trepidation we agreed and were soon bundled into a white Mazda sedan, with a fat marble Buddha on the dashboard and were hurtling along with the horn constantly blaring in a vain warning to the cyclo's, bikes, scooters, other cars and trucks to get out of the way. Once again, it was a relief to have the garmin to check that we were actually being taken in the correct direction - it's little line was drawing a clear path first east across the streets of Da Nang and then south, just where we wanted to go! We somehow arrived in one piece, and paid the negotiated 100,000 dong fare. It was certainly quick, and we may use Mr Phoung's services again to drive us to My Song tomorrow to get there before the crowds.
Our first choice of hotel looked a treat and we were greeted by a charming woman, unfortunately they were full for the evening. We then moved 400m down the road to one suggested by Travis as being very new and including a good breakfast; ornate with heavy carved wood and with a faux chinese style relief of a village int he breakfast area, we looked at a room that was being cleaned (one of only two available for that night) and decided to stay here. At USD $25 it was a good looking room, however something about the hotel didn't grab me as much as the others we had stayed in; perhaps it was just bigger.
That afternoon and evening were wandered around the old streets of Hoi An, an UNESCO world heritage town, lined with old chinese style houses of two stories from it's past as the major trading port in this part of the world. With narrow alleys and interesting architecture is is very interesting, unfortunately the swarm of tourists and number of shops established to sell clothes and 'authentic' souvenirs to tourists gives it the feel very much of Venice in Italy; of undisputed value, but turned into something of a theme park of itself to survive. This is only a first impression however, and we shall give Bob's calf a rest today and do a little more exploring in the compact old town centre.
With many options to eat, we settled on a place which had fresh beer for 3,000 dong, something we had yet to see in Vietnam thus far, although well missed by Bob from his experiences in Ha Noi last year. The menu was interesting, and eschewing many of the local specialties because they are heavily reliant on 'shrimp' and therefore likely to create another anaphylactic near-death experience for Bob, we stuck to a stunning whole fish with 'the works' - chilli, lemongrasss, garlic and ginger; stir fried green vegetable with peanuts; cao bau a local noodle dish; and local fired won ton, crisp sheets of fried pastry studded with garlic and pork. It was very good indeed.
We will move to the smaller, local hotel up the road today (just for the heck of it, and I liked the cheery young woman and her 20 room hotel), and take in the sights. Tomorrow we plan to go to My Son and then back to Da Nang on Wednesday. The weather is cool to cold (for this little duck at any rate) and while Bob is finding it a welcome relief, I am lamenting my lack of warm clothes! We will attend the ANZAC Day down service in Ha Noi, so I hope the weather warms up before then - the forecast for today was only 19*!
Sounds like the Garmin has proved to be a very handy traveling aid.
COMMONWEALTH Games star Brad Kahlefeldt continued his white-hot winning streak to take out the Australian Triathlon Championships in Geelong yesterday.
Keep up the great stories about your trip, must be fun, being a "tourist".