We arrived in Hoi An early in the morning, and thankfully we were able to check into our room for some much needed rest and a cold shower... (Like traffic signs, the red on taps are only suggestions and not to be confused with actual working hot water taps) The room overlooked the swimming pool which this particular morning was a gorgeous blue... Due to the rocking motion of the train however were unmentionable parts, so it was drop, crash and snore for a little while... We had an orientation walk at lunchtime and we were told it takes 7 mins to go from one side of town to the other... This would be true if you weren't constantly stopped by the "Madam, you help me I have no husband and 4 children, make me happy, buy something"... So it took 1.5 hours to go 3 blocks, by which time we were all starvn marvin.. We went to a local restaurant overlooking the river to enjoy the local cuisine.. All through the city are signs of the recent typhoon that caused the death of many locals..The water marks on the buildings gave you a sense of how quickly it arose, and how devastating it was... Although talking to some locals about it they're very fatalistic and as they said, "I moved upstairs"... I guess the unlucky ones were those who lived out of the city and therefore had no 2nd story to retreat to.. We wandered the streets looking at all the tailors stores and given we had 3 nights there many of us decided that getting something tailored is the thing to do... Big mistake.. OOh I forgot to update about the eating thing... Buddhist philosophy as it is practiced here, is that there are 10 judges when you die, and they review the good and bad deeds you have done and determine your next incarnation.. So when the people eat everything ie; spiders, scorpions, ants, rats, dogs, cats, there is also a hope and belief that they may be helping ancestors to be released from that incarnation for a better one.... Anyway back to hoi an... Directly across the road was a little cafe and when Dudu and I were having coffee outside the hotel, we spotted a Speights sign.. Was determined to go there to check it out.. But today again was another busy day... We were heading off for a cycle tour.. Yippee, visions of being driven via cyclo around Hoi An, lazily reclining under a canopy sipping fresh mango or pineapple juices out of a hollowed out coconut shell were rapidly forming in my mind... That was until Sonny said, pick a bike, and follow me... Four hours we rode, through rice fields, around organic herb and vegetable farms.. We have one in our group who meanders as she strolls and is completely oblivious to anyone and everyone else.. We should have put her in the rear.. I lost counting after 4 the number of times she would just stop her bike to take a photo, leaving an untidy mess behind her as we tried to avoid hitting her, other traffic or ending up in the rice fields conversing with the water buffalo... Just as we were beginning to think that dumping the bikes on the side of the road and hailing a taxi back to the hotel was a perfectly reasonable thing to do (not sure exactly how that might have worked given that the only motorised traffic we passed were trucks and motorbikes!!) Sonny said want a swim... could have hugged him. So turned the corner and there in front of us was the ocean.. Although it's recognised as the South China Sea, here in Vietnam it's called the eastern sea... They do not acknowledge it as belonging to China and so there are no references to it in Vietnam *(except on Wises maps etc).... After the swim we went through the countryside, and onto a boat ride, where the driver took us to a deserted beach and cooked us a BBQ.. Chicken, pork, beef, prawns, salad baquettes, wine, beer, soda's and juice.. Long hot busy day, sore heads, (too much sun for some, too much alcohol for others), sore bottoms, (comfy seats not so comfortable after the 3rd hour), sore backs, (up to 2nd degree burns now).. Will post pictures soon.. The camera's battery is not holding it's charge as long as it did.. (much like the owner now phew!) Anyway Dudu and I had been measured for some things so we went back to the shop for a First fitting that night.. I think that tailoring in Hoi An works like a hobbits eating habits... and we were told to come back the next day.. The beach had been so beautiful and the full effect of sitting on a bicycle seat designed for Asian forms had not yet had it's full effect, so we were determined to head off for yet another swim the following day.. Dinner across the road at the Speights pub... Which of course doesn't sell speights.. only the local brew... But it is run by a couple of Piwi's... (One Pommy one Kiwi).. Couldn't believe it but on the menu was BLUE COD, so guess what we had for dinner.. Moo moo, it was served with wasabi and lime butter... (use the juice and finely grated rind of the lime - expect you to have perfected this too when I get home).. It was just divine... Light beer batter, thick wedges of chips, crisp coleslaw, and icy cold beer... heavenly... Just closed eyes, and swooned... So after the biking, the swimming, the boating, the BBQ the dress making the dinner, it was definately a fall into bed night.... knowing that tomorrow was going to be off to the beach (cycling of course) and finalising our clothing....
The next day was to be our day of rest, nope..; Went for another fitting 9.00am, back at 1.00pm, again at 4.00pm and had to go back again at 9.00pm.. Still not right... but felt really guilty as they were trying so hard to please but it was just not good enough... Dudu is really happy with her things though so 50% happiness is better than nothing... and I know that I had the right to decline to take them if I'm not satisfied, but I figure that they've got a lot of reconstruction to do after the typhoon, and what they've done is not unsalvagable when I get back to NZ and pull out the sewing machine, so I took it with me... but when Sonny came looking for me, I was not a happy chappy and told him to bugger off and leave me alone... Strolling the streets in the dark, foreign country, and new city was probably not a good move, but was just a little bit bothered to be any good around company and needed to be left alone for a bit... Oh and the really silly bit was we were leaving the next morning and they still hadn't finished my things, so she was going to deliver to the hotel, the final pair of pants like a takeaway pizza.. Anyway that was Hoi An and we left the next morning for Hue...
On a lighter note, traffic just seems to get funnier and funnier... (we're currently in Hanoi, so I'm 4 days behind what we've been up to... since we've been to Hue after Hoi An, so this will be a blocked blog just to get up to date) Sitting having a coffee saw a cyclo loaded with wood that was being pushed by a pillion passenger of a motorbike - by his extended leg. The poor cyclo driver had no idea where he was going, as his load was completely blocking his view.. He was just holding onto the wood on his bike and left everything else to chance...
Guess whats the latest fashion in maintaining air quality for your youngsters - Plastic bags... neatly tied under their chins whilst on the motorbikes... Ok so it was over a helmet, but guys, what happens when your heading into the wind???
Heres a question. What do you do If you drive a truck and you have a flat tyre, and it stops in the right hand lane, and it's the middle of the day and it's incredibly hot? Answer - You put a hammock under the rear of the truck and have a sleep... The traffic will still be there when you wake up and you'll be in a much better state to actually change the tyre and carry on your way..
And how about this one.. What do you do, going up a hill with a very slow truck in the front? Over take them of course... One on the outside, one on the inside simultaneously as you go around a blind bend... Bless...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment