This morning I went into Hoi An. The town is one of the few that escaped any damage in the 20th century wars in Vietnam. I had a bit of an off day with Vietnam this morning. Despite being described as a beautiful example of old Vietnamese architecture, to me the town wasn't as great as the guide books make out. The streets are covered in litter, the pavements are crumbling and as with most other places in Vietnam, I was constantly hassled by people offering me the usual motorbike rides which I don't want. I always took the word "hello" as a nice word, but now I am sick of hearing it. In Vietnam, "hello" seems to be the PIN number to the walking cash machines/ATMs that we tourists are. "Hello, you want motorbike", "Hello, you buy water", "Hello, motorbike", "hello motorbike", "hello water". Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit of selling, but this is constant. I think the Vietnamese tourist industry needs to wake up to the fact that supply outstrips demand in the motorbike and water markets.
If I had bought everything I was offered in a two hour walk, I would have left Hoi An with the following items:
9 Silk Ties, 3 Suits, 47 Shirts, 3 Ho Chi Minh T-Shirts, 4000 Litres of water, 900 Miles of motorbike rides, 38 hours of Cyclos rides, 28 bowles of noodle soup, 4 whistling buddahs, 2 Lonely planet guide books and 12 pairs of sandles and I am sure somebody would have sold me a bag to put everything in.
In the afternoon I returned to the hotel for a couple of hours sitting on the beach and then had tea in the cafe, where I spent some time chatting with one of the waiters who is trying to improve his English. He lives in Da Nang and as I am getting the train tomorrow, he said if I had any problems give him a call and wrote down his address and number. He didn't ask for anything in return and didn't ask for my details. This restored my faith in Vietnam.
In the evening I went back into Hoi An and went to a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet, I think it was called Cafe de Amis. The food was fantastic, its a set menu and you have a choice of meat, seafood or vegetarian. Kim stands out the front of the restaurant, chats to the customer's and tells stories. His daughters bring out the food and when they serve it, they show you how to put the food together in your bowl and how to eat it; that sounds a bit strange, but when you are faced by a bunch of dishes, chopsticks and bowls, it is actually pretty helpfull. The Cao Lau Chay was the vegetarian noodle dish.
The meal cost me about $8 USD including 2 beers.
