I just spent 30 minutes writing this entry and the computer crashed....arrrgg...so I will write it again, but quicker as my allergy medicine (taken for possible shrimp ingestions) is kicking in and making me feel really tired.
I started my last day in Hoi An by sleeping in. I moseyed down to breakfast at around 9am and ate a leisurely meal as I watch the Republican National Convention on the international news. Ryans speech was lame, and the crowd chanting "USA!USA!USA!" made me embarrassed to be an American in Vietnam.
After a large breakfast I put my swimsuit on and packed my pack. I officially checked out of the hotel at noon, left my bags at reception, and was all ready to rent a pedal bike to make the 3K trek to the beach when I met some nice German ladies who offered to split a cab to the beach with me.
So we arrived at the beach in style (air-con cab). I had no idea what to expect of Vietnamese beaches and I was overwhelmed. White sand beaches, clear green/blue waters, palm trees - total iconic beach. The beach outside of Hoi An must look like what China Beach looked like before the recent development. I rented a cabana ($1.5) and hit the water. The water was calm and warm....There were several restaurants on the beach and one establishment which rented jet skis to tourist. They also ran a para-sailing outfit. I was tempted to try, but I didn't want to do it solo. So, I just swam and read in the cabana. Even after putting 50 spf kinder-sunblock on, only laying in the cabana mostly covered up in towels, I still got slightly burned. The sun here is truly scorching.
For lunch I went to a restaurant on the beach where I pointed to my meal (a crab) and watched them cook the crab into a delicious soup. Crab soup and two beers cost a little under $5 - not too shabby.
After 4 wonderful hours at the beach, I headed back to the hotel via motorbike taxi. Once back at the hotel I showered and began walking around town to pick up my various tailored purchases. Here, I had made a mistake. I should have only paid a deposit for the shoes and agreed to have paid in full only after all alterations were completed. Now, I wasn't ripped off but the lady who made my shows did not deliver what she promised - namely she told me my blue pair of shoes would have wooden heels (which they did not) and that the fake Frye boots would have leather lining (which they didn't). If I had only paid a deposit, I would have had a bargaining chip. Ad I had already paid in full, I had none. No worries- I collected the shoes and various other goods, stuffed them into my now totally full pack, and headed off to a cafe that promised $4 cab rides to DaNang airport.
This new cafe offered mini-cab service to the airport x4 a day for only $4 (it is about an hour ride). As I was the only customer, they took me asap - a nice comfortable ride in some dudes super clean lexus. I arrived at the DaNang airport in tons of time. The airport was very clean, nice and SMALL.
I boarded my plan with no problems, and arrive in HCMC around one hour later.
After arriving in HCMC I had to negotiate the cab cue. What a disaster. This is where my patience and politeness paid off. There didn't seem to be any method to the cue's madness until I realized that the cab cue personnel where taking families with small children first, older people second, and single women third. Therefore, I was able to get a cab within a few minutes (behind the older people and young families) - and jump ahead of the Japanese and Korean business men who were yelling and screaming. Several of them tried to jump the cue and sneak in a cab. When this happened, the airport personnel would grab them and physically drag them out of the cab. Two business men where dragged out of the cab that I was subsequently placed in.
My cab driver was a woman named Ly who told me a really sad story. She had an American boyfriend who died suddenly last year at the age of 42. After describing the situation in a bit more depth, I started to wonder if Ly's boyfriend had faked his death in order to get out of a hasty marriage proposal. I guess I will never know. Ly was pleased to hear that I too was a single 35 year old woman with no kids. Solidarity. She wanted to take me home to stay with her and her sister - but I had to meet Jared. We exchanged e-mail addresses and I intend to write her when I return to the states.
Upon arriving at the Spring House Hotel I saw Jared waiting outside for me. Once I threw my pack in our oddly appointed room (strange layout and all bamboo furniture), we headed out to find some late dinner (as it was now 10 pm). We didn't have to go far until we saw a 24 hour CIRCLE K where we bought Schweppes Club Soda, and then we bought some Ban Mi from a street vendor right outside. After my makeshift dinner, I promptly fell asleep.
Tomorrow: One full day in HCMC/Saigon (war museum, walking tour, Rex Hotel, and a spat)
Day After: Long bus ride into Phenom Pen.
