01/08/14 - 01/12/14

The night bus to Nha Trang, my next destination after Saigon, was unlike any bus trip I have been on before. Most night buses, were just that, a bus that happened to go overnight. Vietnamese night buses, however, are built to go overnight, in that the seats are like little beds. And when I say little, I mean they are tiny. And they are not quite beds either, more like reclined seats. There is very little room to move around. And as there is a no room for any carry-on bags, you have to put it down by your feet, which means you don't have much room for them, so you ended up not being able to stretch out for most of the night. I am not going to go so far as to say that they are uncomfortable, because they are not terrible and they are much better than a seat for overnight journeys, but they are definitely not the greatest beds if you want a good night sleep, especially if you are tall. So, my journey to Nha Trang was interesting, especially when the bus driver got mad at me for needing to use the bathroom!?

Nha Trang

Nha Trang is one of the more well-known beaches in Vietnam. My new Vietnamese friend, Khanh, recommended it me, so I decided to check it out. However, even though it is well-known to Vietnamese, it seems to be even more well-known to Russians. Probably since Vietnam is a Communist country and so they had ties to Soviet Russia, nuevo-rich Russians come to Nha Trang in droves. And since it was such a Russian-rich touristic spot, most of the signs around town where also in Russian script! It was a little strange walking around town and seeing everything posted in Cyrillic writing as well as Vietnamese. I felt like I was in little Russia or something.

I arrived in town at around 6am from my cramped night bus and was immediately assaulted by all the tuk-tuk and moto drivers, as per usual in most SE Asian countries. This time, however, I didn't want to deal with them, so I went to a little restaurant across from the bus stop for some breakfast. However, even though I was sitting in an outdoor patio separated from the sidewalk with a little wall, a moto driver still asked me if I wanted a ride! I was still sitting down and in the middle of eating breakfast!! WTF?! He actually waited until I was done eating and asked again when I left the restaurant. I was so annoyed that I hailed a taxi and got in, right in front of him.

I was in Nha Trang for only one reason, to relax on the beach. I got to my hostel and couldn't check in yet, so I stored my bag, put on my swimming suit and went straight to the beach. I walked up and down the beach, feeling the waves lap against my feet and my toes sink into the sand. It was very nice. I found a place to sit for while in the sand and just watched the water and all of the other beach-goers. Finally, I found myself a beach chair to lie in and just relax with a drink. I laid there for few hours, reading, listening to music and people watching. It was quite relaxing. However, I started not feeling very well, probably from lack of sleep or just too much sun, but it meant that it was time to go back to my hostel. So, I went back to check-in, take a nap and to figure out my next move. I only wanted to visit the beach for one day, before heading on, so I found a train leaving for Danang the next morning and so I booked a ticket. Danang, however, was not my destination, it was just the closest train station. I was actually going to a small, but historical town called Hoi An.

Hoi An

Hoi An is a historical old port town that was an important trading city from the 15th to the late 19th century. Many merchants from other countries, such as the Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Dutch, resided here and their influence can be seen in the architecture of some of the buildings. After the river silted up, Hoi An became a backwater community, until the arrival of tourism in the late 20th century. Now, it is one of the wealthiest towns in Vietnam. Since, the town was basically forgotten, it retained it old architecture and historical charm.

To me, however, the town was very interesting to walk around in, but the touristiness of the city, took away a little of its charm. It's nice strolling the tiny streets and stumbling upon little alleyways, but every shop is either a tailor shop, a souvenir shop or a tourist agency. The architecture of the historically preserved buildings are interesting though, but it is very small and one can walk around the historical area pretty quickly.

You can also, come here and get tailor-made clothes in less than 24 hours, but I have heard mixed reviews on the quality of these clothes. I wasn't in town long enough to get a tailor-made suit and I honestly wasn't that interested either. There was some nice suits and jackets on display and some did catch my eye, but neither did I have the space in my backpack, nor did I trust the quality of something made within 24 hours, so I opted to pass on them.

On my second day in Hoi An, I took a tour of a My Son (pronounced Mee Sun). My Son is a group of ruined temples from the ancient Champa Empire, which ruled Central Vietnam from about the 7th to the early 19th century. The temples were very interesting and had a lot of Hindu artistic motifs. Most of the temples were heavily bombed during the Vietnam War, so they were in a heavy state of ruin. In fact, there were several bomb craters throughout the site. The reason they were heavily bombed was because the VietCong used them as hideouts during the war.

Some of the temples had been rebuilt, but some with the used of modern methods, which meant that some pieces didn't match as well. Ironically, the ancient method, which is still unknown how they sealed the bricks together as cement wasn't used, holds up much better than the modern method. The ancient method looks clean, mildew free and almost seamless, while, over a few years, the modern method tends to grow a lot more lichen and mildew and the cement adhesive is visibly apparent.

Hoi An and My Son were very interesting, however, they are only really worth a day or two, as the town is fairly small. You can walk around the historical part of the town in less than two hours or so. The riverside community is cool to walk around and so it's a nice place to visit. However, I've been to other ancient towns on this trip, such as Pingyao in China, and honestly, I thought Pingyao was more charming. I'm sure others might find Hoi An to be an amazing place though. The problem may be that I have been to so many places in the last few months that my tolerance for intrigue and wonder is a bit higher now. It is an unfortunate side effect to long term travel.