After
Saigon we made the decision to fly to Da Nang – missing out the popular tourist
spots Nha Trang and Dalat – in a desperate bid to save time, as the deadline of
Dan and Kallista’s wedding approached. Da Nang didn’t have too much going on in
the city besides a convenient airport so we quickly made our way south to Hoi
An. Hoi An was described to me by a Vietnamese girl as being a “foreigner
town”. Anyone who has heard of it will know why: it’s famous as a cheap place
to get tailored clothes.
We did our
research and settled on a tailor in the clothing market called “Miss
Forget-Me-Not”. She did a fine job and we will do a fashion show when (if?) we
receive the package with $800 worth of clothes in!
 |
| Yeah we couldn't get enough of this typical Vietnamese image... and we love boats and hats! |
As
tailoring $800 worth of clothes takes a few days, we hung about and explored
some nearby areas, taking some very worthwhile day trips. We rented a moped and
went around Cam Kim – a nearby island that shows off the rural beauty of
Vietnam. We even had to take a boat to get there.
 |
| Abandoned sandals No. 123 & 124 |
Another superb
day trip we did was riding up north to the Son Tra Penisula – a small mountain
range very close to Da Nang. Son Tra was described by Travelfish (we used their
directions) as having some of the steepest hills in SE Asia. Could two rapidly widening
westerners sharing a 125CC bike navigate these hills? Hells yeah we could, even
if we did crawl up like a snail on a few hills. It was my fave bike ride of
this trip so far – what fun!
 |
| On the way to Son Tra was China Beach, which was voted as one of the top 6 beaches in the world. It was sublime! |
 |
| Marble Mountain! |
 |
| Massive statue of Buddha |
 |
| On the top was (possibly) Ho Chi Min playing chess... |
Next we
visited a pottery village – we were invited into a processing area and got to
make a pot as well as see how it is done by an expert. These women were overly
friendly, giving us tea, and not asking for a penny. Of course their
friendliness guilted us into buying a little something – still, it was an
interesting experience.
 |
| Our masterpieces! |
 |
| There were monuments to the Viet-soldiers that died in the “American War” everywhere. |
Finally we
went to My (pronounced Mee) Son on an organised tour at sunrise to see the
ruins of an ancient temple complex. It was very much ruins, having been bombed
by the US as well as being over a thousand years old.
 |
| I thought this looked like a monkey! |
It was a
well organised tour (coming from someone that hates tours) and worth the effort
if you have a morning to kill. Although it isn’t a scratch on Angkor.
All in all,
it was a fabulous few days well spent in Vietnam.
 |
| And we saw a statue dedicated to BRIAN BLESSED! |
Costs (per person)
Saigon to
Da Nang Flight = £35 ($52)
Da Nang to
Hoi An = 70,000 VND (£2.20, $3.30)
Da Nang
Hotel Double AC = 200,000 VND (£7, $10)
Hoi An 3* Hotel
Double AC with Swimming Pool = $12 (£8)
Da Nang to
Hue Train = 72,000 VND (£2.30, $3.50)
