Hoi An, Vietnam – March 22nd – 27th, 2017

From Hue we ventured to Hoi An on… get this… a tourist bus which made frequent stops at the sites along the way. Yea yea, out of convenience we temporarily turned into the people we are frequently annoyed by (oh the irony!). For just $10 each we had an easy travel day on a deluxe new bus and stopped at a historic bridge, a beautiful beach ordained with a dog carcass (sad), viewpoints at the top of Hai Van pass, and Marble mountain, a touristy marble hill with pagodas, temples, and views. With door to door service and a tour guide which told us about each site, our unwavering hatred of tour buses wavered… slightly.

Tour bus journey from Hue to Hoi An. 

Marble mountain. 

We spent a good amount of time in Hoi An doing relatively little compared to our usual cram-and-go travel style (ug, it’s exhausting). It was hard to believe that almost five months had passed and this was our last stop in Southeast Asia. With New Zealand fast approaching we spent quite a bit of time planning for our next adventure. We also managed to take care of ourselves. We worked out every day, went to a nice spa for a pedicure and massages, Andy got a haircut, shave, and ear cleaning (hilarious), and…(drum roll please)… we went to the dentist! We each got a full exam and teeth cleaning from an ex-pat oriented dental office which was decked out in more high-tech equipment than any dentist I have been to in the US. Makes you wonder why we are being brainwashed into thinking that the best medical care is in the US. Plus, get this: without any insurance, we got a same-day appointment, were in and out the door in an hour and a half, and paid just $7 each for professional dental care! The 90-min yoga class we took cost almost the same amount! The yoga class, by the way, was brutal! By the end of the class, after multiple attempts to correct my yoga form, the Indian guru unceremoniously mentioned that I have to work on my shoulder, back, hips, and leg flexibility… soooo essentially all of it. 

TLC in Hoi An. Hope you enjoy Andy's post 90-min. massage pic as much as I do!

Our guesthouse in Hoi An was great! We had a big clean room and free bikes to ride into town whenever we wanted. It was about a 10-minute ride into the center of the tourist area, which was charming and pristine to say the least. The old buildings along the walking/biking streets are covered with lush vines, flowering plants, and colorful paper lanterns, making it an incredible beautiful place – at least in the winter when the streets are not flooded. Apparently, the river floods and drowns the first floor of the buildings each year – what a pain that must be! In town, we enjoyed local food (which by the way is much better than the food in the north of Vietnam) and had custom clothes made at a tailor. We used a family owned tailor shop which was run by two sisters who were about our age. They were incredible! Over the course of our five-day stay in Hoi An, we stopped in at the tailor five times to order, measure, try on, adjust, try on again, adjust, etc. By the end, we each had several new items that fit perfectly, but can’t be worn until we return to normality (for now, the clothes remain a useless brick in our bags).  

The beautiful city of Hoi An.

Culinary delights including Greek souvlaki, Vietnamese coffee, Pho, and drinks while watching the Formula 1 race live.

Making custom clothes at Faifoo Tailors.

About 50 rickshaw drivers waiting for lazy tourists, a boat that looks like a half coconut, giant swirly incense in a temple, the most hilarious Chinglish bathroom sign ever (they mean to say, "Please do not put toilet paper in the toilet, thanks!"), and a very creepy skeletal temple statue.

On our last day, we joined a free bike tour lead by a local university student working on her English. We took a local ferry across the river to Kim Bong Island where we visited a boat carpenter shop, mat weaver’s house, family temple (where they worship their ancestors rather than gods), rice noodle maker, and wood carving / souvenir shop (always have to stop a souvenir shop or it’s just not a proper tour). At each stop, with the exception of the boat maker, we got to try out making their goods. Fair to say we are not excellent weavers or noodle makers, but we enjoyed trying. The tour was pretty great, made even greater by the fact that it was free! On the way back to the guesthouse, Andy’s chain broke and we were forced to abandon his bike at our tailor’s shop. To get back, I peddled both of us on my bike, with Andy uncomfortably straddling the metal bike rack behind my seat. How hard could it be, we’d seen hundreds of Asians using this mode of transportation!? Answer: Ridiculously difficult!!! Not only was he weighing down the bike making peddling a strain, but balance was nearly impossible. Our progress was hilarious since we discovered the best technique was to use Andy’s legs as training wheels. We were laughing hysterically the entire way back.   

Bike tour around Hoi An.