Hue to Hoi An on a motorbike in torrential rain

An adventurous motorbike trip to Hoi An, followed by a few days in this small charming place - beware the rain, floods and never-ending tailor shops!....

15/10/07

beware the rain, floods and never-ending tailor shops!

It rained all night but in the morning the sky looked slighly promising and at Thuan and Hieu's assertions there may only be a "little" rain we decided to go ahead with the motorbike ride to Hoi An. The trip is approximately 140kms direct - but with stops off the beaten track on the way and taking the Hai Van pass over the mountain instead of the tunnel which the tourist bus takes (where is the fun in that?) - you can see it requires a full day. In case you were wondering where the backpacks go - the bikes have a rack in the step through section (and can be wrapped in ponchos for protection from the wet if required...)

So we stayed dry for about the first 20 minutes. After the guys had a breakfast stop just out of the city (and some elderly locals stood on either side of me tapping my shoulders with their hands out stretched) they got the ponchos and raincoats out and covered our bags, us and themselves - the drizzle had started. It progressively got heavier until it just kept going but instead of cursing Mike for his overly persuasiveness in taking this form of transport, I thought of it as a bit of adventure and fun that not everyone has the opportunity to do!

We visited Elephant Springs which was a bike only accessible track, with legs thoroughly drenched now (Thuan and Hieu did take good care of us with raincoats and our upper body remained mostly dry all day). It was a rocky and slippery walk from the bikes and I was thinking so many people would think we are crazy doing this. As it was the wet season the waterfall was flowing strongly and well worth going off the beaten track for - no swimming for us that day though!

Back on the bike and we saw where the buses go to pass through the mountain tunnel, as we started ascending the mountain. Stopped for a look at Lang Co beach and some local kids run out in the pouring rain trying the "coin scam" - this is where they ask where you are from, say they collect coins and do we have any local currency from home. They then try to sell this back to future tourists for a certain amount of dong ie much higher and make money. Seemed pretty desparate though to do it in the rain part way up the mountain on side of road.

It was going up the mountain that I started getting a bit over the weather - visibility was so bad you could not see more than 50 metres in front, let alone the ocean views apparently over the cliff next to us! The only indication we were near the ocean for most of the climb was the road signs with a square (indicating the mountain), a car sideways and then some squiggly lines - ie don't drive fast around the corners or you will tip over into the ocean. On a more positive note - the roads in Vietnam are quite good with recent years develoment evident.

We stopped at the top of the mountain - probably a great view point if it were clear - but instead we stopped for a hot coffee (sweet with condensed milk of course but quite good) and some respite from the rain. Thuan was saying "sorry friend" as I think he felt a little guilty that we were out in such conditions. As usual we were bombarded with ladies trying to sell various postcards and jewellery items for rip off prices. The lady I spoke to had very good English she had learnt from her daughter and was quite charming so I obliged and bought something and bargained a decent price. Mike got some crap postcards just to get them off his back!

Made it to Danang (populous central coast city) and rode along the "coast" - only to see murky waters and the palm trees copping a battering so made our own fun with the umbrella photos. Stopped at Marble Mountain next and had lunch - as always very fresh and tasty. Resisted all of the approaches by women to look at their shops - whole street has massive objects made of marble. With no expectations we paid entry fee and went wandering and were quite amazed. It is like a cave which appears to have been created by large amounts of marble extracted. There are images carved and a temple within, We found some steps that lead up to an opening in the mountain and thought would be a good view point. With all of the days rain the stairs themself looked like a waterfall but feeling adventurous we climbed to the top, when it rained heavy again and were rained on more. Very steep, slippery and dangerous it was quite typical of places in Vietnam - pay your entry fee and then who knows if you make it out alive.

25kms or so later and we made it to Hoi An just after 3pm. At Thuan's recommendation we checked in to one of the nicer rooms we have stayed at the Hoang Trinh and less than $10 US per night. Of course the brothers had connections in Hoi An - they gave us an hour and then took us on the bikes to meet their sister Kim who has one of the 200 tailor shops in the town (a summary of thoughts on these shops later). We were planning on having some clothes tailor made considering we would be in cooler weather in Europe soon, so obliged and were measured for one pair of pants each made and if happy with them planned to go back for more.

Still being driven around by Thuan and Hieu we circled the streets (very small place) in the rain trying to find meeting place specificed by John and Andrea - instead saw them on the street and invited them to dinner on the other side of the river (cheaper and more local cuisine away from tourist concentration). First Mike and I had some Saigon beers and toasted our safe arrival with Thuan and Hieu - then as it was heavy rain again the guys said they would go pick up John and Andrea at their hotel! Very generous and whether it is all part of their sales pitch or not, they are very charming guys (good English and good drivers also) and we enjoyed spending the day with them. Another dinner - hot pot, and a whole fish - Mike ate the eyeball another first! After dinner we went to a bar and played pool (the six of us). I did surprisingly well and close to winning but then lost by sinking the black ball followed by the white ball - twice!?! An interesting side note - slight confusion to begin the game with as Thuan and Hieu played "odds and evens" instead of "bigs and smalls" like the rest of us. John explained to them that that meant one person has to sink two more balls than the opposition, as the black is an even!

Tues 16/10/07 & Wed 17/10/07

We were not exaggerating the amount or consistancy of rain while in Hue, the day of the motorbike ride or what continued in Hoi An - we found out both towns were flooded. We saw ourselves that the water had gone over the banks of the river in Hoi An, and Thuan and Hieu were still around and told us that back in Hue the local roads were also flooded and they may not be able to return that day. Apparently it only floods twice a year - I guess we did know that we were travelling on the back end of the wet/monsoon season!

So Tuesday and Wednesday we could not really do to much due to the rain and flooding. We had booked a trip to the Cham ruins at My Son (very beautiful area we were told) but the cars and buses could not get out of Hoi An. We did meet up with Nick and Kendell the other Aussie couple from Halong Bay trip and so along with the NZ couple went out for drinks and dinner - food at Faifoo Restaurants was fantastic!

So a note about the tailors: in general it requires quite a few visits - measurent, then a number of fittings to make sure they get the size and style right. Regardless of the outcome it can mean a lot of time spent wandering the main street and doing things in between. We recommend that anyone coming to Hoi An go and decide on clothes and/or shoes on the first day and get it all over and done with and then relax and enjoy the place for whatever time remains. It is a very small, charming place with little lanes, good shopping for artwork also, and a number of nice restaurants.

So our personal experience with the tailors - skeptical at first we went to Thuan's sisters shop (Impressions Boutique) and had only one pair pants each made. After 4  visits we were both satisfied - but it was not just the sizing issues they forget things or the sales girls miscommunicated things to the tailor as first they put the belt buckle loops in (wrong) and forgot the pockets, then proceeded to tell me it would not look good with pockets! The place was always very busy and with only one change "curtain" we were told a couple of times to come back in half hour.

Then we went to get pair of leather shoes each. Negotiated a price and pointed to shoes on the rack we more or less wanted replicated in our size - on returning the leather for my boots was completely different and the "girls" there (ie is just a family business and these are the kids who are in "sales") knew I was unhappy, and my mind switched to "I knew they would rip us off!". Again another 4 or so visits and our shoes finally fit - including a complete remake of mine. Satisfied we paid the money but have joked we wonder if the glue will hold up and how long the shoes will last! Also - they are very touchy and on more than one occasion offered Mike a massage (he had mentioned his sore back when requesting different chair) and even a pat on the knee and "I sit here?"!

Tried one more tailor recommended to us by Kendell, deciding we really needed jackets for Europe. It was easier, they didn't constantly try to force sell other things, it was made in a couple of hours and fitted first go for both us. Success! The name is Hang Hu'ng for any prospective shoppers...

In brief also went across to Cam Na Island wanting to escape all the tourists and tailor shops and that is what we got (plus wading through the flooded roads). It is where a lot of the locals live but unfortunately the restaurant we headed for was closed due to a death. Also due to flooding our plans to travel by bus further south on the coast to Nha Trang (12 hr bus trip) had to be changed - if we didn't make other plans there was a risk of being stuck in Hoi An a few more days.....

Within a few hours we had booked a flight for the next day (Thurs 18/10) to Ho Chi Minh City (flights to Nha Trang booked out for 5 days!) and instead of going into the city for a night and then travel by bus to Dalat (6 hours or so), booked another flight from HCMC to Dalat for same day. The freedom of travel and yes we know - flashpackers all the way!!