Hanging at Hoi An

I wake up fairly early today and head out by myself to find a barbers. I have never really been one to enjoy going for a trim but doing it abroad has been kind of fun, almost like a mini adventure. I am never quite sure if the barber is going to understand me and, if they do, whether or not they will do what I ask and best part is, due to the language barrier, they never try and talk to me about football! It is a pretty decent trim especially considering it cost a fiver including tip. Anyway, now looking fresh, I head back to the hostel and meet up with Lars, Poppy and Scott. We head out for a bite at a place Viet suggests down the road. It is a nice little cafe and the food is rather good, I have been really enjoying the food in Vietnam although Indian is still and forever will be my favourite cuisine. After, it is time for another bike tour, I have been enjoying these; it is a great way to get about and see villages and farms and the countryside. This one is the boys, me, Lars and Hayden. Our guide is a sound guy and starts by taking us off the beaten track and into a massive communal farming area called herb village. The place is used by the locals to grow loads of different types of herbs from coriander to lemon grass; it is a lush, green area with many wonderful smells. We get off the bikes so our guide can give us a bit of a tour and we get a go using the traditional buckets on a bar that goes across the shoulder allowing one to water two rows of herbs at a time. Unfortunately as we are getting back on the bikes it starts to pour down and me, being my dipsy self, didn’t bring a coat. Luckily, our guide has a disposable raincoat which I put on. It’s pointed out that I look like a penis wrapped in a condom but, hey ho, I am dry at least.

Our next stop a backyard rice wine distillery, very similar to the whisky operation we visited the other day. To be honest I am starting to have trouble distinguishing the difference between so called rice ‘wine’ and rice ‘whisky’: as far as I can tell the only difference is whatever the person selling it to you is calling it. It is all very strong and all very bad tasting however we don’t want to seem rude so when our guide asks us to take multiple shots with him including one of the 60% strength stuff we oblige – it’s not a drinking problem if your doing it out of politeness right? Anyhoos after the shots are done we head to a local coffee shop across the road. I try some of a local lemon drink but can’t finish it even though I am happy to have the taste of the ‘wine’ out my mouth. After the coffees the guide takes us to see the room he rents. To be honest I am not sure why he did this, just think he liked us and wanted to hang out some more. He gives Alex a free t-shirt from the ‘Mr Bean Bar’ where he works at on the strip and says he will get us a good deal if we come later, which we agree to do. After visiting his room it is time for lunch which we have at a place next to the river where you can get Coracle (bamboo boat) rides through what is called Coconut Forest. We get spun around on little bamboo boats before getting taken to do a little crabbing in the Coconut Forest. The whole thing takes about ten minutes but that’s okay because we are eager to get back. We finish with the boats and head back to the hostel to meet up with the rest of the group.

Lunch

Alex irrigating the Herb Farm
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A blurry end to the night!

Once we are back with the group Viet takes us all on a orientation walk through the markets and along the Thu Bon river. Hoi An is a beautiful city with a thriving market and night life. We wander along trying to get everyone to agree on a place to eat to no avail, so getting bored, we decide to commit to the next place we see. It works out a decent enough restaurant that serves both local and western food. I eat a lot, like a bit too much – I order the special meal deal which includes a starter platter, two different main dishes and a desert. I then also polish of some left over pizza. It was a nice meal! Afterwards we head to the strip and more specifically to Mr Bean Bar. Our guide from earlier does not let us down; we order one cocktail and get one free, as well as a shot and some bottles of vodka for the table. I’m not sure how the business plan is sustainable, but I am not complaining! We enjoy our many drinks and then head on back out on to the strip for a full on but blurry night. However, my night takes a bit of a turn when I get separated from the group while finding my way back and my phone dies. After what feels like an hour or two I come across a man who knows where I can charge my phone. Turns out he knows a place I can buy a phone charger, so I have to buy a phone charger and the not so nice woman allows me to charge it to 1% before unplugging me and throwing me out the shop. Luckily it is enough charge to get a bike back to the hostel and get myself into bed at 7am. Turns out I may have drunken too much as well as eaten too much, but lessen learnt: even with lots of free alcohol there is still a cost!

An obligation
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Me, being a prick!

Coracle spinning

The next day unsurprisingly I have a bit of a lie in, like early afternoon type lie in. When I do finally wake up I join Alex, Scott and Louis in renting some bikes and cycling to a local beach that Alex has heard about. It is a lovely way to spend the afternoon on a nice cycle followed by swimming in the sea. While we are at the beach we spend a lot of time diving into waves and letting them carry us into shore just to swim out and do it again, a little childish but quite fun and very refreshing. Once we are done we head back into town on our bikes.On our way I get into a little accident and what I mean by that is some women on a motorbike pulls out right in front of me as I cycle and goes into me head on. Luckily neither of us are injured, and my pedal bike and her motor bike are not damaged. She apologises a lot and after assuring her I am fine, we go our seperate ways. Judging by her driving and how she acted, I get the impression this isn’t the first accident she has been in. Anyway, unfazed, as soon as we are back at the hostel Alex, Scott and I meet up with Jon and we head to a Bahn Mi, a place where I have potentially the greatest sandwich of my life. In fact I had two, along with a great banana smoothie – exactly what I needed to recover from the night before and my little road accident.

Fully recovered, I meet up with the others in the group to head off to a light/dance show, a history of Hoi An through dance, called the Hoi An Memories Show. It was amazing, one of the best things I have seen while travelling, the show starts with a woman weaving the fabric of time together from a loom and from there we see a city grow from humble farming beginnings through industrialisation and colonisation into the city Hoi An is today. It is a marvellous production that continues to impress and surprise throughout the display with hundreds of dancers and a massive stage with buildings which at one point actually grow in size and pretty much a full size old school ship as part of the stage. The show is fantastic, I can not praise it enough. It blows my mind that some of our group didn’t come to see it. For anyone who finds themselves in Hoi An, do yourself a favour and go see the show, it takes place at the Hoi An impressions theme park and the show itself is performed all over the world. It has received many awards and I understand why, seriously go see it. Unfortunately the crowd isn’t allowed to take photos or video during the performance so I can’t show you it but I understand why. One of the people in the crowd in front took photos throughout the show and the light from their phone or camera was very annoying and noticeable! After the show we are all in awe and ready for an early night. A much needed early night, so we head back to the hostel and lay our weary heads to rest.

Hoi An Memories Show – images from the official website