Hi there everyone!
It's been ages. I'm still in Vietnam. Sometimes it gets to me, being stuck in a big city. I'm just not completely used to it, after growing up in Seattle, where I not only had a forest for a backyard, but there were world-class natural areas less than an hour away. Unfortunately, Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is a bit lacking in this area. Large parts of the city don't have decent urban planning (or any at all?) and there aren't many parks.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to get out of the city a bit, so last week I booked a flight and spent a couple of days in Hoi An, a town near Da Nang in Central Vietnam. Hoi An has lots of historical buildings with French/Vietnamese architecture, it's quiet, and the food is delicious. Yeah, it's a bit touristy for sure, but sometimes that's not the worst thing. I went to Hoi An last year, so I had some experience.
After arriving in Da Nang, I tried to rent a motorbike, but places wouldn't let me unless I allowed them to hold onto my passport or stayed at their hotels. I wasn't going to let that happen, so I got a motorcycle taxi down to Hoi An for about $10 and got to my hotel. I was able to rent a motorcycle there without any issues.
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| Relaxing at the hotel. This patio will do! |
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| A quick break from driving in the countryside. The mask doesn't really protect from bad air, but it protects from the sun a bit and I don't get stared at as much from the locals! |
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My hotel was very relaxing. This time I didn't travel like a backpacker, so I got perks like a spacious room, breakfast, and a pool was nearby. I traveled to the beach, and walked around the old town.
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| Since it was night time, it was a bit more challenging to get pictures of the old town. The area was lit up with lanterns, but it was definitely crowded! Hoi An is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam. |
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| There's a reason there aren't so many people in this water...jellyfish. Big ones. |
The beaches near Hoi An weren't as nice or as clean as the ones in Da Nang, but I still found some enjoyment. For my first day, I went to An Bang Beach, but it was full of tourists, jellyfish, and aggressive merchants who tried to rip me off. I always engage merchants in Vietnamese when asking about prices and stuff, so they know I've been here a while.
The next day, I went to Ha My Beach. There was almost no one there! There were a few restaurants, but that was it.
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| That's more like it! The water was so warm, but still refreshing on a hot day where temperatures were in the 90s. |
The food in the central part of Vietnam is some of my favorite. The two dishes I highly recommend are cao lầu (left) and mì quảng (right).
They've got a delicious broth with a kind of chili and garlic flavoring, and the herbs and spices used really enhance the flavor. They're served with various kind of meat. I really could go for one of these dishes right now...
I took a drive on my rented motorcycle to My Son, a site of
Cham ruins. Google maps took me on an interesting route, where I got a bit lost, and found an unofficial on-ramp to a highway. It even rained a bit too, so I had to stop by a small town general store to get a coat. The views in the countryside were amazing though!
After driving for over an hour, I got to My Son. Since it was late in the afternoon, all the big tour groups had left already, and it was very uncrowded. It was peaceful and quiet. I could hear birds and cicadas.
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| An old temple undergoing restoration. Unfortunately, this site was bombed heavily during the Vietnam war, and most structures were destroyed. |
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| My kind of place! Trees, ruins, and a warm, sunny afternoon! |
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| A lonely old building |
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| There were some interesting statues and carvings in the area. |
Overall, it was a very relaxing vacation! Two days was enough to see and do quite a bit! I really should get out more and do stuff like this.
