“Take the bus.” – that’s what Mr. Pho Said
There are two ways to get to Hoi An from Hue. The first is to take a train from Hue to Da Nang and then take a taxi from Da Nang to Hoi An. Cumulatively, that turned out to be very costly. There are local buses that run from Da Nang to Hoi An but they take a long time to cover that distance. However, by paying a price that is marginally more than the train tickets, we were able to book a bus from Hue to Hoi An.
The bus had a reclining seat arranged in a double decker fashion.
The journey was over 4 hours long. There were a short break of about 30 mins where the bus pulled up to some roadside eatery. This particular meal was the worst we had in Vietnam so far. Nandy left most of his Pho while I managed to eat the meat and 50% of the noodles.
The roadside eatery where we tried to have our lunch.
As the bus drove along the coast, I snapped a few pictures through my window.
Redemption at Hoi An
The bus stop is usually filled with people who want to make some quick money from unsuspecting tourists. Luckily, the folks at Four Seasons Hotel warned us regarding the same and asked us to book a taxi. We were able to reach our homestay, Full House for just 50k VND.
Our room in Full House homestay. Pretty spacious and clean.
Our host Ly gave us a warm welcome and gave us two city cycles to roam around Hoi An. The temperature was soaring and the sea breeze wasn’t helping much. We decided that it was best to have some lunch and sleep until the sunset. It would be much pleasant to go around the town in the night.
Ly recommended a restaurant called Cafe 43. The shop itself was pretty small. Underneath the glass tabletops, we could see a lot of photographs and handwritten notes left by satisfied customers.
Cafe 43 – recommended by our host.
In the end we had these (and as a previous customer had written in a note, the food was “yum”) –
Clockwise from bottom left – Papaya Salad with shrimp, Roasted beef in banana leaf and Pork in clay pot.
Sunset trip on bicycle
We rode about 3 km to the beach. The beach was very crowded. I felt stuffed and made up my mind to go light with my food. I had some orange juice and some fresh spring rolls. In Vietnam, the term fresh spring rolls refers to the ones that are not deep fried.
Fresh pork spring rolls. This one came well assembled. We just had to dip one in the sauce and bite into it. The map I was using to navigate is also visible.
I caught the sunset on my camera while riding on my way to the beach.
The beach got less interesting after the sunset. We pedalled our way back into the ancient town to check out some action and grab some street food. Here are some pictures.
The Japanese bridge, illuminated. This bridge was built by the Japanese to connect the Chinese and Japanese quarters as a symbol of peace.
The prayer shrine inside the bridge.
A lot of eateries like this offer authentic and cheap food.
This wonton style dumpling is known as White Rose. This is a recommended dish and is a speciality of Hoi An. Cao lau is another pork based dish. A lot of places offer cooking classes but they don’t teach these dishes.
A shop selling lanterns.
Musicians playing live on a boat restaurant.
Musicians playing live in front of a shrine. The traditional instrument is Dan Nhi.
Kids and adults participating in “break the clay pot”.
Tintin is omnipresent. Even if Herge had not sent him to Vietnam, the Vietnamese people have brought him to their land.
This pork roll required the most amount of assembly. The pork has to be detached from the bamboo by prying open the slit. After that, one can go ahead with the usual method of preparing spring roles.
A word about Vietnamese women
During the last week, I saw a lot of women working hard in shops. These shops are usually family run and in many cases it is the lady of the house who takes care of the businesses. Even Mr. Pho admitted that his cafe was actually run by his wife.
A lot of women sell souvenirs, eatables and lottery tickets just like we would find men in India hawking on the pavements, in stations and in terminuses. I have even seen women carrying huge sacks into their kitchen when stock arrives.
In three cases, I have come across women working even when they were pregnant. One of the lady’s at Hue Four Seasons Hotel was expecting in two weeks. Yet, she was taking care of the kitchen and the ledger as if it was nothing!
That level of dedication and hard work is hard to find in most places, and that is irrespective of gender.