Indochina Day 17, Hue to Hoi An

Monday June 13^th

We left at 9:00 for the four hour drive to Hoi An from Hue. The road was very scenic as it followed the coast. About half way the road climbed up a pass via a lot of switchbacks. We stopped at the top and had a great view of the road we drove up and Danang, the city we are headed towards. The pass was an important strategic sight during the French conflict and the American War for protecting Danang Harbour.. There are bunkers with canon from both wars.

We arrived in Hoi An about 1:30, checked in and met up again in the lobby for an orientation walk to the old part of the town and a restaurant for lunch. This is a small town that UNESCO has designated as World Heritage for it's colonial architecture and history. We had a nice lunch sitting on the second floor overlooking the river. After lunch Richard led us to a tailor (there are hundreds in town). Most of the group wanted to get clothing made. I wasn't really interested and besides it was hot and I thought of something better to do. I walked back to the hotel, rented a bicycle for 30,000 dong ($1.50) and rode to the local beach on the South East Asian Sea. Great beach, soft sand, warm water, shallow and no rocks. I looked for a trustworthy tourist, spotted a woman laying on one towel with another beside her. I asked if she spoke English, she did, and asked if I could leave my camera and wallet with her so I could go into the water. I had to trust someone, as I didn't want to leave the bag unattended while I swam. She was okay with that. I went in and met her boyfriend in the water. After I swam for a bit, I talked to them for ten minutes before they left. They were from Paris.

Then back to the hotel and I went for a swim in the hotel pool to rinse off the salt and relax. We met up at 7:30 and Richard took us to a great restaurant by the river again. This one had a very friendly, over the top Vietnamese chef who had lived in Milan for five years and makes his own pasta. So, I had spaghetti pescadora and it was great.

After that most of us called it a night. I walked around the old part of town and explored the small streets before heading to the hotel for the night.