Day 76: Hoi An

Thrown awake by a sudden braking. Air goes off, lights come on, "Hoi An". Finally, that was about as painful of a ride as one needs ever make. Back is cramping, legs are sore, head is heavy, I just want a decent accommodation. We do the hotel scramble, looking for nice accommodations for reasonable rates. After 25 minutes and no satisfaction, motorbike driver offers us a ride to check out his, we concede ... first one sucks. Next option? On the way to the second place we pass my buddy from Koh Phangan, Will Legg. Bike won't stop, tell him to shoot me a facebook email while blazing by. Second stop, little more costly but in the old part of town, has a ton of charm, comes with free breakfast which Simon loves, has good mattresses which I love, we take it.

We pay $2 each to eat breakfast there, tons of fruit, baguettes, 1 egg plate, 1 pancake. Hit up our room and I pass out.

Awake again at 1pm, Simon has returned from adventures around the city, Lonely Planet in hand. He's tired now, neither of us slept well on the bus, so I took my opportunity to explore. Grabbed a hotel bicycle and hotel map, and explored. Started by biking down the streets of the old city, some buildings being landmarks, others made to look similar. It's a very quaint town, streets are small between the structures, all the buildings are as one, imagine a 19th century French countryside strip mall. Consumed by shops and shops and shops, both sides of the street, everything from tailors to paintings to photography, truly pleasant to stroll.

There's a beach only 5 minutes from town, so follow the map and bike that direction. 5 minutes biking, no beach. 10 minutes biking, no beach. 15 minutes biking, see a cool river with quaint riverside cafes, no beach. Granted I'm on a single gear beach cruiser with basket, but did not think I was that slow, did I miss it somehow? 18 minutes later I see the beach. I look back at the map as to say liar, reread it, 5km to beach, ohhh. It was a windy day, the kind where you cannot sit on the beach without sand abusing you, so I take a quick spin up and down the coastal road, head back.

As I'm biking back, a girl on a motorbike rolls up next to me, uh oh, is this another lady boy? I don't see an Adam's apple and her hands aren't huge, but in her broken English she is propositioning me for something. She hands me a card, it's for a tailor, that makes sense, Hoi An is the land of the tailors, some 350 of them.

Simon is game for a suit, looks online at a French forum, inspects lonely planet, lines up 3 possible tailors, prepared as always. We head back out, on hotel bicycles, start marking them off our list. Stumble upon an ancient bridge, quite the tourist attraction, built in the 9th, 11th, or 15th century, cannot recall. Check out some tailors, all have their pitches down pat, all with a gimmicks making them the best, all wanting around $100. No thanks for me, Simon? He's going to think about it, as expected. Hit up a few art places, see some really cool works, way too expensive, continue on our way back to the hotel, Will is meeting us there.

Will stops in, we all head out, looking for good food and a good bar. We stop next door at Cafe 83, drawn by the sign "beer 3,000 dong ($0.15)" which pleases Simon and Will, and the menu looks cheap enough for me.

Side note, if I have not mentioned this, I should of. Tried beer several times, several brands, since being on my trip, and every time I regret it. To me it tastes like piss, or what I imagine piss to taste like, and has a revolting dry chalky aftertaste. In many places it is as cheap if not cheaper than the water, it would be convenient and cost effective if I could acquire the taste, bleh, not gonna happen. I'll stick to saving my carbs for ice cream, oh how I miss Cookies N Cream, drool...

Eat, wander the streets, stumble upon an overpriced but active bar, I'm not drinking, move on, find a billiards bar, order a banana shake, play a few games, mine is way off. It's getting late, planning on a beach party tomorrow night, head back to the Phoac An Hotel and call it a night.

Nite nite faithful readers. iPhone Blogger.