On Day 139, we wake up early and head to the bus station.
For the past few months we have gotten used to being constantly hounded by almost every motorcycle driver, tuk tuk driver, opelet driver and taxi driver trying to get our business and yet today we can’t seem to catch any of these to save our life.
I guess word has finally gotten around that we’re a “no sale”, so we end up walking the 2kms to the bus station.
When we arrive, it’s in a state of chaos. Buses are everywhere, people are swarming the doors, porters are lugging bags and ticket agents are hollering out to everyone… I’d like to think it’s still related to Tet, but I’ve got a feeling this is just how it’s done here. We manage to figure out the procedure and get ourselves on a bus bound for Da Nang.
There are no direct routes by public bus from Hue to Hoi An – we have to take a mini-bus 2 hours to Da Nang and then transfer to a local bus for the remaining 30kms of the trip.
We arrive in Da Nang on schedule – which is very impressive for Vietnam – and find the bus going to Hoi An. Of course no prices are posted, so we have to negotiate with the driver, but once we reach a deal, we hop on board and are greeted by a fellow traveler, Stewie from Australia.
Stewie seems like a nice guy and we enjoy swapping “war stories” for the rest of the journey…
Little do we know that this encounter will turn into a 3-day experience.
When we arrive in Hoi An, it’s less than a kilometer walk to the “city centre”, but of course now all the taxi drivers are paying attention to us… where were you this morning, boys?
The three of us set out to find accommodation and we discover this isn’t going to be an easy thing to do – it seems Hoi An is very busy this time of year.
Most of the hotels are full and those that aren’t seem to be way out of our normal price range. So we decide to work as a team and find a reasonably priced room that we can split three ways – there are 2 queen-sized beds, a TV and a mini-fridge, so we’re all happy.
To celebrate, we – we being the three of us – head to a small café to sample some of the local fare, Cau Lau and “White Rose”.
Cau Lau is a soup made with flat noodles, sliced pork, bean sprouts, mixed greens and croutons. The secret ingredient here is the noodles – they must be made with water from the local Ba Le well, which is located in Hoi An.
“White Rose” is a small steamed dumpling stuffed with shrimp, which is very similar to the Banh Beo we had in Hue.
Stewie and I also have a couple of Vietnamese ice coffees, so it’s a great meal overall.
We split up for the afternoon – Eric and I wander around the old city and Stewie does whatever he does – and then we meet up later to induct him into the world of Skip-Bo… of course.
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