Hoi An, September 2017

I left the Bay Hotel at 5:30am for my flight to Hoi An. After we arrived at the airport and I paid the driver was demanding an extra 10,000 Dong/£0.32 for some unknown reason. I think it was some kind of airport surcharge he had to pay but I was so apprehensive of getting ripped off I refused to pay again for something I didn't understand. Combined with the fact the taxi driver didn't speak English he gave up and waived this 'surcharge'. To be honest it was probably legit but considering what happened next I'm glad I didn't give it to him. 



  
I headed into the terminal and didn't see my flight on the screen. I quickly realised that I was in the international terminal. I asked where the domestic terminal was. I was told it was downstairs. I followed these instructions but all I found was the arrivals terminal. So headed back upstairs and enquired with someone else. It turns out that the domestic terminal is actually in a DIFFERENT BUILDING and this taxi driver dropped me off at the wrong place. So that was a fun way to waste 20 minutes. 

So I arrived at Da Nang airport as Hoi An doesn't have one. It's 45 minutes from Da Nang to Hoi An. I was staying at Vietnam Backpackers Hostel which happened to be the nicest hostel I've stayed in. It looks like a hotel from the outside, the lobby and bar area is very open and modern and there's a pool. There's a concierge desk and it's very easy to book tours and transport. 





I got there at around 10am and went to my room then headed to the old town. The hostel is about a 10 minute drive from the old town or a 15 minute bicycle ride so I got a taxi to the old town. You have to cross over a bridge to enter it and can choose to buy a ticket for 120,000 Dong/£4. This will include entry to some of the old houses and assembly halls located within the old town. 


The old town is really quaint and beautiful. All of the buildings reflect that and there are many shops selling clothes, suits, souvenirs in addition to restaurants and coffee shops. Lanterns are also everywhere. After walking around the for a few hours I was so hot and needed to get some shade so headed back to my hostel.

I met a Dutch girl (Anja) in my room who invited me to go on a bike ride with her and her friends in a couple of hours. I went to the bar, had a couple of drinks and relaxed for a bit. I then headed back up to my room to meet Anja and we headed downstairs where we met her other friends, who was a Swiss girl (Alba) and Aussie girl (Ebony) and a Canadian guy (Ben). 


I rented a bike from reception for 30,000 Dong/£1 but you also have to give a deposit of 200,000 Dong/£6.50 which you get when you return the bike. We rode to some rice fields for some reason but they were no way near as impressive as Sapa. We walked among the fields for all of 5 minutes then rode to the Old Town. We went to a restaurant overlooking the river and took advantage of the BOGOF cocktails and ordered some food. After a couple of hours we wandered around the Old Town then rode back to the hostel for a nightcap. Riding in Hoi An even if on a bicycle is a lot less hectic than Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi. I didn't think I was going to die at all. 



Ben and Alba invited me to go to the beach with them the next day to watch the sunrise so I said why not. At 4:30am the next morning we walked to Cua Dai beach which is around half an hour. The water was surprisingly warm considering the sun wasn't up yet. Unfortunately the sunrise didn't really materialise as the clouds were in the way but it was still nice to hang out at the beach as I did want to see it before I left. At this time in the morning the beach was surprisingly busy with several locals swimming or exercising. I think the locals were a bit intrigued by us as few people came over and started conversations. Mostly impressed that we were all of different nationalities. 


At about 6am I left as I wanted to get some more sleep before I went back to Hanoi. I got back to my hostel and slept until 8:30am then got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. This was the best breakfast I've ever had in a hostel, it was an unlimited buffet of scrambled and fried eggs, bread, pancakes and fruit. If breakfast is included in a hostel it's usually cereal and toast. You also got tea and coffee but no juices included which was a bit of a let down. You could also purchase breakfast meals if you didn't want what was included such as Eggs Benedict or add ons to the current breakfast e.g. bacon, sausages.  




I finished packing then had another cap nap before leaving at 10:30am to catch my flight back to Hanoi. 

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