Hoi An

It worked out cheaper for us to take a minibus to Hoi An, a trip that went over a mountain pass, the original vantage point between North and South Vietnam where many American bunkers were built during the Vietnam war.  The alternative was to go on a much shorter route through a tunnel where we would have seen nothing.  This was definitely the better option as the scenery was quite beautiful and, historically, very interesting.

Tourism is alive and well in Vietnam and there was no greater evidence of it than Hoi An.  We hadn't expected this and although the whole town was spectacularly decorated for TET (Lunar New Year), it was somewhat spoiled by being overrun with tourists.  I know, I know, we're also in that category but you know what I mean.

We had heard that Hoi An was a great place to have clothes made really cheaply so the three girls had brought along materials to have a few things copied and made up.  I'd done this in Cartegena and it was incredibly reasonable but here it turned out to be almost laughable with the prices we were quoted (London High Street prices).  Obviously things have increased dramatically over the last couple of years; a sign that tourism greed has taken over (what's euphemistically referred to as skin tax).  Bit disappointing.

Hand made shoes were another item for which Hoi An had been well known and as Paul has a serious problem with shoes, he thought this would be a good opportunity.  Unfortunately, the TET holidays meant that most places would be closed for a week so this wasn't possible but he did find one pair of sandals which he bargained down then purchased.  Two hours later they broke so we took them back.  They were fixed only to have them break again 20 minutes down the line.  Good quality Chinese cr*p!  He demanded his money back.  We had already discovered that western shoe sizes are a rare commodity in this part of the world so he's stuck with his uncomfortable old ones for the time being.

The fresh produce market in the ancient city was the best part: a vibrant scene of activity, variety, colours and insight into the lives of the local population.  We ate local street food and wandered through the vendors just enjoying the atmosphere.  

This would have been a wonderful stop had there not been so many tourists and had the locals not been so greedy.

We didn't feel compelled to stay longer so it's off to Nha Trang.