AspiringNomad

That evening we grabbed a taxi to Hoi An. I had been really excited to get to Hoi An as I had heard great things about it and seen multiple photos on Instagram of lantern-lit streets and pretty buildings by the river. We booked to stay for 3 nights so we could really enjoy it and have some time to unpack our things without having to worry about leaving the next day!

After freshening up, Tom and I headed out to dinner with Sid, who was sharing a dorm with us. Hoi An old town did not disappoint. It is really beautiful, at night all the streets are lined with coloured lanterns. All the restaurants and bars make a real effort to decorate their exteriors making the whole street look bright and lively. Once we enjoyed a delicious meal we headed to a bar called Tiger Tiger. The slogan for this place is not very ‘blog friendly’ so I will let you use your imagination! One cocktail turned into about 5 happy hour cocktails and a free shot. Before I knew it, I was up dancing the night away with all the other ‘tigers’. After deciding I was sweating more than was comfortable, we grabbed a Banh Mi. I don’t think the Banh Mi were designed to cater for party goers looking for something to eat after a heavy night, but they are ideal for it! The best way I can describe it is a Vietnamese street food Subway foot long. Once we devoured our food, we headed back to bed.

Morning soon came around, I had been almost begging Tom for a beach day since I got to Vietnam and so as he headed off to get his suit tailored (Hoi An is very popular for this) I lounged on the sunbeds on the beach, enjoying dipping in and out of the sea in the blazing heat. That afternoon, I headed into the Old Town and wandered down the beautiful streets taking photos at every corner! The city is full of lantern shops, tailors, coffee shops, restaurants, clothes shops, mini marts and market stalls. Once Tom and I felt like we were going to melt into muddles of sweat on the floor, we stopped in a pretty cafe for a cold smoothie and then retreated back to the beach. Tom, Sid and I headed out for some food in Hoi An and met with Sid’s Friend who was sat with 3 Spanish girls who are currently living in Sydney. We discussed life in Australia and they showed us how to play a few cards games (one of which I won) but after our fairly heavy night previous, we decided to return back to the hostel for a good night sleep.

The following day, we all booked onto a tour ran by the hostel to try some cooking and experience the very touristy coconut boats. At 1pm we were picked up from the hostel and I befriended Emily, a German solo traveller on the bus. She had spent a year in Bolivia volunteering at a primary school and so we chatted about life there and what her more recent plans are for Asia. Our first stop was at the Hoi An Market. Fresh fruit and vegetables, rice, noodles, herbs and spices are all available here. Our guide gave us information on various foods and we bought some ingredients that we were to use later on. We were then taken to the river where we paired up on the Coconut Boats. Asian conical hats on, we laughed as we watched some tourists getting quite aggressively spun around in the boats! It was hugely busy but surprisingly it didn’t matter as everyone was in good spirits. Another example of ‘what silly thing can we get tourists do for money!’

Next to the river, we were guided to the spot where we were going to cook a few traditional Vietnamese dishes ourselves. Our guide explained how the dish was made and we were then left to our own devices. Spring rolls, rice pancakes and noodle soup were our three dishes and we even got a chance to flambé the meat for one of the noodle dishes.

After a thoroughly enjoyable day, I headed back to the hostel and Tom and Sid when to get their measurements checked at the tailors.

When I met with them again later that day, they had befriended Daimy, a Dutch girl who was very excited about the prospects of Kings night and Kings day which was going to be the following day. We had a few drinks in the beachside bar, owned by the hostel and were then joined my Sid’s friend who had just arrived from Da Nang. The 5 of us headed back into town for a few drinks and ended back at, you guessed it, Tiger Tiger. Of course, it was ‘two for one’ and after a few too many ‘Spiders kiss’ cocktails, we were all dancing and singing on the extremely busy dance floor. The mixture of alcohol, heat and dancing started to take its toll, so after another Banh Mi stop, we headed back to bed. It wasn’t until we were walking to our rooms that we realised we were all in the same dorm! Fortunately, we were all so tired we completely crashed out until 9am the following day.

It is now Saturday night and I am pleased to say that after a heavy night at said bar, I have spent the day at the beach with 6 Germans who were kind enough to welcome me into their group. We sat in the dappled shade and went into the sea. Today is Kings Day, so the beachside bar was busy with Dutch people and other travellers joining in the fun and wearing some sort of orange! Sadly at 4:45pm I had to say goodbye to my new friends and head off to catch the bus which I am now currently lying on. I wasn’t left with much choice but to take a middle isle bed. I can’t say it feels hugely safe and the weak looking plastic lips at the side don’t look like they will protect me from falling out! I just hope we don’t go round any tight bends!

Hoi An has been everything I wanted it to be and more. I’ve met so many amazing people, I’ve swam in the South China Sea, I’ve unsuccessfully fished for crabs in a coconut boat with a rice hat on, made my own spring rolls, drunk far too many cocktails and burnt my back. All in all, it’s been a bloody fantastic 3 days!