Not so Lonely Planet?
Hanoi -> Hoi An, 22nd
May 2002 (Part 1)
An early start today to take the bus to Hoi An. I pulled on all my
bags (now amounting to quite a weight due to my growing collection
of souvenirs) and started on the 15 minute walk to the pick-up
point. Of course I was offered a lift about 100 times, but I wanted
to walk. Not because I'm too much of a skinflint to pay, I've just
been very lazy recently, and I needed some exercise.
20 minutes later, I arrived, gasping for breath & covered in sweat,
at the cafe. I sat down and ordered some breakfast, including a
large iced coffee. I gratefully wolfed down my breakfast and found I
still had 15 minutes before the bus would come. I used this time to
check my e-mail to find out what hotel Gilad & Andy were staying at
in Hoi An. Luckily he had e-mailed, so I got the name & address,
plus the interesting fact that it had a swimming pool...Yeay!
The bus was very empty (a strange occurrence in this neck of the
woods) so the journey was very comfortable. We passed a few more of
the local buses, and discovered the Vietnamese policy of two-tier
pricing (charging tourists more than the locals). Usually, this can
get quite frustrating. In some places tourists pay up to 4 times
what locals pay, notably on the trains. Although understandable when
the locals earn so little in comparison to the tourists, it can get
very annoying when trying to buy things, and sometimes it feels like
you're always getting ripped off.
Anyhow, one good part of the Vietnamese policy to tourists, is that
the government is very strict about what vehicles & hotels can take
tourists. If they are below (a quite high) standard, then it is
illegal for tourists to be allowed to use them. As I watched out the
window at the beaten up old bus drive past, absolutely CRAMMED full
(I mean every square centimetre filled with flesh, luggage or food)
and huge piles of things strapped insecurely to the roof, and bits
of the bus falling to the gutter, and people hanging off the back, I
was so happy to be in my comfy, tourist, spacious air-con bus.
We made a few sight-seeing stops on the way to Hoi An. Firstly we
stopped at a gorgeous beach. However, we only stopped for 20
minutes, not enough time to go swimming (why make the stop then? To
taunt us?). As I stood there, watching the waves crash gently on the
unbroken, golden sandy beach, I realised how much I like the
seaside. In fact, the 2 months I spent in North Thailand & Lao, was
the longest time I've ever been away from near the sea! I have lived
by the seaside for my whole life, and for most of my trip, I've
never been more than 1 hour from the coast! It was nice to take a
deep breath of sea air.
The next stop was at a mountain top view point. Nice view, but
nothing stunning. More interestingly, I'd realised this morning that
I'd run out of films for my camera, so I had to buy some more. Most
places in Vietnam charge between 35,000 Dong & 50,000 Dong for one
36 Exposure film. In Hue, I bought a couple for 35,000 Dong each.
However, as I was standing taking some photos from the view point, a
lady kept hassling me to buy something. As I needed a few more
films, I agreed to buy another film. I asked how much, and she said
45,000Dong. I laughed and said that I only paid 30,000Dong this
morning (5000 less than what I actually did pay). But she replied by
saying that she wouldn't make any money from this. I said "Oh Well"
and started to walk away, and of course, she agreed to 30,000 Dong.
Initially she tried to give me a 24 exposure film, but I noticed,
pointed it out, and she gave me a 36 one.
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