A good nights sleep was had by all after the pleasures of the night before. Up early and packed. I went onto Vietnam airlines web page to check that the flight was still on time and checked in without any trauma or issue. The flight was at 4pm but having been through Vietnamese domestic airports it pays to be early as It can be chaotic and confusing. We stopped at the entrance to the old quarter and found an amazing soup shop for breakfast down a tiny alleyway. The girl was outside cooking belly pork on a small charcoal brazier right next to expensive looking glass and pottery. She had put a small sheet of metal behind the cooker to stop next doors wares getting damaged. Mom was sat behind a small metal table concocting the magic. I have no idea what it’s called but it looks like weak broth with the cooked pork and cabbage thrown in and served with a plate of rice noodle.
It tasted divine. Lemongrass ginger, chilli, limes. Amazing and as good as the Tom Yum we had in Malaysia and set us up for the day.
After breakfast we set off to catch the bus at Long Biên bus station. We needed the 12 o’clock bus as it takes an hour and thirty minutes to get to the airport. The term bus station doesn’t really describe what it actually is and we spent ages looking for what you imagine a bus station to be. If a bus stop can have delusions of grandeur then this one has. That is what it turned out to be. A single bus stop outside a mobile phone store but with thirty bus numbers on it.
On time the bus arrived and we set off to the airport in plenty time for the flight. Thank God we did.
Arriving at the airport we went to the automatic boarding card machine but it wouldn’t accept my code and informed us to see a humanoid. The young lady at the first of the desks we went to informed us that we needed to to see the girl at checkin 5. Que. The lady at checkin 5 told us that our flight was with Jetstar and not Vietnam Airlines and we need to see the lady on the Jetstar desk. Que. The lady on the Jetstar desk smiled and reassured us that our flight was indeed with Jetstar but had been cancelled. Bollocks...we have had several flights cancelled before whilst travelling and it’s an absolute nightmare. Thank God we have always managed to find alternatives and have never been stuck. I will now add Jetstar Pacific to the growing list of airlines that I will not use.
So.... Small World, German wings, spice airlines and now Jetstar. You can all feck off.
We went back to the Vietnam airlines desk and again waited to see the lady who clicked away on her computer and informed us that we were booked onto the 4pm Vietnamese airlines flight all along...
Ho how we laughed.......
Boarded and off for a 1hour flight to Da Nang. At DaNang We grabbed a “Grab” taxi and set off to Hoi An. Into the accommodation, which is lovely, and showered dressed and out for food.
It was already dark when we got here so it’s hard to get the lay of the land. We were to discover this at our peril later.
We made our way across the river to the night markets. Hoi An is definitely on the tourist map now. Coloured lanterns package tourists by the dozen. Bars cafes and restraints all seeking the tourist dong but set against a beautiful old town. The night market was our best bet to get cheap authentic food and we were not disappointed. It’s expensive here by Vietnamese standards but still relatively cheap compared to home. The night market was 90 % souvenir tat and 10% food. But that 10% was amazing. We started our culinary journey with rice paper pizza with dried fish flakes. Sounds awful but tastes divine, Grilled frog, one of my favourites and finished with fresh grilled lobster between us.
Each from a different stall and all accompanied by lots of beer. By the time we had finished eating we were well and truly tipsy. I have only ever been p#*sed whilst travelling once before. It was at night in Kathmandu and I got totally lost. It took hours to get back to the digs and I vowed I would never do it again. Well we did it again. We took the wrong bridge over the river and ended up feck knows where. The place was deserted and memories of Kathmandu came flooding back. Crispy and LynNZ both transformed into local guides and set off in different directions confident they each knew the way. It was like herding cats trying to keep us together whilst not being able to focus and feeling very wobbly. In Kathmandu I was rescued by a little boy buying milk. Here we were rescued by a solitary grab driver. 40 pence and 2 minutes in the taxi saw us safely home. We were 2 streets away but might as well have been on the moon.
Straight to bed as we only have one full day here and need to be up and out to get the most of it..
Footnote
It would be impossible to capture the beauty of this place from our eyepods so google Hoi An images to see more of it. Note to self. Don’t get pissed without knowing your way home. Lesson learned
Bare, Crispy and LynNZ signing off Hoi An, Vietnam
It tasted divine. Lemongrass ginger, chilli, limes. Amazing and as good as the Tom Yum we had in Malaysia and set us up for the day.
After breakfast we set off to catch the bus at Long Biên bus station. We needed the 12 o’clock bus as it takes an hour and thirty minutes to get to the airport. The term bus station doesn’t really describe what it actually is and we spent ages looking for what you imagine a bus station to be. If a bus stop can have delusions of grandeur then this one has. That is what it turned out to be. A single bus stop outside a mobile phone store but with thirty bus numbers on it.
On time the bus arrived and we set off to the airport in plenty time for the flight. Thank God we did.
Arriving at the airport we went to the automatic boarding card machine but it wouldn’t accept my code and informed us to see a humanoid. The young lady at the first of the desks we went to informed us that we needed to to see the girl at checkin 5. Que. The lady at checkin 5 told us that our flight was with Jetstar and not Vietnam Airlines and we need to see the lady on the Jetstar desk. Que. The lady on the Jetstar desk smiled and reassured us that our flight was indeed with Jetstar but had been cancelled. Bollocks...we have had several flights cancelled before whilst travelling and it’s an absolute nightmare. Thank God we have always managed to find alternatives and have never been stuck. I will now add Jetstar Pacific to the growing list of airlines that I will not use.
So.... Small World, German wings, spice airlines and now Jetstar. You can all feck off.
We went back to the Vietnam airlines desk and again waited to see the lady who clicked away on her computer and informed us that we were booked onto the 4pm Vietnamese airlines flight all along...
Ho how we laughed.......
Boarded and off for a 1hour flight to Da Nang. At DaNang We grabbed a “Grab” taxi and set off to Hoi An. Into the accommodation, which is lovely, and showered dressed and out for food.
It was already dark when we got here so it’s hard to get the lay of the land. We were to discover this at our peril later.
We made our way across the river to the night markets. Hoi An is definitely on the tourist map now. Coloured lanterns package tourists by the dozen. Bars cafes and restraints all seeking the tourist dong but set against a beautiful old town. The night market was our best bet to get cheap authentic food and we were not disappointed. It’s expensive here by Vietnamese standards but still relatively cheap compared to home. The night market was 90 % souvenir tat and 10% food. But that 10% was amazing. We started our culinary journey with rice paper pizza with dried fish flakes. Sounds awful but tastes divine, Grilled frog, one of my favourites and finished with fresh grilled lobster between us.
Each from a different stall and all accompanied by lots of beer. By the time we had finished eating we were well and truly tipsy. I have only ever been p#*sed whilst travelling once before. It was at night in Kathmandu and I got totally lost. It took hours to get back to the digs and I vowed I would never do it again. Well we did it again. We took the wrong bridge over the river and ended up feck knows where. The place was deserted and memories of Kathmandu came flooding back. Crispy and LynNZ both transformed into local guides and set off in different directions confident they each knew the way. It was like herding cats trying to keep us together whilst not being able to focus and feeling very wobbly. In Kathmandu I was rescued by a little boy buying milk. Here we were rescued by a solitary grab driver. 40 pence and 2 minutes in the taxi saw us safely home. We were 2 streets away but might as well have been on the moon.
Straight to bed as we only have one full day here and need to be up and out to get the most of it..
Footnote
It would be impossible to capture the beauty of this place from our eyepods so google Hoi An images to see more of it. Note to self. Don’t get pissed without knowing your way home. Lesson learned
Bare, Crispy and LynNZ signing off Hoi An, Vietnam
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