Well the overnight bus journey was epic! Maybe not as bad as we had expected the buses to be, but an experience all the same. The bus was full, meaning we had a bit of trouble organizing all of our luggage. The sleeper beds were comfortable, but we were at the back of the bus, meaning we felt every bump in the road. We misplaced the sleeping tablets, so with the bumpy ride struggled to sleep. Perhaps most annoying was the guy sleeping in the aisle, so to get to the toilet you had to climb over him. We arrived in one piece and with an American couple from the bus headed into town to find a hotel. Christine was super grumpy, so we left her in a café with the bags. After an hour we had seen many hotels and chosen one (An Phu Hotel), which was a pretty good deal. $20 per night in a pool view room, the pool was a decent size, and only about 5 minute walk to the central market. The rest of the day was very lazy, the four of us ate some breakfast and then had a swim before retreating to our rooms for a nap, and to watch AFL on the TV (first games we have seen all season). 
As we headed out for dinner we met two Belgium girls in the lobby who were heading the same way as us. We had a look around town before settling on a cheap restaurant by the river. We ate Cau Lac which is a local noodle specialty and white rose, prawn dumplings. After dinner we visited the night market and the Festival that is on this weekend in town, but were forced home early by another big thunder storm. 
We were up early the next morning for two reasons, get a head start on our shopping and to have breakfast before the St Kilda game at 10am. Possibly the biggest attraction to Hoi An is 
the shopping. The town has hundreds of tailors, and you can’t walk past any of them without being offered something. The town itself is lovely and feels less crowded as there are a number of streets were cars and motorbikes can’t go. Everything went to plan, bacon and egg roll with an avocado we bought ourselves at the market, ice coffee and back in the room in time for the game. Sadly the first Saints game we saw for the year, Saints only played for two quarters and lost. This did give Christine a solid 2 hours to look around the shops on her own. 
After a refreshing swim we ventured back out into the heat and the shops. First stop was the cloth market that Christine had missed in the morning, we ordered a top in a material she loved. Next was a bit of souvenir shopping, or at least browsing. After a late lunch we visited a tailor Christine had visited in the morning and ordered a dress and jacket. Having done all of this we had actually seen a lot of the town. We decided to have a walk along the river and around the non touristy side of the island. This was great, we saw locals at work, houses, children playing and had a chat to a family, three generations. At the bottom of the island we discovered where the locals eat, hundreds of tables with bench seats and stalls of food. We weren’t hungry, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop at Mr Ba’s stall for a ‘fresh beer’. We figure this is some sort of homebrew at 4000d per glass (20c). This turned out to be one of our best Asian beer experiences, after ordering, Mr Ba jumped on his motor bike, which was parked at the back of the stall and disappeared up the road. Minutes later he came zooming back down the road and through the restaurant with a plastic bottle of beer, off the bike he cracked it open, poured two glasses and placed them in front of us, it was icy cold! 
Again we ate by the river and had good local food. We had the best intentions of an early night, but after dinner we got chatting to the girls on the table next to us. There were three of them all from Munchen, Germany. Since the restaurant was closing the five of us went for a walk along the river and eventually were led to a bar by a local guy. This place was a dive, loud music, graffiti walls and about 5 people in the place. Instead we sat at the corner store nearby and had a few cheap beers. Hoi An is not known for its nightlife, so a bit after midnight we all headed back to our hotels. 
Since we didn’t have enough money to pay a deposit on Christine’s dress last night we had to visit the tailor in the morning. We then ate breakfast nearby, in a nice little restaurant with a garden beside the river. It was one of the nicest breakfast’s we have had, French toast with mango and syrup, not too oily by Vietnam standards. Then it was a few hours of power shopping, we emptied our wallets and filled our suitcases. All sorts of nic-nacs, but mainly cheap clothing.
With that done it was back to the hotel where we met the girls from Munchen, Michelle, Carina and Hedwig. They had planned to go to the beach, and since we were keen
to visit also we shared a taxi. The beach was less crowded than Nha Trang, but the water was not as calm. We swam, politely declined the ladies trying to sell us junk we didn’t need (“happy hour” and “don’t be lazy, be crazy”) and laid on sun lounges. The girls wrote post cards to just about everyone they knew, including themselves (I might try that later). As the sun went down we headed back into town for showers, before meeting up again for dinner. The three of them are so nice and great fun to chill out with, it also gives Christine a break from always having to talk to Damien (must be terrible). 
We had two stops before dinner, both fittings at tailors. First it was Christine’s turn, but it didn’t go so well. The reason she had chosen the tailor was because she had found a material she liked. To her displeasure, they had cut half of the pattern off at the bottom of the dress, or “butchered the material” as she told the shop assistant. There were a few other minor things to be adjusted, but we made it clear what needed to be done. Luckily, the jacket, although not complete, was looking a lot better. Next it was Hedi’s turn. She has ordered a Drindl to be copied from one she bought with her. It was the first fitting, and it looked a bit more like a maxi dress, but the tailor was very good and happy to make changes. Showing them images on the internet helped them understand the concept of such a low cut dress. The material looks amazing, a shiny green checked pattern made of silk. We think it will look amazing after another couple of fittings! Better still the girls have invited us over for Oktoberfest so we hope to see it at some stage! After the fittings we headed back to the same restaurant we ate at last night. Damien had fish and Christine duck, both were very good. With everyone planning on a reasonably early start in the morning, after dinner we said our farewells and headed back to our hotels.
In the morning we tidied our room, somewhat, and headed out. A quick breakfast at the café next door and then it was back to the tailor, nice and early, just in case! We were happy. That morning they had redone the skirt to show the full pattern and made the fitting adjustments. The jacket hadn’t needed any changes and was now complete. Next stop was the tailor in the cloth market. We were less worried about this visit, but when we arrived the top wasn’t there. A few phone calls and 20 minutes later it arrived on the back of a motorbike. While not the exact style Christine had in mind, it fits and it looks good. Not finished yet, the lady ‘miss forget me not’ then tried to short change us on the exchange rate, but with the top in our hands, we gave here what we had originally agreed, and left her sulking at her stall.
Back at the hotel and spent nearly two hours by the pool. After a beer that we had left over we had ice coffee and bread rolls from the café next door as well as avocado and dragon fruit from the market. After numerous swims to keep cool we showered and headed to the lobby to be picked up by our bus, which was on time! The ride to Hue was short in comparison, only 4 hours. The bus was a bit old and rickety, although not as bad as the Dalat death trap. It was only half full and had air-con, so we were able to spread out, but in the heat of the day it was still quite warm. The scenery was beautiful, the whole way was either along the coast or over mountains that seemed to divide the different beaches. From the coast we could see the surrounding mountains partially covered in low cloud and from the mountains we had views of the coastline, fishing villages and fish farms. We are deliberately rushing through Hue, keen to get to Hanoi. After the bus ride we quickly found a cheap hotel near the centre of town. We went for a walk along the river and then found a little restaurant for dinner.
We had the best part of the day in Hue before boarding the night bus to Hanoi. We were up early for the breakfast we had to haggle for $10 for the room including breakfast. Leaving the hotel we headed to the travel agent to confirm the bus reservation we had already made. When we showed our bus ticket they proceeded to write our name on a list, so it was probably a good move to make the visit. The girls were actually quite helpful and have given us seats with a bit of extra leg room. 
We then walked down the main street and over the bridge to the citadel. Along the way we were accosted by a cyclo driver wanting about $10 for an hour’s ride. Neither politely refusing or more abrupt methods seemed to help. The only consolation is that we know he didn’t get any money for the hour or so he tailed us. After ‘Café Su Da’, ice coffee, partially to cool down and partially to escape our tag, we headed to the Imperial Enclosure. This was built in 1804 and was used by the emperor. It had a few buildings in various states of disrepair, lakes, tennis court and gardens. Leaving the palace we again found cyclo riders and since we hadn’t been on one organized one for a bit over $2, probably still a high price! We rode around parts of the citadel, which is quite large. These days it’s mostly ruins, suburbs, lakes, a canal and farming. The little guy rode so slow, it was agonizing, I felt like having a go at pedaling. Eventually we crossed the bridge back into town. Close to the hotel we got him to stop and jumped out, as we expected, he insisted on a higher price than we had agreed, but once again we paid our price and left him to find another customer. 
We chilled out for a while in a café and had some lunch before wandering around a few art galleries. We had seen a painting of some fish last night which Christine liked. After a bit of negotiating we got a good price and bought it, just something else to carry! Then it was back to the hotel for a bit more relax time and to cool off before being picked up, on time again, for our night bus to Hanoi. This was our longest bus yet, we were picked up at 5pm and didn’t arrive until 9am. We had seats in the middle of the bus this time so the ride was a bit smoother and with a sleeping pill we slept well. The only pain was some of the other passengers who were so rude to almost deliberately bump you as they passed in the aisle and the host who had limited English and woke us at 5am.
The Vietnam Open Bus Ticket.
As mentioned we purchased an open bus ticket which took us from Saigon (HCMC) all the way to Hanoi. There are a number of companies all offering similar so it’s a bit hard to choose. We went with Phuong Nam Express company, as we saw in Saigon they had some nice yellow buses, but I wouldn’t recommend the company. The problem was that we never ended up on one of these nice yellow buses. Firstly, they put us on a public bus to Dalat and then from Dalat we had the oldest bus we had ever seen, after they picked us up an hour late because they forgot about us. In Nha Trang we also learnt that this company doesn’t run the whole route, instead they subcontract to other bus companies. So in short, avoid the middle man and try to find a company that has buses running all the way up the coast.
All in all its been a good experience as it has meant we have seen so much countryside, that if you took flights you would simply miss out on. Many villages, farms, rice fields, coastline and mountains. That said you need patience and time and if your short on either perhaps stick to the Saigon – Nha Trang – Hoi An – Hanoi flying visit. At the same time our trip has still felt a bit rushed and we had to skip large chunks of the coast to fit everything in, but once again, sadly, you can never see everything you would like to!
As we headed out for dinner we met two Belgium girls in the lobby who were heading the same way as us. We had a look around town before settling on a cheap restaurant by the river. We ate Cau Lac which is a local noodle specialty and white rose, prawn dumplings. After dinner we visited the night market and the Festival that is on this weekend in town, but were forced home early by another big thunder storm. We were up early the next morning for two reasons, get a head start on our shopping and to have breakfast before the St Kilda game at 10am. Possibly the biggest attraction to Hoi An is 
the shopping. The town has hundreds of tailors, and you can’t walk past any of them without being offered something. The town itself is lovely and feels less crowded as there are a number of streets were cars and motorbikes can’t go. Everything went to plan, bacon and egg roll with an avocado we bought ourselves at the market, ice coffee and back in the room in time for the game. Sadly the first Saints game we saw for the year, Saints only played for two quarters and lost. This did give Christine a solid 2 hours to look around the shops on her own. After a refreshing swim we ventured back out into the heat and the shops. First stop was the cloth market that Christine had missed in the morning, we ordered a top in a material she loved. Next was a bit of souvenir shopping, or at least browsing. After a late lunch we visited a tailor Christine had visited in the morning and ordered a dress and jacket. Having done all of this we had actually seen a lot of the town. We decided to have a walk along the river and around the non touristy side of the island. This was great, we saw locals at work, houses, children playing and had a chat to a family, three generations. At the bottom of the island we discovered where the locals eat, hundreds of tables with bench seats and stalls of food. We weren’t hungry, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop at Mr Ba’s stall for a ‘fresh beer’. We figure this is some sort of homebrew at 4000d per glass (20c). This turned out to be one of our best Asian beer experiences, after ordering, Mr Ba jumped on his motor bike, which was parked at the back of the stall and disappeared up the road. Minutes later he came zooming back down the road and through the restaurant with a plastic bottle of beer, off the bike he cracked it open, poured two glasses and placed them in front of us, it was icy cold! Again we ate by the river and had good local food. We had the best intentions of an early night, but after dinner we got chatting to the girls on the table next to us. There were three of them all from Munchen, Germany. Since the restaurant was closing the five of us went for a walk along the river and eventually were led to a bar by a local guy. This place was a dive, loud music, graffiti walls and about 5 people in the place. Instead we sat at the corner store nearby and had a few cheap beers. Hoi An is not known for its nightlife, so a bit after midnight we all headed back to our hotels. Since we didn’t have enough money to pay a deposit on Christine’s dress last night we had to visit the tailor in the morning. We then ate breakfast nearby, in a nice little restaurant with a garden beside the river. It was one of the nicest breakfast’s we have had, French toast with mango and syrup, not too oily by Vietnam standards. Then it was a few hours of power shopping, we emptied our wallets and filled our suitcases. All sorts of nic-nacs, but mainly cheap clothing.With that done it was back to the hotel where we met the girls from Munchen, Michelle, Carina and Hedwig. They had planned to go to the beach, and since we were keen
to visit also we shared a taxi. The beach was less crowded than Nha Trang, but the water was not as calm. We swam, politely declined the ladies trying to sell us junk we didn’t need (“happy hour” and “don’t be lazy, be crazy”) and laid on sun lounges. The girls wrote post cards to just about everyone they knew, including themselves (I might try that later). As the sun went down we headed back into town for showers, before meeting up again for dinner. The three of them are so nice and great fun to chill out with, it also gives Christine a break from always having to talk to Damien (must be terrible). We had two stops before dinner, both fittings at tailors. First it was Christine’s turn, but it didn’t go so well. The reason she had chosen the tailor was because she had found a material she liked. To her displeasure, they had cut half of the pattern off at the bottom of the dress, or “butchered the material” as she told the shop assistant. There were a few other minor things to be adjusted, but we made it clear what needed to be done. Luckily, the jacket, although not complete, was looking a lot better. Next it was Hedi’s turn. She has ordered a Drindl to be copied from one she bought with her. It was the first fitting, and it looked a bit more like a maxi dress, but the tailor was very good and happy to make changes. Showing them images on the internet helped them understand the concept of such a low cut dress. The material looks amazing, a shiny green checked pattern made of silk. We think it will look amazing after another couple of fittings! Better still the girls have invited us over for Oktoberfest so we hope to see it at some stage! After the fittings we headed back to the same restaurant we ate at last night. Damien had fish and Christine duck, both were very good. With everyone planning on a reasonably early start in the morning, after dinner we said our farewells and headed back to our hotels.In the morning we tidied our room, somewhat, and headed out. A quick breakfast at the café next door and then it was back to the tailor, nice and early, just in case! We were happy. That morning they had redone the skirt to show the full pattern and made the fitting adjustments. The jacket hadn’t needed any changes and was now complete. Next stop was the tailor in the cloth market. We were less worried about this visit, but when we arrived the top wasn’t there. A few phone calls and 20 minutes later it arrived on the back of a motorbike. While not the exact style Christine had in mind, it fits and it looks good. Not finished yet, the lady ‘miss forget me not’ then tried to short change us on the exchange rate, but with the top in our hands, we gave here what we had originally agreed, and left her sulking at her stall.
Back at the hotel and spent nearly two hours by the pool. After a beer that we had left over we had ice coffee and bread rolls from the café next door as well as avocado and dragon fruit from the market. After numerous swims to keep cool we showered and headed to the lobby to be picked up by our bus, which was on time! The ride to Hue was short in comparison, only 4 hours. The bus was a bit old and rickety, although not as bad as the Dalat death trap. It was only half full and had air-con, so we were able to spread out, but in the heat of the day it was still quite warm. The scenery was beautiful, the whole way was either along the coast or over mountains that seemed to divide the different beaches. From the coast we could see the surrounding mountains partially covered in low cloud and from the mountains we had views of the coastline, fishing villages and fish farms. We are deliberately rushing through Hue, keen to get to Hanoi. After the bus ride we quickly found a cheap hotel near the centre of town. We went for a walk along the river and then found a little restaurant for dinner.
We had the best part of the day in Hue before boarding the night bus to Hanoi. We were up early for the breakfast we had to haggle for $10 for the room including breakfast. Leaving the hotel we headed to the travel agent to confirm the bus reservation we had already made. When we showed our bus ticket they proceeded to write our name on a list, so it was probably a good move to make the visit. The girls were actually quite helpful and have given us seats with a bit of extra leg room. We then walked down the main street and over the bridge to the citadel. Along the way we were accosted by a cyclo driver wanting about $10 for an hour’s ride. Neither politely refusing or more abrupt methods seemed to help. The only consolation is that we know he didn’t get any money for the hour or so he tailed us. After ‘Café Su Da’, ice coffee, partially to cool down and partially to escape our tag, we headed to the Imperial Enclosure. This was built in 1804 and was used by the emperor. It had a few buildings in various states of disrepair, lakes, tennis court and gardens. Leaving the palace we again found cyclo riders and since we hadn’t been on one organized one for a bit over $2, probably still a high price! We rode around parts of the citadel, which is quite large. These days it’s mostly ruins, suburbs, lakes, a canal and farming. The little guy rode so slow, it was agonizing, I felt like having a go at pedaling. Eventually we crossed the bridge back into town. Close to the hotel we got him to stop and jumped out, as we expected, he insisted on a higher price than we had agreed, but once again we paid our price and left him to find another customer. We chilled out for a while in a café and had some lunch before wandering around a few art galleries. We had seen a painting of some fish last night which Christine liked. After a bit of negotiating we got a good price and bought it, just something else to carry! Then it was back to the hotel for a bit more relax time and to cool off before being picked up, on time again, for our night bus to Hanoi. This was our longest bus yet, we were picked up at 5pm and didn’t arrive until 9am. We had seats in the middle of the bus this time so the ride was a bit smoother and with a sleeping pill we slept well. The only pain was some of the other passengers who were so rude to almost deliberately bump you as they passed in the aisle and the host who had limited English and woke us at 5am.The Vietnam Open Bus Ticket.As mentioned we purchased an open bus ticket which took us from Saigon (HCMC) all the way to Hanoi. There are a number of companies all offering similar so it’s a bit hard to choose. We went with Phuong Nam Express company, as we saw in Saigon they had some nice yellow buses, but I wouldn’t recommend the company. The problem was that we never ended up on one of these nice yellow buses. Firstly, they put us on a public bus to Dalat and then from Dalat we had the oldest bus we had ever seen, after they picked us up an hour late because they forgot about us. In Nha Trang we also learnt that this company doesn’t run the whole route, instead they subcontract to other bus companies. So in short, avoid the middle man and try to find a company that has buses running all the way up the coast.
All in all its been a good experience as it has meant we have seen so much countryside, that if you took flights you would simply miss out on. Many villages, farms, rice fields, coastline and mountains. That said you need patience and time and if your short on either perhaps stick to the Saigon – Nha Trang – Hoi An – Hanoi flying visit. At the same time our trip has still felt a bit rushed and we had to skip large chunks of the coast to fit everything in, but once again, sadly, you can never see everything you would like to!
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