From Hanoi, Rich and I were heading south through Vietnam. The small city of Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site, was our next destination and our chosen method of transport was the sleeper train!
We stocked up on food and water for our sixteen hour train ride and boarded in Hanoi at around seven o’clock in the evening. We had pre booked tickets to ensure we had two lower bunk beds in a four berth cabin and prayed that it wouldn’t be the worst night of our travels.
Our cabin buddies were already lay down on their top bunks when we arrived and as it was pitch black outside, with not a lot to look at out of the window, we plugged our headphones in and watched a couple of movies on the laptop.
We didn’t hear a peep out of our cabin buddies, they were tucked up asleep before nine o’clock. With the rocking motion of the train sending us to sleep during our second movie, we eventually put our heads to our pillows, closed our eyes and fell asleep.
“Views of the beach and ocean were my favourite, I do love being by the coast!”
Sleeping on the train was quite an experience. Both of us definitely slept but we didn’t sleep well. The horn of the train wasn’t silenced at night, nor were the whistles of guards or the loud voices of staff walking up and down the carriages selling snacks from five in the morning.
We were heading to Da Nang station, almost five hundred miles from Hanoi and with stops in between. At every stop we were woken from our sleep like states as the brakes screeched bringing the train to an abrupt halt. Noise from those getting off and getting on the train meant that the stationary time wasn’t quiet either.
Our cabin buddies left the train at half past seven and with no one else taking their places, we enjoyed the morning ride to Da Nang in relative peace. With the light of the day upon us we could see the views outside the window too.
We passed green fields, railway crossings with scooters lined up waiting to pass, houses built right on the edge of the railway lines, rivers, beaches and buildings. Views of the beach and ocean were my favourite, I do love being by the coast!
We weren’t due into Da Nang until one in the afternoon and so had plenty of time to catch up on some reading (me) and UFC on the laptop (Rich). Once we arrived in Da Nang we got a taxi to Hoi An, eighteen miles away. As soon as we got to our hotel, we lay down on the bed and slept in peace, quiet and comfort!
Hoi An is a beautiful place, especially at night when the sky is black and the streets are lit up with colourful lanterns. Along the river we saw large dragon and turtle lanterns lit up and two adorably happy kids selling paper lanterns that could be floated along the river.
Restaurants, houses, streets and bridges were adorned with lanterns and the bright lights of the lanterns looked much nicer than the neon lights we had seen elsewhere around the streets in South East Asia. Hoi An had charm and beauty in abundance.
Every day, until half past nine at night, Hoi An Ancient Town bans the use of motor vehicles and so the best way to get around and sight see is on a bike. Given that it only cost one US dollar to hire a bike for the day, Rich and I signed up for our own cycling tour of Hoi An and it’s surroundings.
Our first stop was the local market. Bustling with people we actually had to get off our bikes to work our way through the crowds but it did give us a chance to see all the fresh produce on offer. There was a lot of it!
We cycled over a bridge across the Thu Bon River to Cam Nam island, a residential area where we could see a less touristy side to life. We cycled along deserted roads, dusty streets and small paths between colourful houses painted in beautiful pastel shades. As we passed people stood on their porches they would give us a wave and a smile to which we happily returned the same.
Rich was impressed with the effort that one family had gone to to build a gym in the garden. It may have looked like a gym from The Flintstones but with a weight bar and bench on display Rich was tempted to jump the fence and have a go!
Leaving the serenity of Cam Nam island behind us we headed back over the bridge and cycled across to Cua Dai beach. We were expecting a stunning beach lined with palm trees and golden sands. There were palm trees and golden sand, but not much of it before the beach turned into sand bags. After a little bit of research we found out that the sea is eroding the land here and washing the beaches away!
We then cycled back to Hoi An Ancient Town, a great trading port between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries which saw Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Indians settle there. Cycling around the Ancient Town we saw many of the well preserved Chinese and Japanese buildings and a Japanese bridge built in the fifteen nineties.
The small streets were lined with tailors ready to make custom fit clothes, leather shops selling bags, purses, wallets and shoes, art galleries displaying canvases painted by local artists and of course souvenir shops selling anything and everything Vietnamese.
We spent four glorious days in Hoi An and never got bored. Strolling around the myriad of streets, watching colourful lanterns zig zag above us, popping in and out of art gallery after art gallery, Hoi An was enchanting.
The fact that the wifi was also really quick in our hotel meant that we were able to get lots of planning done for the next leg of our trip down to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. Never underestimate the power of a good wifi connection!
Hoi An was definitely a highlight for us in Vietnam, a charming place which, thanks to UNESCO, will remain as charming in years to come as well.
Lambs on the loose 