Our bus for Hoi An was due to leave the next morning at 8:00am. We woke at 7:55am (only thanks to a well timed text message ;) - thanks Lucie) and just about managed to pack everything in time to jump on the bus before the hand brake was removed.
The draw of Hoi An, was a couple of recommended beaches nearby, and the prospect of buying tailor-made suits at bargain basement prices. This proved to be an understatement. It seemed the only type of business in town was suit / dress makers and the costs were so low it was hard to stop a domino effect of buying more once the taste took control. The choices were immense - catalogues and modern magazines to select your style, and then a massive selection of fabrics and colours on offer. Knowing that there are people with far better ideas on this stuff than me, I thought it best to use the design skills of Gucci and Mr. Paul Smith. Now, what would go with a couple of new suits? Surely it would be rude not to buy a few new shirts as well - 2 cotton, 1 linen, 1 silk. I know, I know, it's far too much spending when travelling. I mean 80 quid is an extortionate amount for all of those items.
It would be worth having a holiday in Vietnam every few years, just to get a dozen new suits and shirts made. You could realistically have a 2 week vacation, see the length of the country, get 10 suits, 10 shirts made, and have a week on the beach for about 800 pounds. Cash back! Alternatively, the lady in this store said she would keep my measurements and airmail new suits direct to England whenever I want. So, anytime I felt like a new suit, I could have one delivered from Vietnam for around 50 quid! This may explain why Jonathan Ross seemingly wastes so much money on his suits and vomit provoking styles. Alternatively, he may just be a bit of a tit with his sense of humour clearly worn on his sleeve. Tailor your own conclusions.
Thankfully, mother nature had the decency to ease off the rain in the afternoon and allow us the opportunity to see parts of the town further a field than those which were protected by shop roofs. Hoi An has a real charm to it; there is a clear difference from the hectic ness further north and a warmer attitude to it's people. It had a village feel to it that was reminiscent of Laos and managed to boast two of the best 'local' specialities I have tried - the 'Cau Lau' & 'White Rose' are well worth checking out.
Another night bus later and we arrived at Nha Trang, still under the relentless fury of the rain. There isn't much to do a beach resort when it's pissing it down so we took it easy the first day, played some pool, had a few drinks and booked an island hopping trip for the next day (there's that optimism again). The first stop was to 'Hon Mun' or more dramatically labeled 'Ebony Island' due to the colour of it's dominant geology. The draw of this island was the opportunity to snorkel around the coral reef which encircles it's coast line. Although visibility was down to a dismal 1.5m, the rain provided motivation to stay underwater and see the potential of the area. A shame that the potential was the only thing you could see clearly. It was still a great taster of what reef diving is like and has heightened my desire to find clear water and complete a Scuba diving course.
While on route to the next island, a massive buffet lunch consisting of king prawns, fried beef, squid, spring rolls, rice, noodle and mixed veg. was laid out for us. Our characteristic hosts then provided a few bottles of red wine (probably the worst that's ever passed my lips, but also the strongest - 16%), brought out some musical instruments, and played their intepretations of some classics. The instruments looked like they're been salvaged from a ship wreck and the guitarist was introduced as Vietnam's favourite lady boy. This poor gender confused guitar wielder was also either severely paranoid or one buffet short of a side dish, as he wore a motorbike helmet the entire day.
The tambourine man also appeared to be a bit 'special', and defiantly denounced his lady boy label, by proudly declaring he was just a 'homosensual'. The combination of the band of misfits and cheap strong wine made for a hysterical performance, climaxing with the tambourine man dancing with an Australian lady and not knowing who should be leading.
Our next stop was Hon Tre island where we had an hour to go 'swimming on the beach' (still not sure how this is achieved), play some volleyball, or finish off the cheap wine from the comfort of a shaded deck chair. I probably would have been up for the volleyball but as the heavens were not closing anytime soon, the shaded deck chair was an easy choice.
Two bottles of wine and an hour later, we left Hon Tre and moved onto the final island for the day. The boat moored at the floating harbour and people could pay to have a ride in the local's circular boats. As thrilling as this seemed, I managed to resist temptation and stayed on the main boat.
Rain forced an early finish to the day and consequently provided a few hours to sleep off the wine before heading out to the main club in Nha Trang, 'The Sailing Club'. Contrary to the 'homosenseul' undertones of a club named as such, it was a surprisingly good club the best drinking den in town. You'd think that hardly any westerners were in the town by the numbers
in some bars but this place draws everyone out of the sand. That may be because it's one of the only serving bars between 12 & 4am but there was no better place to be during these hours.
When that bar closes, and it seems like the only option is to hit the sack, another bar gets it's 2nd wind, and everyone continues drinking until breakfast. I called it a night when a pool cue became a walking stick, and decided to face the gaunlet of nighthawks on the way home. Luke had been persistently pursued by a scooter riding chick-boy the previous night so I left the bar ready for battle. I was approached only once and a swift F'-off was all it took to dissuade further advances.
A cloudy head and a late start dominated the following day with solace being sought in buying CDs and improving the MP3 player - my ipod falls ever closer to the tree.
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