Steven Raucher's World Tour
2001-07-12 in Hoi An, Vietnam
Evolving into a Package Tourist on the Nha Trang & Dalat Tourist trail
Hoi An is a World Heritage Site and has preserved its old city remarkably well. It is a town set on a river established by Japanese immigrants about 7 hundred years ago.
All the architecture was French influenced with the exception of the aptly named Japanese bridge.
To tell the truth, I have nothing against Package Tourism, it is just the trail of destruction that it leaves in its wake that concerns me. Small towns become overrun by curio shops and email cafes all because they could once boast how unspoilt and pretty they were. Hoi An�s old city isn�t quite there yet, but you should see the beach. I have never seen so many beach shacks on one beach before. Not too mention it is impossible to walk down the beach without being told �come have a drink� / �want some food� / �you buy from me � I saw you first, ok?�. I left the beach after 5 minutes. This beach continues up the coast to Danang, China Beach. The place where America landed a load of troops in trying to defend capitalism, well good news boys: it is alive and well in Hoi An.
I had planned to spend two nights in Hoi An but after the beach incident vowed to leave the next day. Next stop Nha Trang. 540 kms South with great beaches, we were ready. We arrived in the evening and I immediately booked us on to a tourist boat day cruise (read booze cruise) I needed a full day of recuperation from the state of the roads and its users. This turned out to be excellent fun. For USD 7 you get a full day in the sun, mulberry wine and food included. Quite a party actually, if you can handle the wine, revolting stuff. We stayed in town for three days and only tried site seeing once and failed miserably. At least we tried. The nightlife is quite good here and it makes it more tolerable once you reach your fourth drink. We met some really wonderful people, who would�ve thought Danes could be so much fun! (Hi Lotte, Gitte, Peter, Mikel, Jens and Peter, let�s not forget the Irish Brian and Magella who are always up for a craic!)
In planning our itinerary there was the possibility of sticking to the coast or going inland to the mountains of Dalat (elev. 1500m). Dalat is supposed to be the honeymoon capital of Vietnam, given its alpine climate and hill station status. So we braced ourselves for revolving beds and pink fireplaces, you can imagine our disappointment when we didn�t even get a complimentary bouquet form the Guest House, but what can you expect for 7 dollars?
One night was enough and the next day we planned to be in Saigon. Never tempt fate.
 The very quaint riverside of Hoi An's old city |
 A local granny puffs away on her cigar in the shadows |
 Nha Trangs fishing port - the best Calamari in town! |
 a View of the China Beach Coast for all the sentimental types out there |
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