October 6 - Vietnam: Hoi An
Victims Again
We realized this morning that we were missing some money out of our money belts. It wasn't an earth-shattering amount of money, and we were trying to figure out if we had misplaced the cash (which - knowing us - was highly unlikely). But on further reflection, we realized that we knew what had happened, who had taken it, and that it was really our own fault.
We never EVER let the money belts leave our persons. Either they're on us, or they're hidden and locked in the backpack with a karabiner. But while we were traveling in China, many of our fellow travelers elected to leave theirs in the safe-deposit boxes at the front desk. We never did this but the idea started to grow on us. When we arrived in Hanoi, a sign in the Intrepid Office suggested that all travelers do this because there are quite a few drive-by-backpack-thefts. So we gave our money belts to the front desk, which they put into a cardboard folder, taped up, and Jon signed his name over the tape. And we felt much better walking around without all of our valuables.
The last night we were in Hanoi, we had gone to the ATM to withdraw a lot of Vietnamese Dong to pay the hotel bill and our airplane tickets. So we went to the Victory Hotel and counted out 7 million Dong (about $480), of which 5 million was going to go to the hotel. The nice man at the front desk double-counted it, and - for every million - folded a 50,000 Dong note around it to keep the piles separate (this is important to later on). So we had seven one-million-Dong piles, each with a note folded over it. But we realized that the exchange rate would be better if we charged the expense, so that's what we did. We put 3 million of the Dong (3 piles of one million each) into my money belt, and the rest into Jon's.
Then - and this was our mistake - we put the money belts back into the folder, taped it, signed it, and gave it to the front desk. Now this "tape-and-sign" thing is hardly high security, and we didn't even glance at it the next morning when we went to collect the folder and leave to go to the airport. So it could easily have been opened and taped shut again. As long as it was taped, we assumed that we'd done the taping. And this is exactly what happened.
When we went into my money belt this morning, we found that one of the 3 piles of million dong had dwindled down to one 50,000 note with another 50,000 note folded over it. The man at the desk knew we had a lot of cash in there and he new we were leaving right away the next morning. He went into my money belt and left enough to make it look like three piles were still there. So - if by chance I HAD looked at it on the way out of the hotel - it would have passed inspection. But it didn't matter because I didn't look and we were in Huê before we knew what had happened.
All in all, one million Dong is about $70.00. Not a crushing amount but it is one day's budget for us. As Jon rightly put it: "It's a small price to pay for a stupid lesson". We will never be without those money belts ever again.
Now on to the rest of the day, which was actually quite enjoyable!
Trip to Hoi An
Today we left Huê and caught a bus to go to Hoi An. We'd arranged for the 8:00 bus through Mr. Tahn, and were told that it would pick us up at our hotel at 8:00. But last night a woman called our hotel's front desk and said we should be ready at 7:30 AM. So we woke up at 6:00, packed, had breakfast, and were ready to go when someone knocked on our door and said our ride was here.
You Want Us To Do What?!?!?
We went down expecting a bus, but instead found two small 20-something girls on motorbikes who looked at us with our huge backpacks and burst out laughing. You have to picture this to get the full effect: we have these monstrously large backpacks with 20 kilos of weight (about 40 pounds), plus our two day packs on our fronts which are filled with Jon's camera, snacks, water bottles, glasses, and other "must haves". So we thought it was pretty funny too - the fact that these two slight girls were going to cart us and our heavy bags around in one lift. But there really was no other way. Our hotel's street was much too narrow for the big coach bus, so we had to go to the bus stop by motorbike. What the heck?
So Jon got on a bike with one girl, and I got on the bike with the other and we all laughed at our antics. Then the girls put on the gas and Jon and I held on for dear life. The weight of my backpack almost toppled me off the bike once or twice, but after a few minutes I found a center of gravity that worked. It really didn't matter because the bus stop was only 10 blocks away. But turning corners was a riot and my new friend and I both laughed, "WOOOOAAAAA!" each time we went around a corner. We must have been quite a sight, and the trip was actually a lot of fun because our drivers were very cheerful and in good spirits for 7:30 in the morning. A few minutes later, we arrived at the bus stop/cafe, where we took off our bags and sat in the cafe waiting for the bus to arrive.
The Bus Trip
The bus was a large A/C coach bus filled with westerners around our age. (i.e. budget travelers!). Most of the seats were taken, but Jon and I got a seat in the front on the wheel well which is a drag for our long legs but oh well. This bus wasn't the 4- hour 'Express Bus' but rather the 6-hour 'Sightseeing Bus' which made a few stops along the way.
First, we stopped at a beautiful beach for 1/2 hour, where Jon and I both had a Sprite and some bread, and then went for a quick walk on the beach before piling back into the bus to leave.
After the beach, our bus climbed and climbed and climbed up some mountains with some stunning views of the ocean and cliffs. After a while, we stopped on an overpass with a beautiful view of the ocean and a valley below. This was the Hai Van Pass (Sea Cloud Pass) in the Tuong Son Mountain Range just north of Danang. There were some old bunker ruins, both from an old French Fort and later used by the South Vietnamese and the Americans. We stayed there about 10 minutes - just long enough to snap some pictures and leave.
Our third stop was at the Marble Mountains at China Beach. China Beach is the place where the American GIs would go for R&R. By this time it was 1:00 and we'd been on the road for 5 hours. Jon and I were starving so we stopped into one of the local restaurants for lunch instead of going to the beach. (Which, we later found out from our fellow travelers, was "just like any other beach".) The food at this little place was good, and we were happier being fed rather than sightseeing.
Vinh Hung Hotel
45 minutes later, we arrived in Hoi An at a hotel outside of town. There, a few minibuses were waiting to take us into city center, but not before taking us to some of their "choice" hotels to try to get us to stay there. (hello - commission!!!) But the 6 of us in the minivan stood strong and kept telling the driver that we didn't want to get out and see his hotels, but to take us to city center. Finally, he dropped us off at the Vinh Hung Hotel II, which is one of places Jon and I had wanted to stay, and it has a pool! Unfortunately, they had no rooms but the Vinh Hung Hotel I had one double room left. So the Vinh Hung II put us onto a motorbike with a people-carrier on back and we went the short distance to the Vinh Hung I. The only room they had was on the first floor in an internal room, but Jon and I were so tired of looking that we took it.
Hoi An and Mrs Thuy
Hoi An is a very small town 4 km away from the beach. Most of the city center (which is only about 5 streets) is closed off from traffic other than motorbikes and bicycles. Our hotel is right in the city center, but Jon and I wanted to find a nicer room. So we went to find #60 Le Loi, which is where Grant told us to look up Mrs. Thuy to help us with "anything we needed".
Mrs Thuy's shop is a tailor shop with a small street-front store. When we asked for Mrs Thuy, they led us into the back into a HUGE courtyard with many other parts of the shop, gorgeous wooden furniture, Internet facilities, and a little cafe. Clearly, Mrs Thuy is the Donald Trump of Hoi An. She has 100 tailors and many gorgeous girls manning the shops.
She is also the sweetest woman on the face of the earth. When she heard that Grant sent us, she insisted on sitting down, feeding us fruit, and hearing all about us. Long story short: she gave us some tips on what to do in Hoi An, told us what we should do about getting into the Vinh Hung II (which she couldn't believe was full) and how to bargain for the price, and then gave us a motorbike to tool around in. When we asked her how much the motorbike would cost, she said "Why you ask me how much it cost? You friend of Grant. Motorbike is my gift to you!" So tomorrow, Jon and I will be coming back to do some shopping at Mrs. Thuy's!
We zipped around on the motorbike trying to get into Vinh Hung Hotel II, which is truly full tonight but they'll take us tomorrow night; and trying to make amends with Vinh Hung Hotel I, which was not happy about us moving rooms. But all's well that ends well, and Jon and I put on our bathing suits, hopped on the motorbike and headed to the beach.
The Beach
Jon caught on to the motorbike pretty quickly and provided the girls at Mrs. Thuy's endless amusement when he was trying to learn the gears. He's adopted the "Hey-Get-Out-Of-My-Way" horn very well!
The 4km drive to the beach was lovely and very peaceful, and we arrived at the beach at around 4:30 - just when it was clearing out. I sat and enjoyed sunset the while Jon went for a run up the coast. After an hour and a half, we hopped back onto the motorbike and road back into town where we showered for dinner.
Jon Goes for a Run Along the Beach in Hoi An (special appearance by Jon: run #7)
This time it's been over a week since the last time I went for a run. I've got to work on this! Before driving out to the beach I changed into some running clothes and once Heidi had staked out her spot in the sun, I headed north for a little run. I had completely forgotten how hard it is to run on the beach, even right along the water's edge where the sand is the hardest packed. So I trudged on, determined to figure out some way to run a second time this week!
Ly Cafe 22
Mrs Thuy recommended Ly Cafe 22 which is owned by a friend of hers, so we went there for dinner. Jon had the Cao Lau, which is doughy flat noodles mixed with croutons, bean sprouts, greens, and pork slices. This is a local specialty, and Hoi An is the only place that true Cao Lau can be made because - apparently - the water must come from the Ba Le Well which is only here and dates from the Cham times (2nd to 10th centuries). I had the fried wantons (Ms. Ly's forte) and a pineapple shake. After dinner, we went to Treat's for a drink but we both felt like sleeping instead so we went back to our dark little room and crashed.