Friday, three days after my arrival to Hoi An, Huy and I relocated from our budget hotel to a much more luxurious one, though still reasonably priced considering all the amenities. Since we had to check out at noon from one hotel and move to another, I was afraid we would have to wait for our room, but the folks at Sunrise Resorts accommodated us and we were able to check in at 12:30. We spent the afternoon swimming and awaiting the arrival of Tim, Agnes, and Susan - my friends from Seoul.
They weren't scheduled to land until late in the evening, so Huy and I didn't actually meet up with them until the next day. In the morning, we had to run into town to sign the contract for our new apartment. This task quickly accomplished, we went back to the hotel to relax. The plan for everyone was to just lounge poolside so my friends could recover from their late night arrival.
That evening, our good friend Mao, the tailor I met back in December, came to the hotel with his friend Ang, and we walked to a nearby seafood restaurant. I love traveling with folks who are not picky eaters. We just allowed Mao, Ang, and Huy to order the entire meal. Soon, fish, clams, snails, and octopus arrived to the table, along with the delicious and ever-present morning glories - or water spinach. It was a great way to indoctrinate our visitors to Vietnamese cuisine. Everything was cooked fresh with just the right amount of spice and heat. We also had the opportunity to teach them how to toast in Vietnamese - it's basically one, two, three, YO! In Vietnamese it's Mot (moat), hai (high), ba, yo! The locals at the restaurant seemed to get a kick out of us toasting, so every time that we toasted, they toasted back. Soon the whole restaurant was having a competition of whom could toast the loudest.
The next morning Mao had arranged a driver to take us to see Hue. Hue is the ancient capital of Vietnam and is located about two and a half hours away from Hoi An. I had actually never been to Hue, but heard it was worth visiting. On the way there, we stopped at a marble shop near Marble Mountain in Danang. The only reason we stopped was so Mao could pretend to be our tour guide and receive a stipend for bringing tourists into the shop! Still, it was interesting to see the amazing marble work and to watch them carve the marble by hand. I saw a beautiful fountain that I hope to buy one day for my bed and breakfast.
The drive to Hue took use through beautiful mountains. It was a bit overcast that day, so the clouds hung low, giving the mountains a lush and mysterious appearance. The road through the mountains was just recently completed, so it was a smooth, albeit long drive in a van that wasn't meant to hold seven people very comfortably. We also drove through a tunnel that seemed endless and was very poorly ventilated. I was amazed to find myself feeling very claustrophobic.
Our first stop was the Citadel, or the ancient palace of Hue. Actually, it's not that ancient - having been built in the late 1800's, but it was still beautiful to walk around and see the footprints of old royalty. After that, we went to the giant pagoda and strolled the grounds. By the time we were finished with those two sites, we were famished. Mao took us to the local market and we ate in true Vietnamese-style - squatting on little red stools while the vendor dished out her food. Not entirely sure what we ate, but it was delicious. And everything tastes better with cold Tiger beer. After lunch, we went to have some Vietnamese coffee before the long drive back. Susan had yet to try this incredible mix of strong coffee and sweetened condensed milk, and for about a dollar you could enjoy as many as you like without going broke!! The drive back took us along the coastline of Danang just as the sun broke through, causing the sea to shimmer its beautiful beach-glass green color.
The next day was Huy's birthday. As luck would have it, it was also the day that Hoi An was scheduled to receive a tropical storm. None of us knew about the tropical storm until that morning. Fortunately, it wasn't a large one - it didn't even have a real name, but for my first time it would prove to be rather intense. The storm wasn't scheduled to hit land until the evening, so we did manage to get some outside time.
In the morning we went to Mao's shop so everyone could be fitted for some clothes. Tim brought a shirt with him that he purchased in Thailand and had it replicated, and Agnes and Susan both had dresses tailored-made for them. Once everyone was measured, we walked around Hoi An a bit. The rain was intermittent at that point - so we had brief moments to run between stores. For lunch, I took everyone to the infamous bahn mi restaurant that Anthony Bourdain put on the map when he featured it on his show No Reservations. The bahn mi (basically a sandwich on a small baguette) truly are magical, and everyone who bit into his and her sandwich agreed! I discovered the restaurant had upstairs seating, so we grabbed a table by the window as torrential rain poured down. During lunch Huy had to supervise the installation of the air conditioner in our new place, and I ended up joining him. Everyone else did a little more shopping then headed back to the hotel since the rain was only getting worse.
That evening, Mao had reserved a restaurant for us in Hoi An to celebrate Huy's birthday. By this point, the rain was coming down in sheets. It probably was a little crazy to go out into a typhoon, but we didn't know any better. The taxi drove through massive puddles in which the water reach up past the wheel wells. Amazingly enough, people were still riding their motor bikes. We made it to the restaurant and managed to get inside without getting soaked. Of course the meal was amazing, but what was more amazing was watching the wind and water outside. At one point, a chair in the restaurant slid from the entrance halfway into the restaurant as if some ghost propelled it along. We all turned to watch it move before bursting out in laughter. At the end of the meal, Mao surprised everyone which a birthday cake he had made for Huy.
Safely back in the hotel, I spent a rather sleepless night as the worst of the storm struck the hotel, rattling the windows and howling through the partially-enclosed hallways. I had images of a tidal wave hitting the hotel, but nothing worse happened than sand in the pool. When we awoke, the sun was shining and it was business as usual. Since our first trip into Hoi An was a wash out, we went back to do some heavy shopping and to eat more bahn mi! In the afternoon, we rested around the pool.
Wednesday Huy and I booked a driver to take us into Danang to see Marble Mountain. I had been to Marble Mountain before, so I served as tour guide (something tells me I'll be serving as tour guide to Marble Mountain quite often in the future). Marble Mountain is actually a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located just south of Danang. Each hill is named after the five elements - metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. The largest one (Thuy - or water) you're able to climb to the top - which we did. All of them have caves to explore and there are several Buddhist sanctuaries there as well. We opted to take the elevator up and then walk down. It was a beautiful and cooler day - though cooler just means high 80s instead of the 90s. We still all managed to work up quite a sweat. The walk up to the peak takes you through carved out caves, beautiful Buddha sculptures, and tranquil residences where the monks live. Since all of us were fit and adventurous, we made the climb without any problems, though we must've sweated off our body weight by the time we reach the bottom!. It felt amazing to get back into the air-conditioned van to go see the next big landmark in Danang - the giant Lady Buddha.
This is the tallest Buddha in all of Vietnam and it's located on the hillside overlooking Danang. It was a crystal blue sky when we arrived so the view from the monument was breathtaking. It's certainly worth the drive up there to see it, even though the Buddha was only constructed a few years ago. The breeze felt amazing on our skins after the hot hike up to Marble Mountain. After our visit, we drove into Danang and went to a rather lame shopping mall. As it turns out, this wasn't the nice mall in Danang. Still it gave us the opportunity to go through a grocery store, something all of us love to do in foreign countries. We had the worst meal of our trip at the mall, proving once and for all that mall food is terrible around the world. We drove home afterwards and rested a bit before heading back into Hoi An
That evening I showed our guests the true magic of Hoi An. It was Mid-Autumn Festival - a full moon - so the city was celebrating with lanterns, dragons, and fireworks. We walked to the Japanese bridge, the famous bridge in Hoi An that is lit with green lights, giving it a ghostly appearance. We then walked over to the night market, which is famous for its coloured lanterns. The lanterns are gorgeous. Huy and his amazing bargaining skills was able to get the costs down to around $4 dollars. Needless to say, many lanterns were purchased. We ate dinner near the night market and then strolled along the street trying to avoid all the vendors selling exactly the same crap. We ended the night eating some gelato!
Thursday was our last full day at the hotel, so we spent much of the day just lazing around. I honestly don't remember what we did on that day.
On Friday, we checked out of the hotel and since Tim, Agnes, and Susan weren't scheduled to leave until 1:30 AM, they spent the afternoon at our new apartment. That eveningI took everyone over to Cam Nam Island to eat at our new friend's restaurant. Also, I wanted everyone to see the Sleepy Gecko, the property I've been looking to purchase. It was an easy walk from the apartment to Cam Nam Island, and we arrived to the restaurant just as the sun was beginning to set. The restaurant is located on the river's edge and offers an amazing view of the Old Market. It was a beautiful way to end the visit. At 10 PM the van arrived to take everyone to the airport. Huy and I said our goodbyes. It was so great to visit with dear friends and I was happy to show them our new home. Let's hope more will come to visit!