29/03/2024 - (A not so) Quick trip to Hoi An.

I was told that I was to be picked up from the hotel that I was staying at 10am, but at 9:41 the phone rang loudly and the voice on the other end informed me that the bus was waiting for me outside. Luckily I was mostly prepared, I just took an extra bit of time to collect a second injection pen with needle as backup, just in case something was to happen to the primary one that I was using. Thankfully it’s not an overly common occurrence for something to go wrong, but sometimes a pen may break or a needle bend and weaken, so having another in reserve and in easy reach is sometimes bast practice. This is especially true when going further away from where the rest of the supply is being housed.

Outside the hotel I was ushered into the front passenger seat of an awaiting car where my knees were soon to be pressed firmly against the dashboard, allowing for space in front of the seat directly behind. I wondered if perhaps there had been a slight mistranslation with regards to what I had been told about the vehicle type, as the driver drove around Da Nang collecting a few more people at different hotels locations. I began to hope that maybe the journey might just be a short (albeit slightly cramped) trip to Hoi An for those of us now confined within the car itself.

Those hopes were soon, much like my knees. Dashed.

At the far end of Da Nang the driver pulled into the last of his hotels and signalled towards the full size coach that now sat in front of us with luggage doors wide open. With a bit of a confusing scrum happening outside, I sought reassurance that this bus was going to Hoi An, and not Ha Noi which I think I kind of received. I wasn’t overly happy though. The bus itself was a sleeper, meaning that rather than simple seats being in place, there were instead a bunch of beds at both floor and upper levels on each side and down the middle, all seperate bays. Once inside with shoes removed and bagged, it was a case of locating a bay that I would feel comfortable getting into, most of which had probably been slept in and vacated from just before. I found one that I thought was acceptable enough and hauled myself up and into it whilst still contemplating the notion of getting back off and writing the trip off as a bad endeavour. I could try try again at some point over the next few days maybe. This wouldn’t be the only time that my mind filled itself with similar thoughts. 

At just after 10:15 am the bus pulled away and for what I expected to be a 30 or 45 minute trip along the coast, hoping that I could still make it Hoi An at a reasonable time for breakfast. But it wasn’t long before I felt those hopes slipping slowly away. We had been on the road for just under twenty minutes until we stopped and pulled over, not far from the Marble Mountains but still a way away from where I had envisaged I would be by now. With doors now open again, discussions then started to take place outside between the driver and a some of the passengers, and then the luggage compartment was opened and the passengers took out their bags and placed them onto the pavement beside them. It seemed for a short while as though they were just going to be abandoned there, far from any notable hotels or obvious destination, but following more discussions everyone was soon back on board and we set off again. Only this time we were headed back towards Da Nang.  

My best guess is that the driver had missed a drop off point a few miles before, and at this stop I again contemplated just getting off and walking back to my hotel as it would still only take about half of the time that I had spent on the journey so far.  I decided however to stick with it though as it was time I wasn't going to get back. Twenty minutes after the first turn around, we again started to make headway with new scenery passing by, finally arriving at 11:34 am. 

I put my shoes on outside the coach whilst minding the school of taxi drivers that were beginning to circle around their newly delivered chum. Everytine I have visited Hoi An it has felt like the drop off point has gotten further and further away from where you want to get to, and I have started to wonder whether if being dropped so far out from the centre of things is part of a grander scheme to help drive the local transport economy. As usual I decided to make my way to where I was going by foot, although it was nearly a mile before I came across a landmark that I recognised with the temperature starting to rise considerably. The local museum which also had a bunch of taxis around it was somewhere I had spent time at some years before. 

The central Hoi An area itself (ancient town) is still distinctly Hoi An. Some shops and restaurants may have moved or been created in places that they weren't before, but those newly created businesses were utilising buildings that had long been in place rather than new constructs. The whole waterfront area felt like it had received a new lick of paint however and the riverside area now sported many more tour boats than I remember there being, but memory alone can be a flawed measure. There had definitely been changes though and everything felt a little more organise, tidy and accessible, at least as far as the water edge went. The main riverside drags seemed to be both wider and less cluttered for both pedestrians and vehicles alike. Whilst tourism had undoubtably grown over the decade since I had first visited, everything seemed a little less chaotic at the same time. I was only here for a few hours though, so this was only a snapshot and perhaps isn't a as true a reflection as the times I have spent longer there,

The one big surprise I had when revisiting was to see the Japanese Bridge fully covered over as I stood on the other side of the river looking at it. I had never really managed to get a decent picture of this most famous of landmarks before, and it seemed that today was going to be no exception. Passing it by in close proximity however I was truly shocked to see that most of the bridge itself was no longer there at all, having been dismantled in the name of preservation and restoration. Whilst the work was initially projected to be finished by the end of 2023 (taking no longer that 360 days), it seems that this target was not achievable. It’s obviously when being there just how much work has had to have been undertaken and I feel somewhat fortunate to be able to witness and observe these efforts first hand. I can only imagine that the quality of repair and workmanship was always going to be of paramount importance for such an iconic structure and and integral part of Hoi An's identity.
https://vietnamnet.vn/en/hoi-an-restores-heritage-for-longer-life-2109731.html

Another thing that Hoi An has a reputation for is the food, and whilst I had managed to miss the opportunity for breakfast, that wasn’t going to stop me finding something else on which to feast upon. My initial plan was to visit “Cargo”, a place that I had eaten at many years before on more than one occasion and a place at which I had fond memories, but upon arrival there it had changed a little more than I had anticipated. Again, if my memory had served me correctly, it was previously somewhere that was split into 2 linked parts, a restaurant on the right and a more relaxed cafe just to the left (and where I was hoping to sit). Whilst the restaurant side was still present and correct, the cafe had been fully replaced by their bakery, which although I am sure is an awesome place to get food from, it wasn't the kind of experience that I had been after. 

A couple of streets away I found one of the Hoi An Roastery cafes, a small local chain where I would have drunk coffee previously, This time however it was the food menu that caught my eye and I was soon sat inside in the cool waiting on my food and drink to be presented. I had chosen both Cau Lau (noodles) and White Roses (parcels) as well as a matcha, the foods being known as local specialties. I may have over ordered somewhat, but the food itself was even better than I had hoped. The cuisine in Vietnam is very often amazingly good. That found in Hoi An has all too often been this and a little bit more.

The only disappointment of the visit for me was that the hotel that I had stayed at on previous occasions hadn't been available to book whilst I was planning on going, and if it had maybe I would have tried to stay in the town for a few more days, rather than few hours I had decided on. Unfortunately (I was to learn before I went) this hotel (and its sister hotel in Da Nang) had not reopened fully since covid had forced closure a few years prior. Both were amazing hotels with amazing staff and I would have loved to have had the opportunity to visit them again and to say hello to those that had looked after me so well at those times, and had added so much to my previous travel experiences, but it was not to be. I hope that all that were involved in both the Nhi Nhi and Orange hotels are doing well. Maybe I will be able to drop in cakes again in the future. Unlikely maybe, but you never truly know.

I decided to get a taxi back to Da Nang, but in order to do this I needed to head back away from the hub Hoi An and back towards the museum. The centre of the ancient town does not allow motor vehicles at certain times of day, so to make my life easier and and seeing as the museum was where I had noted taxis picking up earlier that day, I decided that was the location to get to and order a Grab.

The trip back was not as eventful or as frustrating as the one in the morning. The driver was young and eager to communicate with me, but again I unfortunately know little Vietnamese and he wasn’t exactly fluent in English (although was still more adept at my language than I was at his). We did manage though, partly using google translate and partly using broken english and photographs to show where I had or had not managed to get to during my past visits to the country. The conversation, although limited, was warm and friendly.

But then in Vietnam, they mostly seem to be that way for me, and  I am going to miss it for sure.               

It definitely still feels a little too much like a farewell tour.