Fighting Over the Tourists at the Bus Station

Sunday, Sept. 5, 29006--Hue

After being at the cyber cafe, I stopped at the local market and had 4 freshly-made spring rolls with peanut sauce for lunch. They were so tasty and good. But it doesn't do any good to go to a place such as a stall in the market to eat in terms of trying to save money. They charge the tourists as if they were at a restaurant. I can see that it is going to cost me 20,000-30,000 dong for a meal whether I eat on a sidewalk, in the market, or in a restaurant. In fact, the people with small stalls are more likely to try to overcharge the tourists than the restaurants which tend to have printed menus.

I spent all afternoon in the hotel. It is just too hot to be out during those hours. I was totally exhausted again and fell asleep for about 1 1/2 hours. Then I watched a movie and read until dinner time.

For dinner, I went to a restaurant at the end of my street that has been filled with local people every day. I had a fantastic soup. It was a brownish broth with pork slices, 3 "ravioli" filled with pork, and noodles. A plate of leaves came with it. I tore off some leaves to put in it. And I put two spoonsfull of their red chili paste to heat it up a little. By the time I finished, my eyes were watering. But it was good watering!

Monday, Sept. 4, 2006-Hue

I rented a bicycle today, since I wanted to go to the royal tombs south of the city. It's about 13 km (8 miles) out there and back. I left at 7:30 to try to get out while it was cool. I was a little worried about joining in the rush hour traffic, but that is a Vietnamese experience everyone who comes here should have. I was hesitant at first, but I quickly learned how to just pause slightly and weave through the cross traffic at the intersections. It can get exciting at times, though. There were a few hills, but it was mostly flat terrain. When it got too steep, I just paused and walked the bike to the top of the hill before getting onto it again. The scarriest aspect was the huge road construction trucks that kept passing me on one section of roadway. They are as wide as the road is!

The first tomb I visited was the one of Tu Duc. Actually, his site was his summer palace grounds. He lived there, relaxed, wrote poetry, etc. Then his tomb (as well as that of his wife and one other person) was built there when he died. The home then became a temple. It was typical of the architecture I had already seen at the Imperial City with lots of glazed surfaces.

The second tomb I saw was totally different. It was somewhat baroque in style. I think the emporer, Khai Dinh, must have been impressed by photos from Germany. His was only tomb. And it had 130 steps to climb to get to it. It was impressive, however. I'm sure readers can find photos online by using Google to search for them.

I decided two tombs was enough. The day was getting hot, and I was worried about sunburning. I had worn a hat, but my arms and my legs just above the knee were getting direct sunlight on the bicycle. It was 11 when I got back to the hotel. I drank lots of water and rested under both the ceiling fan and the air conditioner.

I walked to the end of the street and bought a steamed bun for a light lunch. It had a patty inside made from ground pork, green onions, and other ingredients. I probably should have bought two they were so good, but I am trying to lose weight while traveling, so I stayed with just the one.

For dinner, I gave Vietnamese fried rice one more try at a restaurant I knew was good from having eaten there before. After three similar experiences, I can highly suggest that fried rice is NOT a dish to have from a Vietnamese kitchen. Maybe it is the type of rice they eat here. But the dish is always dry and the rice rather crunchy. This one had lots of good meat in it. And I spiced it up with bottled hot sauce, but it was still dry and uninspiring.

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006--Hue to Hoi An

The sun comes up early in Vietnam, so I didn't have to set my alarm. The light woke me up at 5:30. I got ready, had breakfast, and began to wait for my bus. And wait, and wait, and wait. It finally came about 1 hour late. But I visited with some of the hotel staff and with two ladies from Japan during that time, so it wasn't so bad. Plus, there was nothing I was rushing to get to today.

We made a stop about halfway here for 30 minutes. Most people went into the cafe and had something to drink. A Japanese man and I walked behind to a bay and walked down the beach encountering some local fishermen. They wanted to take us out on their boat, but we explained that the bus would leave in 20 minutes. The mother and a child were picking up very small mullosks. I guess she would make a soup with them later. The men were working on their boat and just fooling around in general. One reached into the water and picked up a small fish with his bare hands to show us how easy it is to catch fish there.

When we arrived at the bus station here in Hoi An, there were many representatives of hotels there to meet it along with many motorcycle taxi drivers who were hoping to take people to hotels for payback from the hotel. Someone was supposed to meet me with my name, since my hotel had called ahead. But 3 different guys wanted to take me to the hotel I was supposed to go to, yet none of them knew my name. I refused to go. I figure all of them were ones hoping to make money by taking me there (which means my bill would have been higher per day to cover the cost of paying them). Anyway, while I was explaining I would not go with anyone who could not tell me my name, about 15 others there to meet the bus got into a fight. It was like a mini-riot. They were pushing and shoving and shouting. I assume it was because someone thought another was taking business away from them. Two of the tourist women from the bus was in that area and were cowering in the corner trying to stay out of it. I throught it was rather funny. It never seemed that serious. I didn't see anyone directly hitting another. Shoving was about as physical as it got. But it was definitely a sight to see. Welcome to Hoi An!!

As I walked away, I was followed by all three men wanting to take me to the hotel. I told them I would not stay in that hotel, since they had not sent anyone who knew my name to pick me up. I finally shook them after about 5 blocks. Then I went to a place I had marked on my guidebook as a possible place to stay. It had the usual a/c, cable tv, etc., for $10 per night and is in a decent location. So I'm happy. I haven't been out to explore the city. I will probably be here for 3-4 days, so there will be plenty of time for that.