Oh what a wonderful relief. Cool breezes –tis only about 24 degrees here, not 35- a luxurious hotel room-soo much more for the money outside the cities, for less than £20 a night here I have a balcony suite, bountiful buffet breakfast, and a TV with BBC World News, gosh, is that England I see before me, I’m completely out of touch with western issues.
Hoi An is beautiful. Compare Lewes to London. I cycled to the beach, about 5 kms, away, an unthinkable form of exercise in the city. And then I sat. For hours. Watching the crashing surf break onto the white sands. I’d headed far beyond the tourist beach at the town and ended up in a village backing onto the dunes.
Fisherman headed out over the surf on individual ‘coral’ circular boats, leaping in and using his long pole to disappear into the horizon. Apparently it has been wet here for a few days so most fishermen went out at dawn today and were already back, but with Tet coming fish are netting a heightened price, so the more the merrier.. I had genuinely not realised that these were still in daily use here and was completely spellbound by the skill involved.
Back to the hotel to wander into Hoi An’s Old quarter and night markets as dusk fell. The town is surrounded by miles of rice paddies which shimmer in the sun and mirror the moon.
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| Rice Paddies |
I stood staring over the river inlet which divides beach from town watching the lights of the historic old town flicker and burst into vibrant colour as dark descended.
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| River Inlet |
Hoi An’s ancient quarter is a maze of vendors, each road has its own theme, today I meandered along under the hundreds of Chinese lanterns which line the streets eating my supper of green bean cakes ( deep fried in front of me so I’d know it was fresh!) and drinking my carrot juice (well, that’s healthy anyway) before negotiating my way to the hotel, taking my life into my hands jumping into the road around flower displays and stalls which now block the pavements as the town prepares for Tet. Hoi An’s charms have won me over.
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| Chinese Lanterns |
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