Hoi An Vietnam – The First Few Days
The Young Veitenimese lad dropped me on the streets of Hoi An after dark, and the journey in a new city started.
I have been in communication on WhatsApp with my host, Travis. After waving by to my driver, Travis and I met and headed a short distance up to the road to a pub called “Havana.” Here surrounded by photos of Cuban woman smoking cigars as we drank a “Bia Siagon,” Travs filled me in on the details of what they are looking to achieve.
My Assignment in Hoi An
I connected with Travis through the web page Work Away. He is the point person on a web page called “HiddenHoian.com.” This web page is all about informing tourists and primarily western speaking people about the many wonders that hoi An offers.
Hoi An is a city that is developing very rapidly. Land that ten years ago went for $5 – $20 a square foot, now goes for $100,000 if not a million in some parts of the Old Town. People that were once very poor are now quite well todo. All around Hoi An you can see the growth of new buildings and casinos are springing up along the road into the city.
I am very excited about the optuntuitines this city will provide as I dive into the people, the culture, and this work away assignment.
Exploring Hoi An and settling into life.
For a living location, I was put in a totally new home. The whole pace has marble floors, new appliances, and three floors. This, in itself, was an experience.
Heading out onto the street for the first time the next day filled me with a sense of adventure and excitement. I had to have walked around 20 miles. Exploring the various parts of the Old town before sunrise, up to an epic 1-hour walk to the beach to swim in the waves.
Hoi An has a lot of surprises, and I tried my best just to enjoy the moment, but I found myself, taking photos every few feet with each unique corner I turned.
Old Town Hoi An
Old Town Hoi An is remarkable. It was started around the 12th century, and since then the many peoples, nations, cultures, and traditions shaped the face of this city.
In the center of the Old Town is Ancient Town. This part of the city has the oldest buildings and the ancient Japanese Covered Bridge.
Sparrow Tips: You may get charged to walk over the Covered Bridge if you show up in a group. They tend not to charge single people, but if you are in a large group, you may have to pay a small price.
The Long walk to Cua Dai Beach
Travis told me about a beach that was at the end of town. After a long day of walking around, the idea of swimming took hold of me. Willing my legs to keep going, I set off to walk to Cua Dai Beach.
This was a 55-minute walk, but arriving and jumping into the very warm waters, I felt stress get washed away in the surf. In the coming days, I would be taking a motorbike every morning to this beach to do some swimming at 4:30, or 5 am with the locals.
Meeting Dustin Beaver and a night of fun.
Heading back is when I had a very unique experience. A young lad on a bike pointed and smiled at my mustache. We talked, and he offered me a ride back to the city. What a blessing; my legs were not too happy with the day’s epic walk.
Dustin and I got to talking and became friends. He is a great singing artist that is chasing his dream to be a singer. Here is a link to his crazy Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/mr.dustinwinn/).
That evening we set out into old town for dinner at a fantastic restaurant and drank the night away at Three Tigers bar, watching westerns and one Australian guy, act like fools.
The Following Day, 4 am motorbike ride to the beach
As I said, I fell in love with the beach. I set a goal to get to it every day and do some swimming. Travis gave me a key to an old motorbike and a crash course on how to drive the beast.
Not being one who drives these things every day, I thought it would be best to get my teeth cut in the AM when the streets were less packed than in the midday. Whit a dark sky still overhead, I turned the key, and with a surprisingly zippy jump, set off to the beach once again.
Scooters are fun as hell I tell you. They are zippy, have a nice seat, and get to where you need to be. At first, it was a bit… omg.. but then you settle in fast and there you are.
The morning at Cua Dai Beach
The morning time at Cua Dia was everything I wanted and more. The sky was in the blue light, the time of the day just before the sun comes up. Many locals were on the beach stretching, a group of ladies was blasting pumping techno music and doing acrobatics, old men were splashing in the waves, and the air was alive.
I did some stretching as well and jumped in. Waves were washing over, the sun coming up inspired me on a fundamental level.
Hoi An Vietnam – The First Few Days : Let’s see where the next few days go!
If you want to see more photos of this trip :
Hoi An First Few Days Photos : HERE
