Yesterday, Seeing as I’d been here before, I decided not to go to the citadel, and instead headed off on a bike to do a 10km or so trip around a few different pagodas etc.

It bucketed rain all the way, so by 4pm I came back to the hotel to veg (and install skype and chat to friends!)

Took in Bao Quoc pagoda (a Buddhist college kinda), Tu Dam Pagoda, where I chatted to a monk/professor for half an our over some odd tasting tea.., and then on to Tu Hieu Pagoda (pic on right with my lovely bike). where I was having a serene and peaceful walk through the quiet bonsai garden, when a medium sized dog appeared snarling behind me (with fiery red eyes and saliva dripping from a wide mouth). I returned quickly to my bike, every time I stopped looking at him he started running at me! I think it was just the slippy tiles that saved my leg from being chewed off. Well, maybe not, I’m sure he was well trained, but I wasn’t waiting about!

Then onto the altar of Nam Giao, a nice park – the three levels representing humanity, earth and sky. Lovely place to take a stroll my guide said. By this time I was thoroughly drenched (even with poncho) so wasn’t feeling like strolling!, then cycled back – and here looking towards the citadel (look at Mhairis blog for pics on that..) and at the largest flagpole in Vietnam (47m high)

today we were supposed to go check out the tombs of the emperors.. but it’s blowing a gale and lashing rain so I don’t think that’s going to happen unfortunately..

However, at last mum and dad have got skype working in Uganda.. so free calls to Africa (had a nice chat this morning)….

Well, good luck to my brother Matt who’s running in the Dublin Marathon tomorrow, not bad for one so ancient ;)

And also thanks to him – for booking

The Harcourt Hotel (Library Room) for Thursday Jan 5th at 8pm

for a wee party.. hope a few ppl can make it.. but I’ll be sending out emails anyway!

He’s raising money for mum and dads charity to fund students in their college in Uganda. At least I think that’s what it is.

Before taking the afternoon bus to Hue we hired a moto and quickly headed out to the Marble Mountains. They’re mountains, made from marble.. about 20km out of Hoi An. Full of caves and pagodas, twas a nice trip.

There were a series of these sayings… but I think they might need to be translated again..

Then it was a nice shortish 3 hour bus ride to Hue. We’ve taken to picking a hostel before we get off the bus, it tends to get rid of all the hawks if you say you already have a place. By chance a guy from the hotel we’d chosen Binh Duong was there.. so we had to go and check out the hostel.

He took us into a nice room, large enough, table to write at, PC (with broadband access), en suite etc… and we were both thinking way out of our price range. $12 a night. We took it. And good job too, it’s been raining in Hue ever since!

Spent a few really enjoyable days in Hoi An. I’d been here 3 years ago and had met a lovely Vietnamese girl – Chi – in the Traditional Arts Museum. She’d given me a tour around the museum and we’d swapped e-mail addresses. Swapping e-mail addresses with me is usually a fairly fatal mistake as I’m a chronic keep-in-toucher :)

Anyway, Chi and I had mailed a few times over the last few years, so when I knew I was coming through, I mailed and asked if there was any chance of meeting up.

She told me she worked in a bank, gave me the address, and left it so that I’d come say hello when I got into town. The address of her bank was 32 Cua Dai. Our hotel (Green Fields – quite nice) was about 450 Cua Dai, so I decided to walk out to number 32.

4km and after a few rain showers later I arrived at the far end of Cua Dai, out by the beach. I found 34, I found 30, but 32 had literally disappeared.

Helpful (and probably quite amused) moto drivers explained that it was back in Hoi An town – 4km away. I told them I knew that Hoi An was 4km away as I’d just walked it!. Anyway, did get a lift back to town (had stuff to do, not just feeling lazy).. and got dropped at the bank, about 100m from my hotel.

32 Cua Dai was between 444 and 440 or something like that. The bank had moved, but had kept the old address…

Anyway! met up with Chi, and arranged to meet later to go out for dinner to a place called Cafe Des Amis, that I remember from when I was last in Hoi An. It had the best food I’d had all trip!

Next met up with Mhairi and had some clothes made up (fairly obligatory in Hoi An!).. and then a really lovely dinner (followed by cocktails).

The next day we had alterations made to the clothes, and had a tour of the old quarter of Hoi An. It’s a lovely place really, a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese cultures and is on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Tan Ky house (the next two pics just of the mother of pearl ornamentation) is definitely worth a visit. It’s just over 2 centuries old, and has remained in the family ever since. It was a merchants house, boats would pull up at the back of the house, goods would be bought, and brought through to the front of the house to be sold on. And profits were made!

We checked out the Traditional Arts building, where, besides seeing old weaving techniques (And the last time I was there pottery also – the guy was kicking the wheel with his foot), there was a trad music performance (and dance) session, and I’ve put a 6meg video up too.

There were many other places to visit, temples, assembly halls, there’s just so much to see, I’ll have to head back again. In one they had these prayer tablets which had an incense coil around which burned for 4 months.

That evening we met up with Chi again, and had excellent local street food. After they took us to this local game? kinda thing. Only played in Hoi An (as far as I know). Basically it’s like Bingo – you buy (for 3000 Dong) a card which has 3 symbols on it. Match all three symbols (and the game is played until someone wins) and you win 30,000 Dong. There’s a man and a woman who sort of sing while the game is being played (in Vietnamese) and sing different traditional stories / proverbs etc… e.g. saying how if you’re poor but have love, then you’re richer than the rich couple who aren’t happy… that sort of thing.

Anyway, each time you match a symbol you’re given a yellow flag – I was brought up to help give out the flags! The lady in blue in the middle has 55 red sticks – each with a symbol on it – and she pulls them out at random. The other pic is of Chi, Quoc and I.

The last day was a really scenic drive down from the highlands to the coast at Hoi An.

The road was good quality, and for most of the way was running beside a large brown river. There has been a huge amount of deforestation so when the rains come they wash so much soil out.

Every 2km or so we’d pass another slip on the road.

The arrival into Hoi An was really quite exciting as they’d had a flood that day. We had to put the bikes onto boats and get rowed across to dry land – all the while with trucks going past.

I put up a short video here. Kinda funny I thought :)

Said our goodbyes to Loc and Man, and settled down to a nice cocktail (free) by the pool in our hotel. Quite deserved!