CA PHE AT HAPRO>>>BUN CHA
BUN CHA>>>BIA HANOI
DANANG DEPARTURE>>>MS. KARI'S DRIVER
After another wonderful breakfast at the Army Hotel mingling with expats, we head over to Exotissimo Travel Agency to confirm and pay for our flight to Danang later today. We also book this weekend's adventure to Sapa in Northern Vietnam. We'll take a night train on Friday night and stay two nights at Topas Eco-Lodge. Should be fun!
With travel plans completed, we sample our first Bun Cha at a streetside spot recommended by our travel agent. Bun Cha consists of a plate of rice noodles, a bowl of broth with grilled pork patties and sliced pork, and spring rolls. You add the noodles to your broth and then doctor it up with the ever-present bowl of fresh greens, cilantro, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts and slurp away. This place is run by several women who all seem to have a specific role. One fries spring rolls, one dishes up noodles, one does dishes on the sidewalk, and one delivers our food and takes our money.
Fueled by bun cha we taxi to Hanoi's Nobai Airport to catch our 3pm Vietnam Airlines flight to Danang.
Landing in Danang we see bunkers built by the U.S. military. Danang's airport was a major supply center during the war. The bunkers now house all sorts of Vietnamese military trucks, airplanes and equipmnt. Weird. Danang is a small airport with no jetway. So, you get to walk across the tarmac. We always love that.
We exit the airport into a sea of waiting taxi drivers. One is holding a sign that reads "Ms. Kari". That's our guy. His name is Hai.
We drive south along China Beach about 45 minutes before reaching Hoi An and the An Huy Hotel where we'll spend the next few days. Our deluxe room has been given away and we're given a main floor room off the lobby and the promise of an upgrade tomorrow when something else is available. The room is damp from moisture and smells faintly of mildew. It's not perfect but we'll be fine. We decide to take a walk.
At first glance, we're not sure exactly why we're in Hoi An. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and definitely on tourist map. In fact, it's crawling with tourists -- and tourist traps. Tailors of all kinds, touristy restaurants and touts everywhere trying to sell you something. But it IS old, older than anything we've seen, with a sprawling riverside market. We try to reserve our judgement.
We choose Cafe 96 from our guide book for dinner. Something easy. It doesn't do too much to lift our spirits as we're surrounded by loud, backbacking, Lonely Planet disciples from around the globe. We drink wine and eat descent food.
We fall asleep on damp sheets and tell ourselves that everything will look better in the morning. There must be charm here somewhere.
