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For details of the places I visited in Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with GPS Coordinates, see my book Vietnam Caves.

For details on motorbiking in Vietnam and Cambodia, from buying and selling a motorbike, to border crossing, see my book Motorbiking Cambodia & Vietnam.

Having decided I am going to stay an extra day in Hoi An, a sleepy little town, I sleep in a bit. Last night’s bath was so cool, I actually fell asleep in the bathtub.

Hoi An actually used to be the port to go to, until Da Nang a few miles up replaced it. Below is a small piece from the internet.

“In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, even Asia. Japanese believed the heart of all of Asia (the dragon) lay beneath the earth of Hội An.[citation needed] The city also rose to prominence as a powerful and exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, and Japan, especially for the ceramic industry. Shipwreck discoveries have shown that Vietnamese and Asian ceramics were transported from Hội An to as far as Sinai, Egypt.”

However, since Hoi An fell out of favor as a port, it soon got forgotten, and has changed little in over 200 years. Although the town is now starting to boom due to the increase in tourism wanting to see the old town, be at the beach, and just relax.

I lazily get up, and go find breakfast across the road. They have super fast internet, better than in my room (as seems to be a trend in the hotels I stay in, every floor but mine has internet). So I catch up on my blog update from the previous day.

Then I decide to go sight seeing. The lady that helped me yesterday with direction to my hotel, said that she sells suits, and I must stop by. I was like, yeh, who would buy a suit here. Then I come across a whole road full of tailors making suits.

I lazily drive arround, coming to a small port where the ferries pick passengers up, and take them across. I saw on the map that it shows them going across just to the other side. The ferries are much smaller than the ones I have been on, and is basically just a fishing boat. They want 30K one way, I try to get the guy down, but he refuses. I recon it is a fixed price, so walk over to a small roadside restaurant. There I see a lady I actually met in Saigon in the first hotel I stayed in. Funny that after two weeks, we would meet again in a different town. She has been taking the bus up from town to town. I have a quick chat, then decide I am going to go once across, then drive back, it is only $1.5.

I wait for another ferry to moor up, and get on. The captain loads my bike for me, and we wait for a few more passengers. Then we head off.

So this is how you moor a boat up.

The engine sounds like an old bus engine, that the captain controls with a piece of rope. Steering is by moving a large lever around. I took a video as we were crossing, just for the sound of the engine. Check it out here. I took another video of him docking, check it out here. I am now happily on a ferry, with no idea where I am actually going. But yes I can pay the 30K to go back if all else fails. By the way, locals only paid 1K.

Right, now offloading the bikes. Here they do not put a plank down, and you basically just drive the bike off. You got to time it right as the boats moves a bit away from the dock, so that your wheel does not slip in.

I drive the bike off, and immedialty realize, tourist trap. They have deposited my on a small island. There are a few shops in the start, but about two roads in, it is just houses and tiny roads.

I drive around, and come across this cool pagoda or house with a a pond next to it.

I am determined to find a way off the island other than the ferry, and use my map application on my iPhone. Astonishingly enought, it has the roads, which are basically now just walkways between rice fields. I plot out a course to where I see a road meets up with the main road, and go for it.

Suddenly I come to a traffic jam.

Having passed the holdup, I am in open roads again, and gun the bike, no ninja traffic cops around here. A local in the field that looks like he is asleep slowly lifts his head as a approach, gives me a quick glance, decides I am boring, then goes back to sleep.

I meet a fellow tourist who is walking around, and ask her if she is lost. She says no she is just sight seeing. (We are now past all the shops, she is lost.) I offer her a ride back to the ferry, but she declines. So I motor on. Soon I come to the bridge that I need to cross to eventually get to the main road.

Can you guys see a trend here, it seems I am crossing a lot of bridges lately, wonder if that is a reflection of my life.

The bridge is basically a narrow cement bridge, with two main supports, and a bunch of tile like blocks.

at first i thought okay, short small bridge. But when i got to where the ground is again, i realize that oops, this thing is actually long.

Many of the blocks are sunken in, missing, or broken.

The locals only ride on one of the two main beams.

I check the locals, and they only drive on the narrow main beam, about the with of a white line painted on the road. I feel like Indiana Jones as I negotiate across the bridge. It is funny to see the local’s faces when they look up from concentrating on the road as we approach each other, and seeing a white dude in front of them. It is like, o no, we are going to crash, I am going to die. But then I miss them.

Half way across, and a sudden gust of wind across the river hits me, and I almost lose it and go bike an all over the edge. Just my immense experience and Superman speed saved me. (Actually prob because I was going slow and the bike has awesome brakes.) I manage to stop and want to put my foot down, and find nothing, where did the road ago. I almost go over the other side. Now I just proved that two halfs may may a hole, but two near misses does not make a hit. 🙂

Crap, where did the road go?

Right, movie on, scare some more locals, then get to the other side.

Scaring the locals.
From there it is just again small rice field roads whither locals farming (or sleeping).

I get it the main road and head back to the hotel as yes, I am hungry. However, along the way, I actually spot a place I saw yesterday as I came into town. I am now on the same road I used yesterday. This place looked cool, but I did not want to go in yesterday as I wanted the bike fixed.

It turns out to be an awesome restaurant, culture village, and museum. They started building it in 2004, and according to their website and brochure say that the museum would be open in 2013. The actually place is different than the pictures on the brochure, and looks far more stunning. I have a awesome meal, that interestingly enough is not that expensive given the place. In truth, this whole town is far cheaper than even the mountain town I stayed in, and almost half of what I paid in Da Lat.

They have wifi, so I catch up on some more writing. While eating, a waitress comes over and asks if I know how to use chopsticks. (And I though that if I manage to clean my plate without using my hands I am super cool.) my response is to hand her a new set of chopsticks from the table. She steps back in surprise, but recovers, and then shows me how to eat noddles with chopsticks. Basically just scoop it into your mouth. I am like no thanks, I will eat it properly, piece by piece not stuffing my mouth. She is very disappointed. I let her be and continue writing.

When done, I pay the bill and ask the waiter about the museum. He says they have no museum. I respond that the sign at the entrance says there is a museum. Nope, no museum. I shake my head and walk away, then a lady that I think is a manager comes over and asks if I want to see the museum. Off course. She explains that the museum is actually closed for renovations, but because I am a special quest, she will allow me a private tour. Cool.

I always knew I was special and one of a kind ha ha ha.

The lady gets a tour guide for me, that takes me all around the museum.

My tour guide

Making noodles in the cement oven in the back.

The places is basically build from actually houses, some over 170 years old, from far out country villages. They are actually houses people lived in and donated to this museum. It is amazing to see and experience. Check out the pictures.

After my private tour, I head back to the hotel and pass the floating boat restaurant. I decide that I will return for dinner. At the hotel I mosy around, and plan my trip for tomorrow, a long ass one as the next big town i am heading for is 324 km away. I decide to head out to the restaurant early and write there.

It is way cool, and the food is good, but the most expensive I have had in this town, but still less than the other towns. I am directed to the top, where yes, you guessed it, there is no wifi. The wifi is downstairs. Man, I do not know what it is with my luck and wifi. So I write basically this whole blog post on the ship, but have to go back to the restaurant across my hotel to upload the pictures to finish it. Pity, as I would have liked to do all here. The food is okay, and I am the only customer in the whole ship, so I feel like the captain. I am special remember. Ha ha ha.

As I walk out of the ship, the two ladies at the reception are sitting with their chairs turned around, their backs against the reception desk, their feet against the wall, playing games on their cellphones. So naturally I do the right thing and sneak up behind them and go, “You guys are really busy hey?” Both fall off their chairs and as they try to get themselves up from the floor as dignified as they can, I crack myself up for them. They give in, and join the laughter.

On the way back to the hotel i spot a harvester, and a girl with a girly helmet.

And also a truck with sudden death on it.