Go: Charming Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is simply charming.  Yes, it's full of tourists.  Like us.  It's also full of restaurants, bars and shops all catering to tourists.  But it still manages to ooze charm and history, as the Lonely Planet puts it.  We happily amused ourselves wandering around for a day, stopping regularly for snacks, of course!

But I think I liked Hoi An even better at night.  The river lined with lanterns was just magical.

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Go: Relaxing at the Sunrise Resort, Hoi An

From Hue we headed on to Hoi An by train.  We had decided the train was a nice compromise between the bus that apparently goes through the mountain (and misses most of the view) and a car which would take the best part of the day and cost significantly more.  Plus we had yet to experience the government rail service, so this was the perfect opportunity.

So we set off mid morning from the rather beautiful Hue train station.

We had soft seat tickets which the staff at Jade had organised for us the day before.  We paid slightly more than the face value (US$5 per person) but we thought it was worth it for the convenience.  The train was pretty full but comfortable enough.  The train goes through some of the mountains but for the second half of the journey it hugs the coast.  The views are pretty spectacular but, sadly, we were on the wrong side of the carriage.

From Danang we got a taxi to our accommodation (please note you will get a better deal by negotiating a fare up front rather than using a meter on this trip).  For our last stop we had decided to splurge and stay at the Sunrise Resort Hoi An.  I have to admit I was a little nervous as there were mixed reviews for this new hotel (as there are for virtually all hotels in Vietnam!).

When we checked in they upgraded us to a suite, so we were off to a good start.  The Suite was amazing.  On the third floor it had huge glass doors that looked directly out over the ocean. A massive bed, from where I could see the sea.  A sitting room.  Two huge TVs.  The biggest bathtub I have ever set eyes on.  And a guest bathroom.  Am I gushing?  Sorry, but it was nice!

But the room wasn't the best part.  The best part was the infinity pool overlooking the beach.  Honestly, I could have spent the whole time by this pool and been perfectly happy. There is another much larger pool at the resort as well.

As you can see from the picture above.  The beach isn't the greatest, what with being held up by sandbags and all.  But I was perfectly content staring out at it from the infinity pool.  The fact that the weather was perfect (as you can see) helped too.

We didn't eat at the resort, although they were setting up what looked like an amazing seafood barbeque buffet one night (it wasn't cheap).  But the breakfast was very good.  An excellent range of food which changed daily meaning we never got board and complimentary cappacinos which kept the coffee addict happy.

The hotel is quite a distance out of town, but they have a free shuttle service or you can hire bikes and ride in (we took the lazy option!)  If you want to chill out I'd staying near the beach, but if you like being in the heart of a place look for somewhere in town.

As I said, I could have happily spent the whole time at the hotel.  But we didn't. More about that to come!

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Go: Citadel at Hue

From Hanoi, we headed to Hue.  We chose to fly to save time.  We took the Vietnam Airlines bus to the airport.  It was cheap and a disaster.  Not so much so that we missed our flight.  But almost.  If we ever do it again, we'll take a taxi.

On the other hand, the bus from Hue airport to the city was a dream.  You buy your tickets at the arrivals hall and the bus is waiting outside.  It then drops you at the door to your hotel.  Perfect.

We stayed at the Jade Hotel, a small guest house.  The staff at Jade were amazing. Extremely helpful and everytime we arrived back at the hotel from anywhere they gave us a cool lemon juice - very welcome in the heat.  The hotel is simple and the rooms are compact but comfortable.

There was one reason we had come to Hue.  The Hue Citadel.  And we had one afternoon to see it.  The Citadel is currently being restored, with work expected to be completed around 2015.  As a result, the Citadel is currently a collection of contrasts between some beautifully restored buildings and atmospheric ruins.

I loved just wondering around the monuments and could have amused myself here for hours.  I even stumbled upon an elephant!  No one had told me there were elephants.

We enjoyed the walk along and over the river back to our hotel.  I especially enjoyed observing the little stalls on long the riverside selling all manner of things... including birds.

But, the thing that excited me most in Hue was the sight of a woman selling strawberries.  I haven't eaten fresh strawberries since we left Australia. Naturally, I had to have some.  Unfortunately they turned out to be quite tasteless. Oh well.

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Go: An afternoon in Hanoi

After spending the morning in Hanoi wandering, people watching, and drinking coffee, I decided I should do something at least a little cultural in the afternoon.  So I headed for one of the historic houses.  I chose Ngoi Nha Disan on Ma May Street.

For a small entry fee you can wander this vestige of old Hanoi.  To be fair, the house comes across more like a souvenir shop than a museum.  However, it is beautiful and there are some interesting displays of traditional handicrafts, along with some explanations (in English) of both the traditional houses and the handicrafts.  I would recommend a visit.

The famous water puppets!

In the evening, we  headed off to see those little water puppets in action. 

If you want to see a water puppet show, buy your tickets early, as the popular timeslots sell out.  We got our hotel to organise the tickets and paid the face value of VND100,000 (or US$5).  There are cheaper tickets available if you don't mind sitting further back.  To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the show but I did enjoy seeing traditional musical instruments played.

What I liked best though, was wandering through the city and around the lake, soaking up our last evening in Hanoi.

For anyone that's interested, we stayed at the auspiciously named Pearl Suites Grand Hotel in Hanoi.  We booked through Agoda which offered a much better rate than that offered directly by the hotel. Contrary to what the name might suggest, the hotel is very compact, but the rooms are spacious.  The location is good, down a little street off the busy Ma May Street and walking to distance to everywhere we wanted to go.  The staff were beyond helpful and the transfer from the airport to the hotel was smooth and efficient.  When we left, the staff readily provided accurate information on all our transport options (not just the ones provided by the hotel), including the bus.

The breakfast was great.  A small but ample buffet and a wide range of hot food made to order, including the best french toast I've had in Asia.

Our "view"

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