Hoi An - Nha Trang

After a short bus journey we arrived in Hoi An, and at first we wondered why we had come there : there were a few ancient houses in the centre, but the souvenir shops and the many noisy motorbikes didn't do them justice... and then Hoi An grew on us. We discovered its hidden treasures : a japanese covered bridge, some restored houses, a temple where an old man showed us some hidden carvings, some culinary delights including white rose (seafood dumplings) and Cao Lau (a flat noodle soup with croutons made exclusively with the water from the local well), and some very lovely people who chatted with us about anything, from the exchange rate to the quick urbanisation of their town, and made us feel right at home. We also met a young woman who sewed some new clothes for us in no time, with great talent and a smile. And we ended up quite fond of Hoi An's tiny streets (where traffic is limited several days of the week) with their yellow and blue houses, its peaceful village atmosphere and its many colourful taylor and silk lantern shops.
There were some tropical downpours the day we left, but nothing compared to the floods they had in the autumn. However you can't tell, everything has been rebuilt and people don't even mention it. I met a french girl in hue who said they had been flooded 6 times this year but anyway there wasn't much to do about it, just wait for the water to go down!
We arrived in Nha Trang after a journey on a night bus which dropped us off early morning in this seaside town, with its palm tree-lined beach and communist flag-lined boulevard. In two days here we had a few interesting experiences. Yesterday we went to visit a buddhist pagoda and we were welcomed by a an elderly man who whispered that he was one of the monks there, and invited us to follow him in silence. He kissed Pete's bald head and said "same like buddhist monk!", and then procceded to showing us all the good spots and taking pictures of us in front of every statue. Her gave us an incense stick each and showed us to a hidden "sleeping buddha" statue (19 metres long) where he asked us to do a little prayer for buddha, then after we gave him some money for the monks' food (they depend on donations) he said "cam on -thank you- to you" and disappeared with a smile. I think that the fact that Pete has the shiny head of a Lama was a bit of a bonus for us! Then we climbed up to the giant sitting buddha who watches over Nha trang with a serene smile, before walking to some hindu ruins through rush hour. On a bridge over the estuary a group of young men called us over. We were a bit weary, thinking they probably wanted to sell us something, but took a quick glance at what they wanted to show us. It was the day's catch, that is to say a big pile of good sized sharks and stingrays! No thanks, not tonight...
Today instead of doing what the tourists do (go on a booze cruise around some nearby islands) we did what the locals do and went to soak ourselves in mineral mud and hot pools surrounded by lush vegetation, and i have to say it was very pleasant! We lost all the benefit of it instantly by biking back to the hotel through nerve wrecking rush hour traffic and dark fumes, but it felt good for a while.
Tomorrow we are off to Dalat, in the mountains, which is meant to be a rather kitsch kind of place... more will be revealed next time!