Another one: Hoi An sublime

I know what this must look like… the second post in days about a recent holiday. I can only imagine the judgments and assumptions being formulated right now.

“Didn’t you just get back from Hong Kong a few weeks ago? What is this, 10 days in Hoi An- beach side, tourist heaven, spa and tailor filled town? Shun shun the holiday junkie”

Well, in my defense I was basically forced into taking these breaks okay. Could it be my fault that Christmas/New Year/ Visa Run and Tet are only separated by 4 weeks? No, right?

So yes, here with the post on my heavenly break away to charming Hoi An.

Like a sandwich with all the right topping but stale and tasteless bread on each side was our trip almost. Thanks to Jetstar. Both our going and returning flights were cancelled, and then the return flight we managed to get onto was delayed a spectacular 10 hours, resulting in a get into bed at 2am and work next day disaster.

People of the world listen up avoid Jetstar. They are bad and wrong and just (sigh) bad.

Hoi An seems to sell itself as a sleepy small port/town with interesting architecture and different specialized crafts, which it true enough ,but spending more than a week in such small town offers the visitor more than expected. We were simply taken by the true luxury of doing nothing without being bored.
The market is amusing, the restaurants are affordable, the shops though somewhat generic can be interesting… then there are the beaches, beautiful glorious beaches.

It really is one of the most touristy spots in Vietnam for good reason.

Other minor factors that contributed to a relaxing Tet was the fine weather from day 3, affordable Hoi An Day Spa, and cheesecake… daily amounts of perfect chocolate cheesecake. I know not exactly raving about the Cao Lau like any respectable traveler would. Not that it’s bad by any means.

Most Hanoi blogs updated during the month of January was filled with a good amount of complaining and sulking about the ridiculous cold weather we had been experiencing. It was freezing most days, horrible really. I work in a public primary school now and there were a few times that school was just out right cancelled for the day. Point I’m getting at is the dream green coat.
Dream? Green?
Yes.
A few years now, and people who know me can confirm, I have desired whole-heartedly to have a grass green fitted coat. So things seemed to fall in to place in Hoi An. Seeing as it was so insanely cold back in Hanoi, and I had a few days in affordable-to-tailor-make-just-about-anything town and I found a tailor with the exact right fabric and pattern. What’s a dreamer to do right?

All this made me in a scary way excited to get back to Hanoi so that I have reason to wear my new coat all the time (I suspect and hope that winter will only last a few more weeks). So, you can imagine my surprise to get back to Hanoi and step of the plane into a warm-1am-in-the-morning-Hanoi. My smug glances towards other passengers at the Hoi An airport with shorts and T-shirts had all been for nothing. O well, I didn’t have to wait long before yet another cold spell gripped the city, but at least now I feel pretty while I sulk.

I expected to have a bit better understanding with regards to Tet in Vietnam, seeing as last year I fled to Thailand, but apart from the small town constantly filled with the smell of incense I’m ashamed to say I didn’t really inquire deeper into the matter… must be all that cheesecake that clouded my sense of importance.

Well if there is to be another post about a break away it will have to wait a while, seems like it’s time to get back to work, so they say. They… what ever, right.

I’ll end this one off with this:
Go to Hoi An, it’s worth it
Avoid Jetstar, the cheaper tickets… so not worth it
And lastly thank goodness for a divine chocolate cheesecake free Hanoi.