Lantern City

We left Dalat on an early morning bus to Nah Trang. Many people recommended that we stay in Nah Trang as it boasts beautiful beaches and a relaxed atmosphere but we ended up spending just a day there. We arrived in the early afternoon, relaxed by the beach, ate dinner and prepared for our first night bus. The bus sleeps about 30 people on two levels and comes complete with pillows, blankets and reading lights. It is not my preferred style of sleeping but I did sleep. There is an odd dorm-style atmosphere to the bus as you literally share your bed with 29 strangers.

To see photos of Nah Trang, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/abbey.greenberg/NT##

The bus arrived in Hoi An around 6:30 am and dropped us at a local guesthouse. We checked the map, noted the pool and free internet, dropped our bags and went back to sleep. Most travelers say Hoi An has been their favorite place in Vietnam and it is not hard to see why—a plethora of affordable food (Western and Vietnamese), a quaint old city full of pagodas, Japanese bridges, and streets lit with colored lanterns to the eye’s limit.

Five days after arriving, I can say that we have seen the sights, relaxed and eaten well. We eat breakfast at the same place each day—a fruit shake, a glass of tea, a baguette, jam, fruit salad, omelets, yogurt, and muesli--$3. We are regulars. For dinner, we usually head to the river for Vietnamese cuisine.


Mr. Kim is a well known local chef who prepares a five course set menu—seafood, meat or vegetarian. We arrived and Mr. Kim himself was standing at the door to the eatery, beer in hand, ready to seat us himself. The place is modest but the food does not disappoint. I ate the vegetarian menu and Oded had the seafood—everything was delicious. Spring rolls, curried soup, noodles, rice cakes and local fresh beer to wash it down. Sitting next to us were two Americans and a French girl. She was promptly joined by an Israeli and it was revealed that one of the Americans was Jewish. With Yom Kippur approaching, they began discussing the holy day. The American asked aloud what the chances were of finding another Jew in Vietnam to wish Hag Sameach. It was at that point that I joined the conversation—Oded says this is evidence of his Israeli influence that I join conversations that are not my own.

Otherwise, we have visited five small mountains made of marble with impressive caves, carvings and statues. We also spent time on China Beach and a few other local beaches. Afternoons are spent in the pool and evenings are spent playing pool. We leave for Hanoi in the morning and plan to spend our last ten days in Vietnam exploring the north—Hanoi, Halong Bay and Sapa. From Hanoi we will fly back to Vietnam and head to the islands in Thailand for ten days before heading back to Bangkok to fly to Sydney.

To see photos of Hoi An, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/abbey.greenberg/HoiAn##