We were treated to sort of dry weather on Monday though the ever-present cloud cover and threat of precipitation was everywhere. Monday was a big day for us ... we started with an early rise (again). I am blessed with the ability to sleep just about anywhere/anytime, whereas the Sweet Thing is known to be sleep-challenged especially when away from home.
Breakfast was its boring self. There is so much to eat and yet so little to eat. I headed off to the tour desk after the repast and browsed the excursion book. I settled on a 4-hour jaunt to My Son, some 75km or so from the hotel. We met the driver and guide in the lobby at 9:30 and off we went. It turned out to be a 1 hour drive there and back even though it appeared to be a lot closer on Google maps (a bit fyrther than an inch to be exact :)). We winded our way down some pretty nice highway and drove through clusters of small towns all the way. The omnipresent motorcycles were everywhere as usual. By the time we got to the My Son ruins, it was spitting and the mercury had climbed into the late 20's and it was humid.
We parked just inside the main gate, after crossing an interesting concrete bridge. There are 6 or 7 clusters of ruins at My Son and they date back to as early as the 9th century. The Cham civilization was responsible for erecting the edifices that mainly lie in ruins. The basic structures are discernible even though they have been ripped apart by time and never-ending bombing during the Vietnam war. Efforts spearheaded by the USA to restore the structures are proceeding at a feverish pace. Parts of the ruins are roped off as work is carried out.
Our guide pointed out interesting historical facts about the site and we were intrigued by the difference between the >1000 year old brick walls as compared to those restored over the last 30 or so years. The older bricks had no mortar separating them from their neighbors, even though the cracks between them were microscopic. Vi, the guide (pronounced "Vee"), mentioned the modern day technology has as yet been unable to reproduce bricks with the same ability to repel water and deter growing of fungus and moss. There were dark fungal growths all over the restored bricks, standing out in sharp contrast to their elders which were still the same light red hue as they may have been centuries ago. There were pillars lying all over the place, dislodged from original resting places by the bombing the structures tolerated for years in wartime.
We had been "warned" that the site would be flooded with tourists such as ourselves. Either the weather or the large size of the site made it seem occupied but not teeming with people. Each of the sites, lettered from A through F, is somewhat isolated from one another such that a crowds of people in one would not be viewable from another. We spent about 90 minutes enjoying the scenery at My Son and, as the weather deteriorated, we headed back to the vehicle. Most of the walkways were cobblestone, but some had reverted to loose surface mud and were a tad slippery. I lost my footing sort of once or twice, and ST mentioned to the guide that "he falls easily" and we all got a chuckle from that cute comment. Speaking of cute, you should see my Sweet Thing :).
Vi mentioned that he was the director of recreation programs at the Palm Garden resort, and received from unsolicited feedback/suggestions from my hotel maven wife about advertising programs in the hotel. Vi was a sponge for ST's feedback, which centred on the way the activities are publicized and what mechanisms can be used to bring the events to the attention of the clientele. I noticed a flavor in ST's suggestions that the hotel "owed it to their guests" to ensure they know details of what is being offered especially when the weather is so bad. He mentioned tai chi classes which was news to the ST.
The drive back seemed a little shorter than the one there ... something we all seem to notice wherever we go. I am sure it is all in our heads, unless someone runs through the stretch of road from X to Y just after we pass through it and rebuilds the road to be 4km shorter before our return some 2 hours later. What do you think ... is that possible?
We asked Vi to stop at a shoe place that he mentioned to us. We did just that as soon as we hit Hoi An and ST looked but did not leap. We were dropped off at the bus turnaround near the centre of Hoi An, and were on our own again. ST tried a bank machine close to the dropoff point that was out of service. Our next ATM refused to part with any cash. We sauntered down the side street, visiting two establishments that had goods waiting for the ST. At the second store, the dress that was made for her needed some last minute adjustments so we returned after lunch. We then cabbed it back to the hotel for 70,000 VND.
We relaxed in the room until about 5, then ventured off for a drink before heading out for our evening entertainment ... a 2-hour dinner cruise from Cinnamon Cruises. I suggested our grabbing a cab into Hoi An then quaffing a few there rather than at the hotel. We gave the driver the address we were going to (32 Le Loi) and he mentioned that it was in a no-vehicle section of the town. No problem, we asked to be dropped close by and we would find our way.
When he pulled to the curb, obviously as close to the destination as was possible, I looked up at a sign on a store and it said "19 Le Loi". I thought this was a no-vehicle area of Hoi An? I think the drivers do not like going that deep into Hoi An as return fares are not easy to find. It reminds me of our trip to the Vatican when in Rome in 2007. As we approached the bridges leading to the Vatican, the driver told us he was not allowed in and would have to let us out this side of the water. Once inside the City, there were cabs all over the place. What the driver obviously meant was that he did not like going into the City as the traffic was too heavy and return fares few and far between.
That diversion reminds me of a line about the cabbie in Manhattan who picked up a fare and was told "Picadilly Circus London". The passenger told the driver to leave the meter running on the boat on the way over. He dropped the fare as requested and, while making his way back to the boat, was flagged by a pedestrian. The cabbie asked "Where to", was told "193rd Street and 9th Avenue" and replied "Sorry, I don't go to the Bronx" :).
We headed into a bar for happy hour and each downed 2 gin and tonics with a bill of under $4. We met the tour guy next door at 32 Le Loi and were escorted down to the boat. At high tide, the river washes onto the street by the shore and we made out way to the boat using a bit of a roundabout route to avoid getting our feet wet. We had the boat to ourselves and headed out for the 2-hour cruise/repast. We settled on a mid-range dinner option as the bateau moved sver so slowly through the harbor. The shoreline was dotted with restaurants, hotels, bars, and private dwellings and it was very pretty in the night time. It threatened to rain and spit lightly almost the complete time we were gone. About 90 minutes out, we turned around and got back to the dock much faster than our trip out. When we got back the waters had receded a bit and there was quite a throng of locals there probably waiting for transportation across the water. We speculated they were there to enjoy our disembarkation and fall into the water from the Cinammon Cruises ship. We negotiated the footing back to dry land and headed back to the hotel.
As Mr. McGarrity used to say ... "Maggie Muggins, you have had quite a day!".
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