12 Sep - Tam Ky to Hoi An

A couple of quiet days at the moment.  We’re now in Hoi An, Where we are staying for 3 nights, which will be nice.  The resort we are staying in is fantastic, and has a big pool, which we’ve already had a couple of sessions in.

In case you're losing track of where we're going and where we've been, hopefully the following map will give you some pointers.  We started in Ho Chi Minh and flew to Da Lat, from where we have done cycle trips each day and are now in Hoi An.  Our next biking destination is Hue, from where we again get on a plane and fly to Ha Noi.  When we did our last trip, we went from Ha Noi to Hue via what was then called the Re-unification Express, which is the train that runs the length of the country. 

The trip in those days was done overnight, and although I can't remember the exact details, I do recall that we got on the train at about 4pm in the afternoon, and got off it the next day at about midday.  This is no way to spend the best part of a day in your life, as we didn't see much due to it being mostly at night, there was no food, and what we bought on, the ants got at, so we couldn't eat.  Couple that with a particularly poor nights' sleep, and it is fair to say that we are much more looking forward to flying between the two places.

In the defence of the Re-unification Express, the day trip that we did on the train, because we did travel most of the country on the train, was a really pleasant experience, and part of the reason that I was keen to come back and see some of the country by bike.

Yesterday's bike ride was a fairly short affair, only 50ks, and some of those were on a tourist boat, so not really a bike ride, but Garmin can't tell whether I'm cycling or sitting on a small ferry having a beer.  As there were 18 of us, we had two boats, and we had a very pleasant trip into Hoi An.

A new option for a bike ride

The Lady Bus (the one taking the non-cyclists) had headed straight to Hoi An, and had got in some serious shopping while we were doing our bike ride.  Hoi An is the tailoring capital of Vietnam, and we had been well warned to be ready to get fitted out for clothes when we were here.

Anne is having some tops made (we've got them now, and they're very nice) and some of the men had forsaken the days ride to go on the Lady Bus to get measured up for their new garments. This caused our in-house HR person to suggest that the title Lady Bus was perhaps misleading, and even disparaging to the men who were on the Lady Bus for the day.  A motion was put to the Political Incorrectness Committee, that a new name should be found for the Lady Bus, but as the Committee is made up entirely of members who had ridden that day, the proposal was rejected without further consultation.

I had a look at the shops, but as the temperature is in the 40's, the humidity is high, and the shops aren't air conditioned, I didn't feel that there was incentive enough for me to get more shirts, of which I already have plenty.  

We are staying at a lovely resort, and have a free day today, although there was an optional bike ride for the hard men in the group.  I have taken a day off the bike, which is nice, after riding for 7 days straight, and have had a pleasant day going in to Hoi An with Anne to collect her clothes, spending some time by the pool, and catching up on the blog.