We took the nice bus ($2.50 each) down from Hue to Hoi An (75 miles).  The Vietnamese make an ordeal out of a trip that would take a couple hours in America.  We had to stop a couple times at "designated tourist" spots to be familiarized with our purchasing possibilities of Vietnamese stuff.  It is ironic that the new shinny 150-thousand Dollar bus was the cheapest ride so far. 

On the bus I met a Vietnamese guy traveling with his wife and two children.  He works in Japan for an auto parts company and is back home for a Visit.  He gave me his Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) address and number in case we need some help.  He is an example of a type of kindness I have experienced here often in Vietnam.  He and his family are the type of people that I keep meeting that break the stereotypes we have developed in American because of movies and the war etc.  Anyway, I accepted his kindness as graciously as my blue-collar roots allow me. 

In my unscientific opinion Hoi An is a female centric city.  It is a city famous for fabric.  All the female travelers seem to believe this place is a must-see on a trip to Vietnam.  It is also a big-time stop-over for Asian and European travelers.  I realized this is a good place for Heide to get acclimated with a European resort city (she is planning a trip to Italy for next year).  I lived in Europe for three years and have no real burning desire to return.  There are more Europeans here than Vietnamese.  Hoi An is a bit like Da Lat which we visited last year.  Da Lat, however is a city in Vietnam with more European architecture than actual Europeans. Da Lat is also in the mountains and Hoi An is near the sea. 

Hoi An has very narrow streets and there are few cars.  Perhaps I will rent a scooter for the day if it quits raining for a bit.  The traffic is manageable here also, being a town of about 75,000 as opposed to Saigon's eight million - all of who have two scooters each and no traffic lights or enforced traffic laws. 

Our hotel is five stories and has a pool in the center.  There is no roof over the pool.  The rooms encircle the pool. Between the rain storms, we got a good swim in last night.  We get a good breakfast with the room also.  It is 30-Dollar a night room with a nice balcony with a table and chairs.  The same room would cost over 100 Dollars in America. It is our 25th anniversary this year and one must kill many birds with one stone these days.  It seems we have learned, that it is best to seek the nice rooms in the middle of the trip. 

It has been raining a good deal on this trip.  We ran into rain in Hanoi and now a big rain here in Hoi An.  But as many ex-GIs from the 'Nam era should tell you, rain comes with this territory. Having been in the military myself and at the end of the Vietnam War Era, I can't help imagining lugging all the gear around in the rain and then the following hot sun for nine months. Last night in just an hour, even with rain gear, Heide and I were thoroughly defeated by the heavy rain as we walked quite a distance to and back from our restaurant.