Rested Up

After 3 nights in Quy Nhon, I again braved the MaiLinh minibus, this time to Hoi An. The driver was much more sane, and actually knew how to remove his foot from the gas pedal and apply the brake. Still, we had one close call as we came up right behind a motorcycle, which braked suddenly, sending us careening into oncoming traffic to avoid it. The driver quickly corrected and we all re-took our seats. Everyone was quiet for a while after that. We stopped after 4 hours (!) in Tam Ky, to have dinner, at which point I was befriended by a very nice Vietnamese girl who had been sitting behind me on the minibus, Thao, who was anxious to practice her English. She studies on her own, at night, and she has made great progress. Her goal is to go to America, get a Master’s Degree, and return to Vietnam. She was very insistent on buying me dinner (and I was glad to have her advise me as to what was put in front of me!) She also interpreted for me with the driver and found another person going to my destination (about 30k from where the bus let off) to share the expense of a taxi. I have to say that this is the most outright kindness I have encountered since Saigon (and there wasn’t much before that), and it is welcome at this point in my travels, as I am feeling a bit of the aloneness (despite spending the last 24 hours in Quy Nhon in the company of a very talkative Australian lady).

Even though it was dark when I arrived in Hoi An, it appears to me to be more peaceful. My second floor room looks out over some tiled-roof houses below, and instead of the incessant beeping and exhaust of motorbikes (which are, indeed, the bane of my existence), I hear the sounds of people making dinner and smell the wafting incense from Buddhist altars.

Note: the photos above show the bamboo boats I mentioned in my prior post. You can see that the ocean is much calmed and the weather has improved tremendously!