The Sleeper Train to Hoi An where Têt awaits us 🥳

 

Sleeper train

We boarded the sleeper train at Vinh station around 9pm. This was going to be a first for both of us and my only concept of what it might be like was what I'd glimpsed from a travel show - one of Michael Portillo's train journeys I seem to recall. 

Max had already warned me that although he'd booked first class cabins this just meant we were sharing a room with two other people rather than four 🫣. Plus we'd only managed second pickings meaning we had the top bunks!! Well I took one look at the top bunk and thought "how the bloody hell am I going to get up there?!!" There wasn't a ladder, just one fold out footstep which was going to require one helluva stretch for me to get myself up there! Looking back it was quite comical really and I'm not sure what the other couple made of me telling Max I couldn't do it 😂😂. In the end he gave me a leg up and I somehow managed to scramble up in the most ungainly fashion, all dignity gone in a flash! Once up there it wasn't too bad, I felt sorry for Max though as it was much more of a squeeze for him. The young Vietnamese couple in the bunks below didn't stay in the cabin very long at all. Either they decamped to the bar/restaurant car for the rest of the trip or they got off at the next station but either way we never saw them again! Suffice to say we didn't manage a great deal of sleep - not least because of all the announcements that kept coming through on the loud speaker inside the cabin (which we didn't realise could be turned off/down until the next morning!). By the early hours we gave up trying to sleep and decamped to sit on the bottom bunks and enjoy the view. 

We arrived at Da Nang train station about 10am the next morning and, since we wouldn't be able to check into our hotel until around 2pm we decided to find somewhere in town to treat ourselves to a nice breakfast. We were now into the Têt festivity period and has been warned that alot of restaurants would be shut and that was certainly true of the first couple we tried. Third time lucky though we found a lovely little cafe that did the trick and we felt much better after a decent breakfast 👍. By this time it was nearly midday and we decided to head towards our accommodation thinking that even if they wouldn't let us check in we could at least deposit our bags and go and explore the area. Originally we'd only planned to stay two nights in a small boutique hotel in Hoi An Old Town but we decided to tag on another three days at a little guesthouse at the nearby beach - called An Bang - based on a recommendation from one of the ladies we'd chatted to in Luang Prabang. We'd really hoped that the weather would have improved by this point but the clouds and threatening rain had continued hot on our heels as we'd travelled south! There was a better prospect of sun in the days ahead and to try and optimise our chances of enjoying this Max hatched another cunning plan! This meant spending two days by the beach to begin with, then moving to the boutique hotel in the Old Town for two nights (to coincide with a couple of cooler/cloudier days according to the forecast) and then return to the beach for a couple more days by which time the sun would hopefully have returned🤞. We'd gained an extra day here by deciding not to catch another sleeper train down to Ho Chi Minh City and fly down a day later instead. We didn't regret catching the first sleeper train, it was certainly an experience, just not one we were keen to repeat anytime soon 😂. Both hotels were very accommodating with our change of plan and everything worked out perfectly because the weather played out exactly as forecast and we were able to maximise our stay at the beach 👍👍.

We arrived at the guesthouse by the beach to a warm welcome from the delightful family running it (Mum, Dad and their two teenage sons). Our room was ready for us, we were suitably impressed, we quickly unpacked and set off again to explore the area almost straight away. It was about a 10 minute walk to the beach and that took us through the small resort of An Bang - past the local market and then a short road lined with shops, bars, spas and restaurants. I could instantly see why this place had been recommended to us - I fell in love with it right away. Everywhere was decorated with pretty lanterns, flowers and garlands, it looked so so pretty and reminded me of a place called Tulum in Mexico which I also fell in love with at first sight 😍. The beach was also very beautiful - again lots of pretty bars and restaurants and the whole area was lively but laid back and certainly not overcrowded either. We went for a walk along the beach and then found a nice spot to sit down. I knew Max was keen to go for a swim, he always is, but looking at the size of the waves I didn't share his level of enthusiasm - they were absolutely huge!! He did manage to persuade me to wade in a little but after I'd been battered a few times by those waves I left him to it 😂.

We spent the next couple of days at An Bang just relaxing on the beach and wandering round town trying out a few of the many fabulous looking cafes and restaurants on offer. It was quite hard to choose as they all looked so inviting and it's true to say we loved all that we tried during our short stay here. One that stood out for me was called the Good Fisherman, a very pretty place overlooking the beach with a very inspiring back story. The owner, once a local fisherman, had seen times change over the years and how fishing is becoming unsustainable; hence his family have now turned the restaurant into a vegan one but kept the name to honour the family and the tradition. I'm not vegan or vegetarian but was definitely inspired by the story and the journey they'd been on. We ate there one lunchtime and the food was delicious and I sampled one of their cocktails, a passion fruit martini, on our last evening by the beach and it was sublime 🍸 🍹

Our second night at the beach was going to be the start of the Têt celebrations - the equivalent of our New Year's Eve. We'd been told by everyone to expect fireworks everywhere and having spoken to some of the locals we decided to head into the old town to enjoy the festival atmosphere there. From what we could gather there was going to be a procession through the streets - we didn't know quite what this would entail but we were up for it anyway! The Old Town is about 5km inland from An Bang and Max persuaded me to cycle in on the hotel's free bikes. Thankfully they were much better than the ones we'd used in Laos and the ride into town was pretty easy. We parked the bikes and immediately realised we were at the spot where the procession was due to start. There was a large crowd gathering and we could see some youngsters dressed up in costume - it looked like they were representing the dragon (we'd already been told that the year ahead was the year of the dragon). They seemed to be waiting for the rest of their group to assemble and so in the meantime we decided to head further into town and find a good spot to view the procession. We couldn't get any sense of where it was going to head to and as the evening unfolded it became clear that the procession moves unpredictably around the streets so that everyone gets a chance to meet the dragon close up. It wasn't long before we got our first sighting -  it was really atmospheric, drums beating and women in beautiful traditional costume leading the way with the dragon following behind in very colourful and animated fashion. It really was the most colourful and beautiful spectacle to witness - we felt so lucky to be in such stunning location on such a special occasion 🤩🤩. Hoi An is a truly magical place and I fell totally under it's spell. Over the next few days I couldn't stop taking pictures everywhere we went - each time thinking I'd found an even more perfect display of lanterns! Max really liked it too albeit he was much less enthusiastic than I was about all the lanterns 😂😂. I could go on and on but I'll let the photos below do the real talking 🤩

Apart from lanterns, Hoi An is also particularly famous for tailoring. They have hundreds of tailor shops and we'd been told it's one of the best places to get clothes made to measure at very reasonable prices and in record breaking time. So we decided to give it a go, spurred on by a conversation at breakfast one morning with an English couple (one of the very few we've met on our entire trip actually) who'd already been and done it and happily shared their experience, which shops they'd visited and what they'd learnt. Max had decided to get a suit but as I was totally clueless about what I wanted I was feeling just a little bit anxious. I needn't have worried though because from the moment I stepped in the shop with only a few very tentative pictures/ideas the young lady who served me took control and was absolutely wonderful. She somehow managed to mock up a design and guided me through the huge array of silk fabrics the shop had to offer. Within no time at all measurements were taken and I was told to come back for an initial fitting later that day!! Only a few minor alterations were needed and the finished product was ready the following day 👍👍. I played it a little safe with the design but it was a great experience, I was very well looked after and I'd have a much better idea now if ever there's a next time. Max's suit was fab - he bartered quite hard on price for both of us but we weren't entirely sure how much of a bargain we actually got. I think prices were a little inflated as they were working over Têt but nevertheless we still felt we'd come away with made to measure clothes beautifully tailored for much less than we'd probably pay at home so it was a job successfully done as far as we were concerned ✔️.

The weather on the last two days we spent at the beach was beautiful - very sunny but not too hot. We were very happy and feeling very relaxed indeed by the time we left. I would have happily stayed another week but maybe this will be a place we'll return to one day, it feels very much like it could be 😃

Our lovely guesthouse at An Bang beach

Max couldn't wait to go in for a dip

There were very few people going in that day!

The waves were REALLY huge

An Bang beach entrance - it was so pretty

A nice Vietnamese cafe - pretty lanterns

The Old Japanese bridge - Hoi An Old Town

More colourful lanterns

Boats decorated with lanterns

Creating beautiful reflections on the water

The dragon procession for Tet in Hoi An

There was such a great atmosphere that night

The firework display at midnight - Max wasn't overly impressed!

I think these were the prettiest boats of all

The road to An Bang beach

I loved the story behind this restaurant

The view looking out from the Fisherman

Our fab boutique hotel in Hoi An

Wandering round Hoi An Old Town

We did a couple of yoga sessions and I found this picture on the yoga studio's website afterwards!

A fab lunch on the beach at the Fisherman

A very pretty cafe with the best coffee too

Passion fruit martini on our last night

A fab vietnamese dinner