The bus pulls up to a fancy new hotel. Even has a pool! The hotel man shows us a very nice room with a balcony overlooking the pool. I figure at least fifty bucks for the room. The hotel man says twenty five. I give him my sad face! OK, OK, fifteen he says, but don't tell anyone. Sad face again! That's with breakast, I say OK, OK! Wow, did we do good! Still I look over the toilet for a water leak.

Off we walk toward the river. We are new meat and the girls from the tailor shops beg us to go with them. Like flies on shit, the postcard kids buzz around us. Where are you from, Nha Trang I say. No postcards I say. Standard answer, do you have American coins for my collection? Everyone went to the same salesmanship school.

The town has changed. Lots more tailor shops and places to eat. Lots more tourist junk for sale even in the market. Still, the town looks nice and we like sitting by the river.

At this time of year it should cloud up in the afternoon with a passing shower in this part of the country. Not this year! They are in a drought. Every day is sunny in the 90s.So the wife takes a nap in room and I head for the pool. I will not pay any mind to the back packer girls in the little suits. If I speak to them at all, I will ask where they are from and do they have any coins? The water is great!

In the afternoon I email a friend in Danang that I'm here in Hoi An. It's his home town. Dinner by the river. Not many tourists but the townsfolk are all out in the cool night air. Back at the hotel, my friend from Danang calls. He will be here tomorrow. Invites us to dinner at his parents home. We are internet friends and have been sending each other emails for two years.

Day two;

Our German friends gave us a card for a tailor they liked. We rent bikes to get there because it is away from the main part of town. I order a three piece suit, a shirt and tie. All hand made. Total cost,48 bucks. My wife orders a dress and coat, another 25 bucks. After alterations the next day we will pick up our stuff. It is all good work and we are happy.

My friend from Danang meets us in the afternoon for coffee. He is in his early twenties, been married about a year, lives with her parents in Danang. His father had fought for the south and her father fought for the north during the American War. War is just old history to him. Old pictures in books and on TV. Stories from his father and father-in-law. He likes both men very much. Vietnam is one country now, not north and south he says. And so it is!

His brother and him pick us up on motor bikes later and bring us home. Home is in a small alley in the old part of town. Not a fancy house, small but nice. His dad is in Saigon. Mom is real nice. They send out for take out food. t arrives in Styrofoam boxes. I break out the wine from Dalat and it is a real treat for them. We have a nice dinner as the neighborhood kids peek in at the strangers. All in all a nice time.

End Hoi An Part one. More..............

This morning we will rent bikes. After picking up the suit and dress we ride out into the countryside. It's amazing how far we go with little effort on this flat land. We stop to rest next to the river, under some pine trees. It is beautiful here and there is a nice breeze. A man pulls over on his motorbike, sets his hammock up between trees and he is off to LaLa Land.

Up the road we ride into a village. The kids come out to see who we are. Time for the red rubber nose and the fake eye as an old man watches. I get a laugh from the kids and a warm smile from the old man.

Tonight no motorbikes will be allowed in the old part of town. No electric lights, just colored paper lanterns lit up. As it gets dark a large group of people head toward the river. There is a Buddhist parade. My wife and I seem to be the only tourists around. Sitting at a cafe near the river, many Vietnamese families walk past. In a way, I think they are happy to have their village back from the tourists for a while. It must remind them of times past.

There is a Buddhist ceremony on a boat in the river as a crowd watches from shore. Up toward the market, a woman sings as the band plays. Down a side street, we enter a building where a play is going on. People on stage are dressed in costumes of years ago. It's hotter than hell inside as we watch. An old lady fans my wife. After while an old man came inside. When he sees us he comes over and shakes our hands. I think he was thanking us for spending time learning some Vietnamese culture. We have a great time just walking around. The people here seem so happy, so at peace with the world. Tomorrow we leave for Danang! Danang next.................

Arriving at the hotel, it is large with many stories. It was a great hotel when it was new but now time has taken it's toll and it is way over priced. I'm not very happy. It does have a nice view of the city.

Danang is the most changed place in VN that I have seen. One look out the hotel window and all you see is new buildings and others being built. Sue and I go for a walk toward the river to check out the area. This is not a tourist city and it shows. Not many stores of any interest or places to eat. I had hoped to find a park near the river but the road and everything else is all torn up. So we head back in a circle to our hotel.

After lunch we grab a cab to the Royal Hotel. I want to see if it is really closed and see what has changed in the area. The hotel is being redone but is open. The guy at the desk wants us to rent a room and at the rack rate. He is out of his mind! The street and sidewalks have all be redone. We walk toward the park along the river. What park? It is just a trench dug up for a water line and the street is all dug up too. A cyclo driver came by and bugged us for a ride. Off we go for a cyclo tour of the city. Everywhere are new cement houses and fancy ones at that. Lots of folks are doing very well. Route one, thru the city, is a four lane road and very well done. It remains that way up to the Hai Van Pass. A new road there is being carved thru the mountain towards Hue. We stop to enjoy the bay at the north end of the city. Our cyclo man is very nice and we have a very nice ride.

Day two;

This morning we are off to China Beach.

I have to write down the Vietnamese name for the beach for the cab driver. China Beach means nothing to him. The ride is short and even after paying for the cab. Tthe driver thinks we will go back right away. The beach is empty. Vietnamese people use it very early and late in the day. Only a crazy tourist would be out here now. After a drink we rent chairs and a umbrella. The water is cold and clean and we just relax. Mr. Sun makes it hotter and hotter and we have to cool off more and more in the water. By lunch time the shade means nothing!

So off we go down the road toward the cafe where we had dinner with the Viet Cong. The My Khe hotel has been redone and that's where we should have stayed. The cafe has not changed and the food was ok.

After a cab ride back to the hotel, my wife takes a nap while I explore the city. Found an upscale street not far away. Another sign that people are doing well here. While walking down the street a man, sitting down drinking, says "How you doing". I stop in my tracks. First English that I have heard here. He is about my age and he invites me to sit down. He orders coffee for me without asking. He repaired F-5 Fighter Planes during the war. Trained in Florida. He loves Americans because they gave him a chance to use his brains. He wishes that he could have gone back to the U.S. but now he is an old man and he is stuck here. He is running some kind of office now and life is a little better than it had been.

This afternoon my friend will take us to meet some people he knows. He and a person from his job pick us up on motor bikes and bring us to a house on the north edge of the city. The Vietnamese man who lives here went to school in the U.S. and he married an American woman. They have a new baby. He tried to make his home as western as possible for his wife. This includes a western bathroom. You can tell that life here has not been easy here for his wife. But you can also tell that she is a tough girl and that they really love each other. The man had been working for a NGO building houses for the poor but now, with the baby, he has found a better paying job. These are nice people and I'm glad me met them.

Tomorrow we leave for a mountain resort called Ba Na. More.............