When planning our trip, Reg decided that we would need a week of relaxation after we'd been travelling for 2 months, and booked us 7 days in a beautiful hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam. People laugh when we say we're having a week's holiday; as far as they are concerned, our whole trip is a holiday, and of course it is. But after moving from hostel to hostel every few days, it will be good to stay in one place for a whole week.
We share a taxi from Da Nang train station to Hoi An with a Australian backpacker in his 40's; and for once, we aren't ripped off, and pay what we know (from fellow tourists) is a reasonable price.
Our hotel is called the Hoi An Beach Resort; it's situated where the river meets the sea. The hotel has a private beach with soft white sand and palm trees, padded loungers under thatched-conical roofed umbrellas, and a secluded beach bar. Beach towels are provided for hotel residents.
I know this place is special when we step into the huge hotel foyer, where a magnificent display of flowers dominates the entrance hall, and 3 smartly dressed receptionists greet us from behind a long polished counter. We have our own bungalow, and are driven by beach buggy with our luggage the 50 metres or so to our front door.
The bathroom is a big as most double rooms we've stayed in; and there's a bath! I immediately turn on the taps, add a generous squirt of bath foam (in a ceramic holder by the washbasin) and anticipate the joyful bliss of being able to luxuriate in a bath after 2 months without one. (We have had showers, though!)
The huge bedroom has one double and one small double bed (useful for when Reg wants to watch England play in the Euros at 1.30 am our time, and I want to sleep!). There's lots of lovely furniture including a wardrobe (when did I last have time to use a wardrobe even if there had been one), and patio doors opening to a balcony, with loungers and a table, overlooking the river. This really is stunning.
There's a fridge packed with drinks and goodies ( a bit more expensive than in the shops). We've only been in our room a short while when there's a ring at the door and a "bellboy" delivers a beautiful arrangement of apricot roses and white carnations, compliments of the hotel.
We have lunch and dinner in the hotel this first day. The restaurant overlooks the river; there's a refreshing breeze, but still a balmy warmth - I haven't worn a cardigan for weeks now. The rest of the day is spent sleeping and reading - we never feel like doing much after an overnight train journey. I don't even manage a swim.
Tomorrow we will venture into Hoi An town - about 2 kilometres away - by the hotel shuttle bus. Hoi An is a town famous in Vietnam for having clothes made to your design in a couple of days. We've been given business cards from a couple of fellow travellers with recommended tailors/seamstresses. I've already mentioned to Reg a few times how lovely it will be to have a couple of items of clothing made in Hoi An so that he's prepared for tomorrow! I've tried to persuade him to have a suit made but no joy. (This is a man who would never wear a suit unless he had to).
"I bought a new suit last year," says Reg. " Why would I need another one?"
No comments:
Post a Comment