“The main disadvantage to internet is the world’s constant attempts to slap me awake. My thoughts seem ever-dull.” – Old Sean
Second Week in Vietnam
It’s been a little under two weeks since arriving in Hoi An.
In my last post I mentioned that I was removed without notice from my position in China. Thanks to legislation passed by Beijing, it turns out this was wildly illegal.
Which is good news for me. I announced my intent to begin arbitration to my company, and after a week of perpetual radio silence, I suddenly had messages from every person in management. Two of them threatened to sue me if I made any defamatory comments towards them or spoke to their students or parents at the school. The other two immediately drafted papers assuring me of a full month’s salary of severance pay.
For the rather deluded individuals threatening to sue, I’m not terribly worried. There are no laws about people I’m allowed or not allowed to speak to in the world.
Nor am I making defamatory comments, simply reporting a sequence of events as the occurred. I’ve been assured by my Chinese legal retainer that I’m fine for now, provided I don’t go around spewing bile and rage. As such, I’m keeping my finger on the arbitration button, but for now, nothing is going to happen between today and the agreed date of severance pay, March 6th.
Funny how the world works.
World Events
In other news, the Coronavirus still has a large portion of the world upset, weary and in a state of near epidemic panic. News of shutdowns comes in daily, and local Asians, culturally sensitive to many aspects of health, make it a topic in virtually every conversation I have.
I keep a daily eye on the news, less out of fear of the far-flung disease, which has now breached Iran, and more to leave the country for greener pastures if another flight-and-work country shutdown occurs.
My friends remaining in China are slowly crawling up the walls at home, as most cities, while somewhat active, still have fairly large restrictions on recreational activities and working conditions.
I send them lots of pictures of the outside world. Partially to remind them that it’s pretty. And partially to be a real jag.
Life in Hoi An
On that happy note, I’ve been having a lot of fun in Hoi An. Most of my work is now online to shore up my limited and soon-to-be-stopped income.
Beyond that, I’m also making sure to get out nearly every days and do at least a little bit of exploring.
I spend every couple of days at my favorite restaurants.
My new favorite place, by far, is known as Ngo Gai Coffee Restaurant. It’s an obscure little shop on Cam Nam Island, but they have truly fantastic blueberry smoothies and virtually all their food is excellent. Better yet, they’re open during my admittedly odd off hours, so I’ve been chowing down there at least twice a week. Thrice a week. Well, more times than I’d like to count per week, anyway.
I’ve also worked my way over to another couple of nice places.
Rosie’s Café is my go to breakfast nook, though they’re so busy it’s sometimes tricky to find a place in the shade. Nhan’s Kitchen on the East side of town is another gem. They have passionfruit chicken, which is cooked and served inside the fruit peels. I didn’t know that flavor could exists, which is a 26 year crime committed on my life.
Company During Wanders
Aside from plundering local restaurants for the occasional treasure, I’ve also spent a fair bit of time hanging out with a Vietnamese girl named Sol. She mostly takes me on scooter rides to see the local, hidden sights, which are fairly stunning.
South of Hoi An, for example, are a series of river islands and enormous rice paddies. The rice paddies to the north are pretty enough on their own, but the ones to the south extend to sheer horizons. A light wind can be tracked in an emerald green wave and the trails through the rice field are expertly risen mounds hovering just above water level.
I also got to visit a nice little restaurant for lunch, where I met a puppy. I don’t know this puppy’s name, by after a brief hello he fell asleep on my boot, effectively pinning me. When it was time to go, I scratched his ears until he awoke, freed my foot and knelt down for another goodbye. I got an unimpressed yawn while he scooted over to my other boot and flopped down on that one.
I haven’t moved since. Water ran out two days ago. Send help.
No, actually I just picked him up and put him on someone else’s shoe. He was very happily snoozing when I left.
The Pottery Village
On my own time, I managed to take a bicycle out to the truly impressive Pottery Village to the West of Hoi An.
I can’t recommend this area enough, largely due to Lang Gom Thanh Ha, an immersive pottery exhibit depicting the history of the traditional pottery village that makes up the peninsula.
The museum is cheap enough to get into and is filled dominated by a multi-tiered brick and mortar building gradually rising in confusing and unexpected ways. The center of the plaza is decorated with creative potter pieces, including a wide pool of trickling waterfalls and a miniature village depicting some of the most famous icons in the world. The Leaning Tower, Colosseum, White House, Sistine Chapel, Notre Dame and Washington Monument are all given homage.
More abstract, expertly crafted pottery pieces lounge inside the building itself, twisting in mind-boggling shapes or pressed into vivid mosaics.
Additionally, a kiln exists out back, and I believe they have classes available to anyone who signs up for a pottery lesson (Hoi An is filled with do-it-yourself tourist classes). There are also the more historically-oriented areas which show maps, detailed descriptions and the shards of ancient pottery found on the site as well as modern recreations of traditional items.
If Lang Gom Thanh Ha didn’t scratch your pottery itch, you can check out the rest of the neighborhood. There are many trinket shops and an additional number of cafes with pottery-themed decorations overlooking the river.
Long Bike
Following my little jaunt through this area, I went out along the river on a bicycle ride punctured by miniature hikes. On my previous blog, I mentioned the colorful basket boats which are paddled around as a cute tourist activity.
But I also got to glimpse a couple of functional basket boats near the powerfully pungent fish market. These are just as colorful and just as basket-shaped, but come equipped with powerful little chugging motors that scoot the craft forward like angry bowler hats.
They’re adorable and I would watch a movie consisting of nothing but waterborne police-chases with those as the only acceptable vehicle.
The Day of Ruins
Finally tired of the immediate Hoi An area, I rented a scooter and decided to head out to My Son, a temple to the west at the foothills of some mist-and-tropic covered mountains.
Now, if you’re using Google Maps to get to My Son, be careful. There are multiple spas in the area with the same name and your directions will likely take you there. I had this happen to me and three German men on motorcycles were similarly confused. I got directions from a spa hostess, sat down for a coffee drink and watched some of the ladies practice their dance performance, which is a nightly event for guests.
It was very peaceful, but My Son was the real prize.
The crumbling temple spaces are composed of dark bricks with vigorous plant life cresting the edges. The crowds were fairly sparse, no doubt partially due to the sporadic rain that tumbled past. There are pillars laying deep in lush grass, statues half shattered or eaten by tropical plants. Lizards are surprisingly common, darting around with tails twice as long as their thin bodies. A series of creeks seep through the mountain valley and a couple of acres are dedicated to stubbornly maintained rice paddies.
I liked My Son a lot. It’s kind of advertised as a Vietnam version of Angkor Wat, but I’ve been told by traveling couples I spoke to that it’s a bit smaller and spaced out. That being said, I’m not tapped out on ancient SE Asian temples yet, so I plan on visiting a couple more while I’m in this hemisphere.
Despite an active week, I still feel energized. I’m heading off to Da Nang tomorrow.
So until then, best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written February 21st, 2020
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