I fell into a routine at Hoi An. Eat breakfast three buildings down and across the street. Email. Skype. Lounge at the beach or pool. Walk around town. Eat at Mr. Hung’s table for dinner. Hang out with other travelers at night.
After a late dinner on Wednesday, May 6, Lydia, William and I followed our ears to a Cuban bar. I didn’t feel like ordering weak mixed drinks. Instead, I got a cigar. It was good.
An English girl told us that there was a shuttle to the beach at midnight. There were free shots and entertainment at the beach, she said. It sounded good, but I knew the beach was about 3 miles away, and I didn’t think there was a critical mass of travelers for it to be a good turn out. But what else did I have to do tonight? If it sucked, I could take the 1am shuttle back to my hotel.
We went and it did suck. There were only a handful of travelers. There was loud techno music being played. The bass was crackling.
We made the best of it. There were several Vietnamese workers there. We played foosball with some Vietnamese teenagers, and that passed a lot of time. Also, they were broadcasting a live game of European soccer. One of the teams scored with a minute to go–exciting. Then we all got into our underwear and took a dip in the pool there. After drying off, we took the shuttle bus back to our hotel. All in all, it was a good night, and I’m glad I chanced it.
I parted ways with Lydia and William on Saturday, May 9. I had been with them for five days. It was fun and all, but I needed a break. We all tossed around the idea of meeting up again in June at Thailand’s Full Moon Party.
I took a sleeper bus 12 hours south to Vietnam’s main beach town: Nha Trang.
