A month in Hoi An

[GarrettM]

A little extra random dashboard art for your enjoyment.



And I'll give thanks to this little device as well.


It'd been clear I needed to do something about my sleep issues for several years, and after having this thing for a month or so I can see it's already made a big difference to OUR lives. I'm certainly glad I got the waterless model for ease of travel. The mask still takes some getting used to. It's not uncomfortable. Just different. But a month of solid eight or nine hour nights of sleep after years of struggles has been pretty great.
Now that I'm back to the 3am wake ups it'll be even more important.

 

[Flyfrequently]

They do like their dashboard decorations! With our HCMC taxi driver, I was a bit worried with his "hear no evil see no evil " approach to traffic @GarrettM .

 

[GarrettM]

Oh yeah I saw these ones a few times as well.

 

[Quickstatus]

And I'll give thanks to this little device as well.

The AirMini is the possibly the smallest CPAP machine around
Correct, no humidifier

Do you have a solution for the airline battery issue?

 

[GarrettM]

The AirMini is the possibly the smallest CPAP machine around
Correct, no humidifier

Do you have a solution for the airline battery issue?

Not something I've thought much about yet sorry. I'm unlikely to be in a position where a solution is needed.

 

[GarrettM]

Friday January 16 would be our 28th and final (full) day in Hoi An, and we were determined to make it memorable.
Firstly we decided another brekky at Cam Coffee was on the agenda. And thankfully so.


After that we had singed up for Grandpa Faifoo's Treasure Hunt
It's basically semi-self guided walking tour of the old town, looking for spots based on the clues provided. Costs $10US and there are 25 locations to find.
Now it says it'll take about 90 minutes to two hours, but they haven't factored in doing it with two inflexible neurospicy kids who both demand to be in charge of reading clues and maps. We got off to a decent start and did seven or eight spots before things became incredibly difficult. Miss10 refused to yield control of the map to Mr6, who took the setback with all of his usual grace and forbearance. Eventually they both wanted to stop. He wanted to go home, while she wanted us to leave her where she was for the rest of her life.
It took half an hour for us to reconcile them (this is was all taking place on a rather busy street - one with cars allowed on it I would add) and eventually we all agreed to take a short break for a refreshing drink. Juice will always win them over it seems.

By then Miss10 had relaxed her stance that dad must die, and agreed to complete more of the treasure hunt with me. The boy and mum returned home to the comfort of the ipad and peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

Between us we found a few more of the spots. You have either upload a pic or solve a little riddle to prove you've done it. At the end you get the location of Grandpa Faifoo's actual treasure. We didn't end up completing the hunt but that's ok.
I'm not even sure it can be completed. We had two or three spots where we were sure we had the right location, but couldn't find the actual building being described. Plus one of the clues requires simply entering a name off a statue, which we did. But twice it said we were wrong and you only get so many attempts. Nevertheless we found some enjoyment in it.


And then we ducked into Morning Glory for a very nice but overpriced banh mi. 95,000VND compared to the street cart 30,000VND versions.


Came across some British doco crew doing something on the river.

 

[GarrettM]

Once we abandoned the treasure hunt Miss10 helped me grab some art from Old Propaganda Posters, before we headed home for one final poolside beer.

 

[kamchatsky]

A little extra random dashboard art for your enjoyment.
View attachment 491940View attachment 491941View attachment 491942


And I'll give thanks to this little device as well.
View attachment 491943

It'd been clear I needed to do something about my sleep issues for several years, and after having this thing for a month or so I can see it's already made a big difference to OUR lives. I'm certainly glad I got the waterless model for ease of travel. The mask still takes some getting used to. It's not uncomfortable. Just different. But a month of solid eight or nine hour nights of sleep after years of struggles has been pretty great.
Now that I'm back to the 3am wake ups it'll be even more important.

I am glad that you have good experience with the AirMini. You may want to try AirSense 10 or 11 at home.

I have used AirSense 10 for 6 years+ at home, and finally bought AirMini in November last year for travel purposes. Previously I don't use CPAP when travelling but my kids are growing up and complaining about my snoring when travelling.

I used AirMini for my trip, and since I don't need moisture so I don't need the AirMini HumidX tablet to keep the air moist. I found AirMini louder than AirSense 10 but not too loud. I have to say even though I got the full travel bag for free, I just used the sachet bag as part of the AirMini pack for storage for travel, as it takes a lot less space.

 

[kamchatsky]

The AirMini is the possibly the smallest CPAP machine around
Correct, no humidifier

Do you have a solution for the airline battery issue?

I have AirMini as well. AirMini uses HumidX capsule to humidfy the air if required:

https://shop.resmed.com.au/products/humidx

I don't use it myself though.

I took AirMini onboard in carry on 9 domestic + international flights and no one complained. Then again, I never used it onboard either.

 

[drcam]

Just wondering how much does an AirMini weigh in kgs?

 

[Quickstatus]

AirMini

0.3kg not including the tubes masks power adapter

 

[GarrettM]

The AirMini is the possibly the smallest CPAP machine around
Correct, no humidifier

Do you have a solution for the airline battery issue?

Apologies @Quickstatus I realise now you may have been referring to lithium battery carriage issues?
I only used mains power for the machine, via a travel adaptor. I'll have to explore battery investment though for future travel. Cords are a pain.

 

[GarrettM]

I am glad that you have good experience with the AirMini. You may want to try AirSense 10 or 11 at home.

I have used AirSense 10 for 6 years+ at home, and finally bought AirMini in November last year for travel purposes. Previously I don't use CPAP when travelling but my kids are growing up and complaining about my snoring when travelling.

I used AirMini for my trip, and since I don't need moisture so I don't need the AirMini HumidX tablet to keep the air moist. I found AirMini louder than AirSense 10 but not too loud. I have to say even though I got the full travel bag for free, I just used the sachet bag as part of the AirMini pack for storage for travel, as it takes a lot less space.

I don't have the travel bag, but the sachet bag works just fine. The power supply and cable just get chucked in the suitcase separately.

 

[GarrettM]

Enough about sleep aids, it's time to finish this report!
With one night left in Hoi An it was decided we would do a final tour of the night market. The boy was hoping for some Pokemon cards, while Miss10 was being open minded in general about what she find. But first we would eat. After narrowly avoiding Mango Mango previously MrsGM and I were in agreement we would head there.


As you can see from the drinks menu, it's a fair bit more expensive than most places. Even Madame Kieu, which I quite like, and is just across the road on the opposite corner.


The food was also (relatively) pricey, but the place was heaving. A lot of groups coming and going. Families with prams, older travellers. They had the lot. We didn't have a booking - didn't know we needed one - but they put us on a table right at the entrance. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

Lucky for us the kids have basic tastes. Chips for one and egg fried rice for the other.

We adults shared the pork belly and snapper fillet, and it was very very good.

I washed mine down with a Saigon beer, while the rest of the family had juices. All up it cost around 1.5M VND, but I won't complain.

Dessert would be found in the nightmarket. Choc banana crepes for all.


We finished up with the kids getting their market purchases as desired, while I finally gave into temptation and bought a singlet.

And that was that for our Hoi An experience. We returned to our villa, the kids went to bed, and we finished up our packing ahead of Saturday's flights home.

Coming up in the next installment of "A Month in Hoi An".... Saturday's flights home.

 

[drcam]

Seriously, these wines are going from 2000 dong a glass?!?

 

[Quickstatus]

nightmarket

which one?
These usually cash only
Places like Mango mango accept cc or was it cash also?
.....

can you also talk about the laundry issue please thanks

 

[GarrettM]

Seriously, these wines are going from 2000 dong a glass?!?

That's the price, per bottle, I believe. Anything with a comma would mean at least one million dong.

I'm not sure I saw anything in Vietnam that cost as little as 2000 dong. That's roughly 10c Australian.

Mango Mango menu

 

[Quickstatus]

Anything with a comma would mean at least one million dong.

it is standard practice to omit the last 3 "000"

 

[GarrettM]

which one?
These usually cash only
Places like Mango mango accept cc or was it cash also?
.....

can you also talk about the laundry issue please thanks

The "main one" I guess. On the island south of the old town. The market on Nguyen Hoang, which is just west of the lantern bridge. Definitely cash only.

Mango Mango and many other establishments are happy to take card. We made sure to ask when we tried somewhere new. Card use always attracted a surcharge mind you. We also got cash from ATMs to give ourselves flexibility.

As for laundry, we simply bagged up stuff we wanted to wash and our host had it taken care of. We were told the cost of each load after the fact, and we paid for it all when we left. There are heaps of small laundry outlets dotted across town. They all roughly charge 30,000VND per kilo, which is about $1US. I am not sure if the weight is calculated wet or dry, but I guess wet. It's not heaps either way.

We mostly kept washing to undergarments and things that clearly needed a good soak. I've been known to rinse slightly stinky shirts and such in the shower and drape them in the sun for a bit. That worked well enough for me.

 

[GarrettM]

it is standard practice to omit the last 3 "000"

Saves on printing I'm sure. I don't think it's any sort of attempt at subterfuge. I reckon that's just the system they've developed and most people get it.

Even when haggling storekeepers would use a calculator to show the price they were quoting. That always included the appropriate quantity of zeroes. It did help fill the language gap.