Hoi An Boy

19 August - After beach and shower and return of clean clothes decided to go for walk - got hijacked by Uyen, very nice Vietnamese tour guide who also owned a restaurant. Took me to his place, just 300m down the road!!!; read 2k at the least, and set me a place for dinner - duck and noodles (i told him i don't eat noodles prior); no, pho, com; no, these noodles just like rice; i don't want pho, i want com (see how proficient my Vietnamese has come); eventually he went next door for the rice and while giving me an ice infused warm Larue beer he proceeded to show me his books of commentary from satisfied tour customers (not all in the same handwriting but unconvincing nonetheless) and i was subjected to a Tel of woe about his dying father, four expensive chiller, lack of Vietnamese tourist economy anis willingness to take me to the Marble Mountains and Hoi An later on. I told him that I'd already arranged for someone to do that and he seemed a bit upset and started to quiz me on who they were (i couldn't recall; and he asked me, Do they have a book of recommendations like me???) and despite the fact that i couldn't take up his services pressed his phone number onto me and rode me to a nearby bar.
Very depressing having someone really sell themselves like that on you - the hardest thing is that despite its consistent annoyance the story of the hopeless life is typically true and they really are in a desperate state.
The Bamboo Bar was completely dead when i arrived - they had to open the bar up for me but i played a few games of pool with Tham, the lovely local owner, before a "gangster" local ad a strange German arrived - this eventually grew into a large group of American, English, Canadian English teacher ex-pats and a bunch of French (who kept to themselves) - the English teachers drank quite heavily and despite their enormous appeal i was forced to abandon them - way past my bedtime. I cadged a lift with a French Canadian UN worker who seemed slightly less drunk than the rest - wouldn't even dream of getting ona bike like that bavk at home bur ...this is Vietnam.