So Long Hoi An

23 August - Had a rather nice last day in Hoi An, woke up pretty early and went for a run out to the beach and back then met with Thijs and Sofea for breakfast before wandering the streets for a bit and heading back to the beach on bicycles. This bicycle was even worse than yesterday - just as uncomfortable, made some very strange noises and was four or five sizes too small. Later on in the afternoon i was riding it and the chain snapped - luckily, over here, there was no question of me being responsible for fixing it ... They know their bikes are crap and they accept these things as a matter of course. Very annoying having to push it back to the hotel like a scooter though. At the beach I did my version of the Cua Dai Soft Sand Classic, went as far south as I could then went back. Very good conditions for running and lots of fun - jumping in the water at the end was nice, not completely refreshing like Manly because the water was a bit under blood temperature but nice nonetheless.
Also said goodbye to my little friend, Thi, who I think i'm going to miss a bit. The other forty or fifty people who come and sit down next you every five minutes i'm not going to miss very much at all. Thijs really didn't cope with the begging and constant pushing to sell things - it's quite understandable, it is virtually impossible to have a conversation with somebody outside - we had a drink near my hotel before I got picked up and in fifteen minutes were approached by no less than ten people.
Knowing I was going to have another overnight bus journey I went for a massage and was given a bunch of treatments I didn't want or ask for and had a bit of an argument with the woman over what to pay - I think we both left angry at each other.
Said my goodbyes to my new friends and got on the bus to Nha Trang. Very squeezy, overcrowded bus again. Westerners ar given preferential treatment but it didn't help too much. There were not enough seats so two Vietnamese guys were forced to sit on plastic chairs in the aisles, would have been excruciating for them although these guys seem to be able to sleep anywhere, unfortunately their plastic seats were right in front of me so, once again, I was denied the aisle to stretch out one of my legs. There was also a very painful Australian woman who wouldn't stop complaining out loud to everyone who could understand her about how angry she was with the conditions, she tried to switch buses at one of the stops, but, surprise, surprise, they were all full too. In a way she was justified, the conditions are crap, as I have voiced many a time, but we're paying bottom dollar and it's to be expected. If you want five star transport you have to pay for it. Also, there was an Italian guy opposite the aisle from me who pushed his seat right back so that there was no room at all for a nice young English guy's legs, and he refused to move his seat forward at all. The English guy tried to get him to compromise a little by gesturing for him to move just a little bit but he just said, "Not my problem, not my problem" and started to yell in Italian when the English guy got fed up and put his feet on the back of his chair (nowhere else to put them). Would have been very amusing but I certainly felt for the English kid, having been pretzelled up by own seating arrangements.
Eventually got to Nha Trang, where I think might stay for a little while. Big crick in my neck again but i'm probably adjusting to it by now.