Hoi An, Vietnam - 31st May - 3rd June 2011

After a rather quick journey from Hue we arrived in the beautiful Hoi An. Bear in mind that a quick journey for us is anything under 6 hours!

We knew instantly that we had made the right decision to stay put here a few days. Our hotel was just what we needed with an amazing swimming pool. The heat is increasing as we continue down the coast.

Hoi An is the Tailoring capital of the world and most people come here purely come here to get a suit or dress made. Cheap cheap. We were going to get something made but thought it would only be for the sake of it. Plus we would have to carry it forever more!

Not only suits are made though you can have a pair of shoes or boots made to the perfect fit.

The town it self was so gorgeous old colonial buildings which were beautifully maintained. Nice to take a break from looking at falling down uncared for buildings. Most shop and restaurant fronts were wooden with little tin roofs.

The food just continues to get better. We tried a fair few new things. We attempted all of the local delicacies and with Dave's vegetarianism we actually braved a vegan restaurant which served up a surprisingly yummy mushroom and tofu sausage dish.

Been keen cooks we also took up a cooking class which was great fun. We made a traditional Vietnamese salad, fresh spring rolls with shrimp, a lovely garlic sauteed vegetable dish and the famous Hoi An fish grilled in banana leaf. The woman gave Dave the tiniest apron. We hope to do a class in every country.

There are a couple of islands linked to the main town which are reached just by footbridges. Was lovely over there in the evening.

I think the highlight really was the beach. We decided to rent a moped (3quid a day) to get around as the hotel was a bit out of town. We felt so free and thank god that the traffic was a bit calmer! I also created wind and kept us cool however did not prevent burning!

There are 2 main beaches Cau Dai which is full of resorts and tourists and An Bong which is a local beach. We spent many a day on An Bang in a little beach bar that we discovered, drinking beer and fresh lemon juice. It was paradise. We didn't see another person on the beach all day until after 5 when the locals came down to take a dip.

On the way back to the hotel one day we came to a road closed sign where a road was being tarmacked. There were about 20 Vietnamese bikes in front of us and they all just mounted the pavements and carried on. We did the natural thing and did as the locals did! 3km later we were happy to get back on the road!

Next stop Nha Trang. we didn't really want to leave and think this is a place we will definitely come back to in the future :)

To see our pictures from Hoi An click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/HoiAnVietnam30thMay2ndJune2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCOScj9WUstreMg#