Hoi An

As ever the vietnamese nightbus didnt go 100% according to plan -

though we been repeatedly reassured that after a 17 hour bus journey the stop over in hue would only be 10mins - of course it ended up being 5....24 hours later we arrived in Hoi An and immediately secured our plushest accomadation yet (thankyou white sheets and plasma screen).

We'd been forwarned that the town was majorly touristy given its reputation as the best place to get anythign from clothes to shoes to bags custom made. despite the hoards of tailor shops advertising 'boyfriend blazers' and western orientated bars...we totally fell in love with the place. (perhaps not surprising after greyer hanoi and hue). By nightfall the towns streets and river were lit by colourful paper lanterns and fairylights and as it was the weekend, openair theatres and music sprung up making an enchanting atmosphere.


After a delicious seafood meal we made use of the various happy hours and set out in search of the lonely planets' recommend nightclub - king kong. at first we'd thougt we'd missed it, indeed it turned out to be a small room dominated, filled almost intirely by a pool table - we duly made friends with the two other guys there, embarking on a game of pool and an old fashioned chat. after several games, in which we invariably potted as many white/black balls as the ones we were aiming for.(the free shots didnt help) with the hope of king kong eventually filling up dashed by about 1am - we decided to check out Beach Bar. lakcing better judgement we climbed onto the boys'mopeds and after a near collision with a lampost (R this time) and a shaky moment on a sandy road, we arrived at a somewhat fuller club. embarking on some epic table football we soon found ourselevs chatting to some brazilian guys who lived in danag, an hour north, and played for the vietnamese 'soccer' team. by 3 a'clock, tired freom our night bus, we decided to call it a night and caught the somewhat safer free night shuttle home..



the following 2 days were spent, eating deliciuos food and being totally overwhelmed by the endless possibilities that custom made tailoring presented. (turns out the whoel process is really very stressful!) by the third day, a little shopped out, we rented bicycles and explored the more rural riverside community and then 5k out to the local beach - our first in 2months!! While debating what to do with valubkles and how to circumnavigate the extortionately prices deck chairs, we bumped into the brazillian guys (to whiom money wasnt so much of an ish thanks ludicris football wages) and got some wave action with body boards.



on the final morning enchanetd with hoi ans culinary delights we decided to learn the tricks of the trade and embarked on what turned out to be a cooking course for two.