Hoi An

The train trip to Da Nang (nearest train station to Hoi An) was relatively smooth. Left at 9pm and arrived at 5.30am. It was a 'hard sleeper' and was in a cabin of 6 and despite the name, the beds were very comfy and we both had a good sleep. After walking around Da Nang for about an hour looking for the bus station, we finally boarded a bus to Hoi An, about 30 km away.

We decided to splash out and spent US$12 on a room but buffet breakfast and a swimming pool were all included, as was a huge air conditioned room with cable TV!

Hoi An is a beautiful old town with a mixture of French and Chinese influenced architecture and is situated on the Thu Bon River but is still only 6km away from the beach. We were absolutely shocked to find that Hoi An was relatively quiet, you were able to walk down the middle of the main street during the day without a car in site at times. Also, there has recently been a crack down on local touts so we were pretty much left alone for a couple of days from the stress of telling everybody "no thank you".

We spent much of the first day just wandering around and exploring and managed to find the most amazing cafe with a French style patisserie. We made the most of this over the next three days, going back every single day to try something new. If you ever go to Hoi An go to the Cargo Club and have chocolate truffle cake on the balcony.

We had heard that Hoi An was the city of tailors and it definitely was the most common feature. There were literally streets with 10 tailor shops in a row. We decided to get a few things made with mixed results. The simple things that were made right the first time were good and cheap, however if it was a bit more complicated or they didn't get it exact the first time, it all started to go a bit wrong. Over the next few days we spent far too much time and energy at the tailor shops arguing about if an item fitted correctly or looked the way it should.

We tried to put this aside and enjoy the rest of the time, which we did. We hired bicycles and went to the beach but only spent about 30 secs in the water as I have never seen so many jellyfish in my life!!! Despite this, it was stunning white sands and crystal clear blue water. Apparently the 30km coastline between Hoi An and Da Nang is exactly like this and nearly nobody on the beach!! We also went on a walking tour and studied some of the architecture and buildings, and we definitely made the most of the swimming pool at the hotel which passed some time.

We bought a painting at one of the art shops in Hoi An, and when we got back to the hotel with it all packaged up, the guy behind the reception desk noticed and asked if we liked art work. I misunderstood his dialect of English and assumed he was trying to sell me something (like every other Vietnamese we've met) as he was waving a flax woven tube at me. We fobbed him off but no less than 10secs of getting to the room, there was a knock at the door. It was 'Mr Krazy' (that was what he said his name was) and instead of actually trying to sell us something he was giving us 2 more paintings for free that somebody else had left behind. He was being extremely nice and altruistic. If your last name is Johnstone, you are Australian, stayed in Rm 311 at the Than Binh 2 Hotel, and left 2 paintings behind when you checked out, we have your goods!!

We were heading on to Hanoi next and decided we couldn't face a 16hour train journey so splashed out on a flight.