Hoi An, Vietnam

We awoke about 8am on the train still passing through the specacular countryside between Hue and Danang. I was a little groggy from the red wine but otherwise in good spirits and happy to be warm and rested.When we got into Danang about 9.30 we fought our way past the hoards of taxi drivers etc and wandered off in search of the bus station. We weren't having much luck but to our good fortune and thanks to some quick web searches on my iphone we figured out that we needed to hail the yellow bus that said Danang - Hoi An on the front....before long one came along and we jumped on.It was a funny bus ride with almost all locals getting on an off every few minutes with an array of produce, bags etc. It was a three person operation between the driver and two attendents who ensured everyone paid and got on and off safely...although mostly the bus never really stopped just slowed down to a slow walking pace. It was a fun experience.In Hoi An we grabbed our backpacks and headed into town. It was only about 1km before we found accommodation at a hostel for $22 a night which seemed pretty reasonable. We dropeed our bags, and then headed to the ancient city to enjoy some of the local specialties at Van Loc restaurant including Cao Lao and White Rose among others.In the afternoon it really hit me that I was exhausted so while I headed back to the hostel, Sandra did some looking around the shops and the unbelievable number of local tailors offering dresses and suits for a pittance.

In the evening we ran into Chris and Yayoi, the couple we'd shared the anxious rush through the Hanoi ran to catch the train with a few days earlier. We shared a beer and hoped to run into them again later.

Afterwards Sandra took me to check out some clothes she liked the look of...and much later we had dinner on the upstairs balcony of a nice place on the other side of the river from the ancient town.

What a horrible night's sleep! There was house music blaring from nearby until late, then seemingly lots of people making lots of noise up and down the hallways all night. On top of the mattress was as hard as a rock and so was the pillow, plus it was cold and there was no blanket! I ended up trying to sleep on a makeshift ball of clothes with little luck and Sandra didn't fair much better.There was also no chance to sleep in as we'd booked a half day tour to go by bus to check out the My Son ruins, returning by boat in the afternoon. We were both not looking the happiest while we sat outside our hostel waiting for the bus to arrive, but it looked like many others also suffered the same fate at our hostel based on the look of them. Apparently the place was overbooked and quite a few people ended up sleeping on the floor and in the hallways which explains all the comotion.The My Son ruins were kind of interesting but I would say over rated and probably hampered by the hoards of tourists and the rain. Once we escaped the crowds a little it was much better though. After that we were back on the bus for maybe 45 minutes before changing to a boat for lunch and the trip back to Hoi An. Along the way we stopped at a wood carving village which was pretty much a waste of time, except that we left the main group and explored on our own. It was a novelty to order two takeaway coffees and have them served up in little plastic bags with straws...but the coffee was good and strong and we both felt much better for it afterwards. In the afternoon we wandered the streets checking out tailors and what not, grabbed some food and eventually headed back to the hostel for a break.

In the evening we headed down to the river to check out the monthly occurence of the powere being turned off and being replaced by candles. This coincides each month with the full moon and a bit of a ceremony which culminates in many paper boats/lanterns with candles being launched into the river. It was quite a sight and this month dedicated particularly to the victims of Japan's recent earthquake related woes which have killed and displaced thousands.

We again headed across the river and up to a 1st floor balcony for dinner (at a different place this time) and by chance we happened to be at the table right next to Chris and Yayoi again. They had been living and working in Singapore for a three month stint but were now on a brief break before heading back to London where they both lived together. They gave us their details and invited us to catch up with them when we wind up in London which we will certainly do.

Back at the hostel we managed to wrangle a blanket and one sliightly better pillow before heading to bed hopeful of a better night's sleep this time.

Our last day in Hoi An today and we opted for a late checkout so as not to rush around too much in the morning. After breakfast we got ourselves organised and packed and even booked 2 nights for our next destinatino, Nha Trang.

Our main outing for the day was a bicycle trip out of Hoi An about 8kms to the coast and Cu Dai beach. There wasn't a lot to see and the beach was quite windy and seas rough but it was still an interesting ride and great to have a bit of exercise.

Afterwards we were both starving so had and early dinner before settling down back at our hostel to await our taxi back to Danang at 8pm. The train arrived on time at about 9.55pm and we made our way to our beds and within an hour had the lights out and trying to get some sleep.