I keep thinking about this chocolate brownie cheesecake that I had yesterday. It was creamy and luscious and had chocolate swirls on top. I had it with an iced coffee, Heidi , David and Lucas (Fabian had moved on to another place). We relaxed in a swanky cafe called Cargo where we had previously had cinnamon swirls before breakfast the previous day.

I really enjoyed the easiness with which we combined and mixed as a group and it's a shame none of us are going in the same direction at the same time, or in Lucas's care on the same mode of transport, as he rides his motor bike from north to south. We pretty much always ate together and the places we went probably thought we had been friends for years. It was interesting to see how the conversation changes with different combinations of us when people were missing, eg. in bed or shoe shopping.

Yesterday I was at the beach for the first time in at least a year (not including Morecambe bay...) and I went in the see to find myself not shivering but just being pulled sideways by the current which is vey different to when I was swimming in fresh water pools on my treks! We sunbathed and the other guys fell asleep whilst me and Heidi chatted. All of my freckles came out and I grew some I never knew I had.

The sunflower hotel that i'm staying at now is a wonderful hotel with a fantastic buffet breakfast and I am paying the equivalent of a hostel for my dorm room. I never got around to going in the pool because I was always meeting people or having a suit fitting but it was all very nice.

Making a suit is incredibly fun and I can't wait for businessman David to create a cheap British version when he returns from China. I have had a suit, shirt, shorts and casual jacket made for a tidy £110. The process is absolutely magic. The things were made overnight and I went back 3 more times each time asking for a new pocket or slight alteration. When I put them on again each subsequent time I had forgotten hat I had asked for and it just felt magic. I loved it. The girls who did it were lovely and they also taught me how to eat lemon seed which is apparently a new year food for them, they asked me what we had for new year, since we British don't have a new year food (more a new year drinks cabinet) I showed her a chocolate Yule log. She grimaced because they don't like sweet things over here (they must just make the afore mentioned chocolate brownie cheese cake just for foreigners)...

Last night I was disappointed that I didn't manage to virtually attend Gran's birthday via Skype and although me and mum have been constantly trying to ring each other I still haven't managed to phone home :( It is just the fact that I psyched myself up for awesome family fun times that is making me mildly home sick, silly me.

Status
• Warm and sticky...
• Enjoyed a 2 minute Skype catch up with CoCo before she had to rush off for dinner...
• Mildly sunburnt and have invested in a Tiger beer vest top to combat a t-shirt tan since no top is frowned upon in most of SE Asia...
• In about 5 minds of how I'm going to get to Singapore to see Rachel from Cambodia and which planes/trains/ buses to get!...
• Will be getting a sleeper train and bus towards Angkor via Saigon tomorrow...
• I don't say it enough but I a am having a fantastic time and love travelling...

Food: We found the best place to get food was the family run cooking stalls over the bridge from the old town. The food is the same, if not better, costs less and the chefs (we had Ms Wu and Mrs Chien) are a hoot, oh and the beer is 13 pence. You just have to cope with the occasional flying she'll bug and the mayhem that follows if it doesn't go away! We went back 3 times.
I have also eaten... Cau Lao (local speciality with meat, thick noodles, leaves and savoury crisp things on top), grilled satay beef, fried wantons with duck, wanton soup (not great) and a beef burger after a night out.

Fact: There is a landmark Japanese bridge in Hoi An which took so long to build that one entrance is protected by he year of the monkey and the other by the fox (I think).