Date: 18th June 2011 Place: Hoi An Weather: Sunny We had already booked accommodation in Hoi An so had a shuttle bus waiting for us at the bus stop which was really nice. Our room wasn't quite ready when we got there but they put us in a nicer room for no extra cost so we could get in there quicker. We stayed in there for a little while and had a nap and sorted ourselves out. We then walked into town to have a wonder around. Of course we came across all of the tailors! There are apparently 6000 tailors in Hoi An and it doesn't surprise me! We looked in a few but didn't get anything. We were then looking around the market and we got taken to another tailor who I got to make me a maxi dress and a one shouldered dress. I chose the material and got all measured up and for the two of them it cost jsut $28. Opposite that tailors we then went into a shoe place where I ordered some really nice shoes for $12. It would all be ready the next day. After a hard few hours shopping I started to feel rough again so we went and chilled in the room again; watched a bit of tv and went on the internet.. We made sure we got ready to go out for dinner though. The hotel we stayed in had a free shuttle bus to the town centre so we got that and headed down to the river front to see if we could find a restaurant we had heard was really good. The river is so pretty at night. There are lanterns in the river that are all lit up everywhere. The streets in Hoi An are lovely as well. It is a really quaint little town. The restaurant was really hard to find so we gave up in the end and went to a restaurant over looking the river. It was around 9.30 at this point. Everything in Hoi An closes at 10pm apart from a few bars and all the lights on the river are turned off. It kind of adds to its charm because it doesn't force you to go out anywhere either (although they do have 4,000 dong beer her, cheaper again) I still wasn't feeling great anyway so we went back to the room. Date: 19th June 2011 Place: Hoi An Weather: Really sunny until a big black cloud came Got up in time for breakfast again. It was a buffet but was a really weird one! In Vietnam the traditional breakfast is noodles. So typically they put out our version of noodles for our breakfast; spaghetti! There were things like spaghetti bolognaise and vegetables out. They did make us pancakes and Omelettes if we wanted them though and they had a lot of fruit. It said on the map we were given that it was 2km from the hotel to the beach. They lied! We walked for agesss and it was sooo hot!! When we finally got there we cooled off in the sea which was lovely and clear again. Then I just sunbathed for ages again which was nice. When we saw a big black cloud coming we decided to head back. It was a horrible thought of walking it but it had to be done. Instead though we managed to meet a couple of guys who had come down on bikes so we got a lift back with them. We then got the shuttle into town and picked all of our clothes up. They all turned out really well, my dresses were great and my shoes were amazing for just $12! We went out for dinner and decided to stay out a bit tonight. After dinner we tried going to a place called Sun Bar which we had been given a leaflet for. When we got there though there was hardly anyone in there so we just left straight away. On the way back we walked past a bar called Before and Now which had loads of western people in so we decided to go there for a little while. After being there for a little bit a guy started talking to us and invited us to his table so we did. We think in the end they came off a "Sunshine bus" because they all seemed a little strange. We didn't stay out long though and went back to watch another film. Date: 20th June 2011 Place: Hoi An Weather: slightly cloudy Today we decided to make use of the pool at the hotel. I felt German because we claimed our beds before breakfast. Whilst we were out there sunbathing we started talking to some guys who lived in Milton Keynes and a girl who we had met in Nha Trang at the water park. We decided it wasn't sunny enough to just sit around by the pool though so decided to go and find Peace which was meant to be a really good tailor. When we got there the guys from the pool were there picking up some bits. I ordered some shorts, just some black classic linen's, for just $15. After that we went for a wonder around the market and looking in different shops. We then had a coffee in Before and Now and I got a cake which was really good, I was starting to feel better! Dinner was quite early that night because I had to go and pick up my shorts. As we had seen someone eating one earlier in Before and Now, we had a sandwich which was sooo nice! It's so rare to find brown bread in Asia so it was lovely to have it again. Once we had finished dinner we went down to the river front to have some 4000 dong beer which is about 10p. There we met some guys who were travelling in a big group. We told them to go to Before and Now because its where most people head. Lucy and I left just before them and on our way over we were called over by a group of locals with an Aussie guy who asked us to sit with them. We thought why not! The whole point in coming travelling is to experience different cultures so what better way to do it than sitting with the people who live there. They gave us a tonne of free beers and we sat and chatted with them for a while. One of them owned a shoe shop and I asked him if he would make me some shoes for $5 but he just laughed at me and said he would make me 1 shoe. They fed us spicy apple, which was actually really tasty, or maybe I was just drunk, but its supposed to be good for hangovers, hmmm, or maybe not. They also kept pouring Rum down our necks like it was water, I was loving it, but it was taking it's toll on Lucy who went back early.I headed back about half an hour later to find sick all over the floor, poor Lucy, or me for having to clean it up! Date: 21st June 2011 Place: Hoi An Weather: Sunny Today we wanted to go to a beach that was meant to be a lot nicer than the tourist one and it was the one the locals go to. It was a lot further away though so we hired a moped. The roads were really straight and quiet, and it is really the only way to get around without it costing you a fortune. I got on the back of Lucy's moped and off we went. But we went a bit too far, missed the beach and then ran out of petrol. Luckily a kind Vietnamese woman pulled up next to us and asked us if we were OK. She went and got us some petrol and showed us where the beach was. We stopped there for a few hours and it was much nicer than the tourist beach. The water was really clear and there was hardly anyone there. At about 3pm we had to go to pick up my shorts and Lucy's shoes so we hopped back onto the bike and made our way into town, we found a new adrenaline sport, whilst ripping through the streets at rush hour. I picked up my shorts that fitted to perfection, I was really pleased, but must not gain any weight as like I said they fit to perfection, no beers whilst wearing these bad boys. The bike had to be back by 5 so we went back then. We went out for dinner at Treats cafe where we bumped into Jamie and Pete from Mui Ne. We went to Before and Now with them but rather than all having drinks we all had cake! It was looveellyyy. Black Forest Cheesecake yummy! Date: 22nd June 2011 Place: Hoi An Weather: Cloudy and windy It was supposed to be our last day in Hoi An today but we hadn't really got around to booking an Easy Rider tour from Hoi An to Hue so we decided to stay an extra day. Since we didn't know what else to do in the town centre we decided to hire a bike again and explore a bit further. We were going to go to the beach again but decided to carry on down the road and we ended up in the next town which is Danang. There were loads of really nice resorts that we drove past and were sooo envious!! We stopped at the beach in Danang for a couple of minutes which was really nice as well. I never knew before getting here that Vietnam had beaches let alone really nice ones. I suppose it was kind of stupid to think somewhere that was mostly cost didn't have beaches. On the way back we saw a mountain with things all on it. We stopped to have a look and it turned out to be called Marble Mountain which is a big thing to do in Hoi An. We got a ticket and started going up all the stairs. There were a lot. It was full of places to pray and caves with buddhas in. We climbed all the way to peak where you could see for miles! Im glad we came across it because it was worth doing. We stopped off at Na bang beach from the day before for a while to cool down and chill out for a bit. We then decided to head to the river in the day because we hadn't been then before. Shamus and his friend were in Before and Now having lunch when we walked past so we said hi. The river is nice in the day as well. There was a little old man in a boat who wanted his picture taken so he lit his cigar and posed. We took the bike back and then went in the pool where we spoke to a girl for a while about Hanoi because she had been living there for a while teaching English. We decided to go out for dinner a bit earlier again that night and after we went to a place called King Kong Bar which a guy on a bike had been trying to get us to go to for ages. It was empty. But in a way that was really good. It was literally just Lucy, me and a couple and we all played pool all night and got to choose all the music we wanted to listen to. But the best part was snecking extra rum in our drinks when the bar man left and I also snook a free beer or 2,lol