Narrow cobbled streets, tailors at every corner, Vietnamese coffee, beautiful beaches, extraordinary architecture and a personality all in its own class. This is Hoi An!

After a short bus ride from Hue we arrived in Hoi An. We where back into the very Hot weather. A short cab ride and our driver released us into the old town. This rectangular area of Hoi An is strictly for motorbikes and bicycles. The streets are literally too narrow for cars and buses. We carried our packs around for about half an hour then sat on the curb and shared a coke to gather ourselves again. We eventually found a hotel on the An Hoi peninsula and dropped off our gear.

Exploring Hoi An was a joy to say the least. The streets are so tight and many shops are stuck away in narrow cul de sacs and dead ends. We hired some bicycles and peddled our way through the maze which makes up the old town. That night we enjoyed a dinner of mackerel cooked in a clay pot and super spicy pork with peanuts and birds eye chillies. The pork dish had the kind of intense heat that still lingered a few days afterwards.

The next morning we hired a scooter and rode out of Hoi An to An Bang beach. For those that don't know, I sometimes call Kate "Dora". She's earned this name because of her similarities to the little cartoon girl called "Dora the explorer". Kate is always trying to push us down dingy alleyways, dusty roads or generally off the beaten track. On this motorbike occasion Dora didn't realise that if she moved her body weight around too much on the little 125cc scooter, it would make the entire bike swerve!! A very scenic rice paddy was coming up on our left hand side, Dora flung her head to the side to get a good look and what happened next was complete anarchy on the road. All the other bikes hooted and cars swerved everywhere. I managed to get control nearly passing out from nerves. Behind me Dora was all smiles, Unreal!

Finally we arrived at the beach. We where greeted by beautiful warm water, palm trees and a delicious lunch. This was the Vietnam we had been looking forward to. We also met some friends there which had been on the Halong Bay trip with us, John & Lori. After a few beers, basking in the sun and a swim it was back on the bike again. This time Dora had strict instructions not to move. In fact I told her to act dead. The ride back was beautiful. Rice paddies, locals on bicycles, water buffalo and a setting sun. A very special ride indeed. That night we met John and Lori for some dinner and sampled some of the local fresh beer, which actually tastes like watered down "Saigon". After a day in the sun, near death on a motorbike and many jugs of beer it was job done. Hoi An you biscuit!

For our last day in Hoi An we ventured off and found a tailor! We both had a pair of shorts made as anything heavier seemed crazy in the hot weather and would also have to be carried around the rest of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. As the tailor was taking our measurements she told me that I had a small bum! I of course told her that it was genetic and she should see my fathers, or the lack thereof! Old Dora found this very amusing. A few hours later and we returned to fetch our shorts. We where both really happy with the end result. It was so nice to try something on which had been made specifically for us. So worth it! That evening we met Erika and Michael, two Aussies which we met on the Halong trip. We ate at a proper Vietnamese joint and tried the local specialty "white roses", which are basically steamed rice flour dumplings filled with prawns and herbs. After dinner we said goodbye to our Aussie mates and took a slow walk back to our hotel, admiring all the artwork and displays the locals had put up in preparation for TET. At night all the displays are lit up and create an incredible jungle of colour for all to admire. Small children stand and marvel at snakes and dragons glowing bright red whilst the parents take pictures. We felt so lucky to be part of their new year celebrations.

Our final afternoon in Hoi An consisted of hanging out in coffee shops whilst waiting for our transfer to Danang were we'd catch the train down to Nha Trang. Eventually Dora got bored and I was tricked into a "relaxing" foot massage. What followed was a confusing combination of pain, pleasure and uncontrollable laughter. I'm not the biggest fan of massages especially the feet. I tried my hardest not to laugh during the massage but couldn't always control myself. The masseuse was loving it though so at least I didn't offend her. At 8pm that night we where transferred back to Danang and patiently waited for our 9 hour train journey to begin. Eventually the train arrived and we picked up all our gear and boarded. We where once again sharing with two other Vietnamese folk although this time our beds where, sorry to say it, disgusting! I'm not easily fussed by this kind of thing but it was like sleeping in one of those rubbish dumps out of " Slumdog Millionaire". Empty coke cans, water bottles, half eaten biscuits and chip crumbs strewn everywhere. Long black hairs covered the very old linen and the pillows where stained with I don't know what. Needless to say we had a bit of a "moment" then cleaned up as best we could, laid down our towels and tried to get some sleep. Confirm the longest 9 ours of our lives but what made it very annoying was that the train staff didn't give a .........!! Vietnam rail could take some serious pointers off Thailand's transport system.

Finally our train pulled into Nha Trang were we literally ran to get away from it. A short taxi ride down to the beach, checked into a reasonable hotel and lay down our towels on the sand. Same same.........