After enjoying our imperial banquet on Sunday night it was time for a leisurely drive along the coast from Hue (pronounced Whay) to Hoi An via Danang. It is a beautiful coastal drive with the China Sea on the left and the mountians that run from north to south Vietnam on our right. We climbed our way up Cloudy pass - a winding road leading upwards to the Hue/Danang pass summit. The view from the top was stunning - sandy beaches, an island off Danang and the city itself. Also old remnants of munitions posts.

Yet again we have been upgraded in our hotel - getting used to this! After settling in we wandered down to the Old Quarter - a UNESCO world heritage site and tried out some local dishes (such as white flowers and green mango salad). Then our guide took us on a tour of the Old quarter but,as the temperature had hit 41 we soon retired to a patisserie (the french influence again...) and I had a pot of earl grey tea!! In the evening most of us went to a cookery class and made 5 local vietnamese dishes included aubergine cooked in a clay pot; spicy fish in banana leaves and vietnamese spring rolls. Our cook was so good and the food was stunning - best meal of the week so far!!

Today I went for an early morning bike ride (6.30) with our guide and one of the guts in the group. We cycled into the countryside, around fishing villages and wandered for about 2 hours. I then came back, had breakfast and cycled to the Old Quarter and wandered round there for a while doing some shopping and saking up the atmosphere. I spent most of the afternoon chilling out and then had a few spa treatments followed by a meal in the old quarter.

We are off to Saigon tomorrow so out of the hotel at 6.30am....bed time!!