Hoi An - Sunday 25th

We checked in to a pleasant hotel with a large, modern room, but we had the usual hassle of the DVD not working and no WIFI access in the rooms as promised in their glossy brochure. Went out to explore Hoi An, which is much more compact and a little less busy than Hanoi and full of tailors and shoe shops.There are quite a few tourists here and the town has a more relaxed atmosphere. However, just two seconds after we stepped out of the hotel we were stopped by a lady on her bike coaxing us just to have a look at her shop and collection of Next Directories, plus other fashion brochures.An hour later we left the shop with an order of six items of clothes to be made for us!She startedby quoting more than you would pay in UK, but we managed to barter down to half her original price - and she is probably still making a killing.One of them seemed to take a liking to Stephen and was rubbing his leg and offering massages free of charge, and then taking longer than usual to measure him up.We then continued on our tour and visited a traditional home where we sampled the 'white rose' shrimp and pork parcels that two girls were busy making.They make more than 600 each per day - not such a great job for 18 year olds, but we suppose it's just a 'Saturday job' for them, rather than their future! After washing them down with some strong green tea, we stopped off at some Chinese Assembly Halls (community centre) with beautifully decorated shrines and the smell of incense burning.In the Museum of Trading Ceramics, the artefacts are far less interesting than the architecture of the buildings, with intricate wood carvings throughout and detailed mosaics in the courtyard.We also passed through the market and whilst it wouldn't win any awards for hygiene or orderliness, it was a royal arcade compared to the one in Hanoi.We stopped for lunch, and whilst eating had sugared ginger and peanuts sold to us from a street vendor and booked trip to My Son for tomorrow.They really don't miss a trick and their opening line is usually something to do with football.Not surprising that the majority of them support Manchester United (yawn), but more surprising is that they have never heard of CrystalPalace!We continued our walk along the river and the JapaneseBridge, originally built in 1590 by the Japanese community to link them with the Chinese quarters.Went back to the hotel to have a refreshing dip in the freezing cold pool and caught up with the premier league football in a pub in the evening and yet again we were pestered to 'buy buy buy' from the street vendors.

Monday 26th

It was an early start for our bus trip to My Son where, set within the jungle and amongst the coffee plantations, are the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Champa.On arrival there was a chance to buy things from the shop!We listened to a lecture by a very enthusiastic guide who told us about the history of the structures and the Cham people. It was used as a religious centre in the late 4th century and the temples dedicated to Cham kings.The structures are covered in foliage and have suffered natural erosion and some significant theft by the French and bomb-damage by the Americans.There were unfortunately so many tourists there you couldn't really get a good feel for the place.We had arranged to return to Hoi An by boat, where we were served an uninspiring lunch of vegetables and rice.We took a detour to a couple of handicraft villages and watched the artisans carving wood, sawing through mother of pearl for the inlays and then the top-dog craftsman making them come alive by painstakingly etching out the detail using a tiny scalpel.On arrival back in Hoi An, we stopped to collect our clothes and had a little argument due to the appearance of a very unflattering bulge that Suz had at the front of her trousers and the 'hunchback' bulge in the back of the top. (Didn't have those features in the brochure!) The other two t-shirts and Stephen's trousers and shirt were thankfully OK and we left them to their alterations.In the evening we went to a restaurant, where they run a not-for-profit social enterprise for street kids and other disadvantaged youths.They are provided with an 18-month culinary and hospitality program and also trained with basic life skills to aid them in making a better chance for themselves.It is a great idea to give these kids an opportunity to assist them in the transition from poverty to self-sufficiency and to hopefully help them in feeling some pride and dignity.It was a great restaurant with really friendly staff and was a shame that it wasn't bursting at the seams with customers, but the town's not that busy at the moment.

Tuesday 27th

The hotel staff tried to move us to a smaller room for the same price and strangely enough we said no!Whilst they are pleasant, they really do need to learn a few things about the service industry.We walked down to the restaurant by the river for our cookery lesson - Hoi An style.We were disappointed that this time we didn't have the chefs' hat and apron to put on
(as this makes the food taste better!), however, we were cooking with some more interesting ingredients and a better menu, than our Hanoi lesson.The young girl, who was the chef, had excellent spoken English and talked us through every step of the way.The menu was traditional Hoi An specialities and included; Vietnamese Salad, Hoi An Spring Roll, Sautéed Vegetables with Garlic, Grilled Fish in Banana Leaf with Turmeric and Hoi An Ancient Town Rice (full recipes available for a small fee from which you will note that every dish contains sugar). We then went shopping for provisions and struggled to find bottles of shampoo and shower gel that were actually full - cheeky b*****s!Stocked up on DVD's and stopped in a shoe shop for Suz to get measured for some new heels.Had another brochure to choose the style and after the shop assistant drew round Suz's foot and taking a few random measurements we left them to it.We also stopped off to get our altered clothes and were pleased with the outcome, so put in an order for more!Spent our 19-year anniversary in our cosy room with a pizza and a marvellous bottle of wine we had been carrying since the MargaretRiver wine tour.