Hoi An is a real gem. Scenic river; narrow streets strung with chinese lanterns; gorgeous food; crumbling brightly coloured houses. We spent a lovely couple of days exploring the lanes and markets, cruising the river to see the fisherman at work in their traditional cone-shaped hats and indulging in a few cocktails in the bars overlooking the river (the Big Bamboo is highly recommended). We also repeatedly bumped into an Aussie couple we had met in the Mekong Delta...so much so it almost felt like a stalking situation!!

Our visit coincided with the Mid Autumn festival where groups of kids, and later adults, pranced around the streets in dragon costumes with people wildly banging drums and cymbals. Crowds would go mad as people used fishing rods to dangle money from first floor balconys in hotels and restaurants and dragons would shimmy up a pole to 'eat' the money. Meanwhile people were lighting candles in paper holders and floating them out onto the river and we also witnessed the most bizarre game of Vietnamese bingo with people going mad as they were awarded yellow flags by a man in a yellow robe and multi-coloured cone-hat. I can't see it catching on at home!

Our stay in Hoi An was finished off with a quick visit to the Cham ruins of My Son, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mark's one profound insight into this ancient ruin was 'wow there are a lot of kn*bs here!' This could have referred to:

i) the hoardes of irritating tourists or

ii) the many, many Hindu sculptures of 'linga' which are indeed....stone carvings of penises.