Arrived in Hoi An after an overnight bus, which arrived an hour earlier than expected and called the homestay to pick us up, giving them the address we had on the ticket. 20mins later when we they hadn't arrived, I was thinking it was strange. But o well, someone showed up on a bike with our name on a card about 30mins later and on I hopped for the moto ride to the guest house. Turns out the bus had dropped up at the bus station, not at the address on the ticket and when he'd asked me if we were at the bus station, I'd said no. It was just a piece of dusty ground with no signs. Turns out this was the bus station, oops. Anyways when Kenny arrived, Duong made us a complimentary coffee with condensed milk (I am strangely getting used to it even though at first I was repulsed). The coffee was so good. He was very helpful giving us a map to explain the orientation of the city, and giving us ideas on what we could do for the day. Having sat a few hours, we got showered, gave our clothes for laundry and went out for a walk to find a tailor shop. That was easier said than done when it's Tet, a big Vietnamese holiday to celebrate lunar new year. Lots of the places were shut. So we thought our dreams of suits were over. We headed back to the homestay, tired, hot and thirsty, to overhear someone saying they had just ordered their suit in the recommended tailor shop, Bao Diep. This time, having had a rest we were happier to head out, and got Kenny ordered up for his suit. He was soo excited about it. Although initially it could have been really cheap, they talk you into the better material, which meant you had more choice and it lasts longer, so he was happy enough. The lady in the shop was very helpful and we did bargain her down a little. Afterwards we walked around the town, trying to avoid the cycle bikes and motorbikes, and found a nice restaurant called Rice drum and ordered some Pho, which is a Vietnamese traditional dish of rice noodle need soup, really good. Also bumped into Cahill and Dave who we met in Dalat, it's a small world. Walking through the streets of Hoi An at night, there are soo many people, but it soo pretty. Lanterns hanging from every exposed surface, candles in coloured boxes floating down the river, really liked it.

The next day, we had breakfast and got chatting to Katie and James from England. Turned out Janes had been on the same island as us at the same time in FIJI, we had just never met. Freaky. We didn't have any plans so rented out a cycle bike and road around the town. Then cycled to the beach... You had to pay to park your cycle bike, so being the stingys that we are, we just had a look at the beach then left. We had our beach time in Nha trang so we were happy enough to skip. We noticed buffaloes whilst we were riding so pulled over to take pictures and the farmer, he pulled one to the side so we could get pictures with it, putting a Vietnamese style hat on to enhance the setting. Was a good wee day but still tough enough in the heat. Kenny had his first fitting for his suit, which went really well. Met Charlie and James there who were also staying at Blue clouds. Purchased a hammock that I have been after for ages, Dad may get thinking of an invention for me to be able to use it. Lol. Again we had a lovely dinner in Rice Drum, and I found a beautiful leather bag I'd love. Also managed to get Helen a few things made for the wedding, which was great. We stumbled upon an amusement park so played 'throw the basin ontop of a 6 pack of beer' and 'pick the duck with the right number to win a prize'. No such luck but it was fun. Had a few fresh beers (7,000vd which is 50c or 25p! And you can get them for as little as 10p) in Fish and Chips, and got talking to a lovely couple from Liverpool.

The next day we went on our official bike tour which took us to the beach and through the countryside. A private tour is great but always make me feel uncomfortable about how much to tip. The guide Lien was very nice. She took us to a pagoda, and explained that although Vietnamese are religious, they don't visit the pagoda too often as they are always busy working, so mostly on special occasions. Tet is their biggest celebration of the year, where they dress in their traditional clothing and the kids get presents. They believe that how you behave on Tet will reflect how your year will be; so if you are happy, you will have a happy year. And vice versa. She said even if you are angry or sad, you try your best to smile all day. She took us to a farm, where the people had allotments that they were tending. Then past a duck farm. Then to a field full of water with a farmer and his buffalo; so what happens next... Kenny is riding the buffalo through the lake haha. Was hilarious. A bit to dirty for me so I was happy taking pictures. The tour ended with lunch at a local restaurant where we had mi quang and cao lao. Both very nice. We'll be finding more if that. We told her we were after a good tailor, so ended up at Bebe who we had read good reviews on tripadvisor about anyways. But I wasn't in the right mind to just choose there and then. So went away and had a wee think, then came back later on to have stuff made. This still took me a very long time until I figured out exactly what I wanted and the price, and even then we had left the shop and I changed my mind about the lining and had to go back, but I think I'll like it. I'll be going back tomorrow for the first fitting :) Tonight we went out for a street food dinner with Katie, James, Charlie and Jo, having more Cao Lao, and Kenny got his favourite BBQ pork. A few more fresh beer, and we called it a night.

When we think on it, we actually did very little the whole time we were in Hoi An; eat, drink, sleep, shop and chat. So today was pretty much the same, although I had a suit fitting and at first the jacket was far too big. In her opinion, as I didn't have a clue, but I was reassured that usually it didn't need altered too much and she would make it right. Fine by me, I was just happy that after all my himming and haaaing, that I really loved the outcome. Later when I came back, she still wNted further alteration on the jacket but the skirt was perfect and the dress only needed a minor tweak. She was very through and professional, I'd certainly go back to to Lien in Bebe when I return to Hoi An. Got more street food tonight and again loved it. Eventually gave in and bought my bag, love it too. Now just to get them posted tomorrow. We tried for fresh beer tonight but they were out so back to my fav Lipton iced tea can and played a new card game with Katie called spit, whilst the boys talked poker and pranks.

Today we rode the Hai Van Pass from Hoi An to Hue with Katie, James, Charlie and Jo. It's a famous road that Top Gear rode in one episode and it's absolutely beautiful. We went via a gorgeous beach in Da Nang that had lots of fishing boats and circular bamboo floating boats. Then we visited a huge statue on the hill called Marble mountain where they had a huge marble statue of a Buddha, very pretty views over Da Nang and the coastline. We took turns at leading and meandered the windy roads; up, down, round and round, trying to avoid the other drivers, over take the lorries and avoid the sheep and goats. We found lunch when we got hungry; not the best but filled a hole. The next road was dusty and dirty and full of traffic, seemed a bit dangerous actually. So we did a bit of a U-turn and took the bumpy coastal route. I was glad I wasn't driving. It probably added on at least 2 hours but was worth it to be out of the crowds. We passed through tiny villages with locals waving, probably not seeing westerners too often. Sometimes the gravel roads made driving difficult but by this stage, our asses were soo sore, we felt every bump in the road. Kenny said I shouldn't feel it as much as I have more padding! The best part was yet to come. We were leading and Kenny pulls over, and points. Buffalo were bathing in the stream and all you could see were their heads. This was at the same time as the sun was setting. Absolutely beautiful and the perfect end to our brilliant day. We arrived in Hue, staying in Tran Ly on 4th floor with no lift. We were excited for a free breakfast for a change. We had dinner at risotto restaurant with our wee blue clouds family then an early night.

The next day we caused the Citadel and Forbidden purple city with Katie and James. It was roasting and we were all just tired, so didn't really take too much in, but it was interesting. We were walking out and we bumped into Mario and Sabrina who we had met in Bangkok. I had been texting her and didn't think we'd see each other along the way, so this was exciting. All 6 of us had dinner at a local restaurant, trying a new things. We said our goodbyes to them and then later to Katie and James, our Vietnam amigos and boarded our 14hour overnight bus to Hanoi.