I had the best day so far today. While the rest of the group did the Foodie Tour, I'd opted to take a cycle in the Hoi An countryside. I was so lucky to be the only one on the tour so had Phu the guide all to myself.

We picked up our bicycles from the Hoi An Express office, then set off through the streets of Hoi An down to the river. While it was a little nerve-wrecking at first, I soon felt at home on the bike and just kept to the far right of the road. We cycled through the markets dodging pedestrians, cyclopeds and other cyclists.

A ferrry took us on a ten minute trip to the other side of the river where we set off. It was so wonderful, meandering along the countryside taking in the scenery.

First stop was at a factory where mother-of-pearl is inlaid into timber to make decorations and bedheads. Quite nice, but not my style.

Along the way we saw rice paddies, corn and peanuts growing. Phu was interested to learn that I grew up on a peanut farm...or maybe he was just being polite.We also passed fields where reeds are grown to make the straw mats that the Vietnamese put on the top of their wooden beds to sleep on...very hard, but good for the back they all say. I've even noticed that the hotel beds are very firm.

We called in to Phu's family home, it was great to see the inside of a local house. It was very basic, just a couple of rooms and an upstairs area where it looked like grain was being stored. There were melons growing in the front yard and in the rear a pig pen, cow shed and a small plot of land where Phu's papa grows peanuts, but it was now planted with corn.

I didn't want to be rude and take photos of the inside of the house, so I asked if I could take a photo of them standing in front of the bags of peanuts that were stacked inside the house. In doing that I was able to get a little bit of the house. Phu's mother was out tending the family's four cows and we met her further along the way.

We stopped at another house where two ladies were weaving the straw mats for the top of the beds. Once harvested the reeds are dried and chemically coloured. It takes the two ladies half a day to make one mat which they sell for AUD1.00. Phu tells me this is enough to buy food but not enough to pay to go to hospital if they get sick. Vietnam is a comunist country but he tells me everyone is not equal.

Our next stop was at his auntie's house where I meet his auntie and cousin. Again I was able to sneak in a bit of the house while taking a family photo.

Although I was to have lunch at a restaurant back in Hoi An, as part of the tour, Phu asked if I'd like to have an authentic Vietnamese soup called Pho. I jumped at the opportunity and we headed to a local cafe. The Pho was very tasty and that and a can of Coke cost me AUD1.00!

Then it was onto the ferry and back to the mainland. I ate at the One Moment restaurant which was down a bit of an alley but sat above the river. Even without the Pho I could never have eaten all the food put in front of me, there would have been more than enough for two. My favourite was the sour fish soup.

As I was already at the markets we headed to pick up my shoes and top that were being made. Unfortunately the shoes were both a little too long and the top was too big so they were to be adjusted and dropped at the hotel.

I spent the afternoon catching up on my blogging and enjoying the air conditioning. At 5:00pm I went to the lobby to meant the shopkeeper with my shoes and top. 5:00pm came and went and I stayed until 5:45pm then figured I'd done my money. I was lucky though that Phu had gone to the stall with me so maybe I could ask him to go chase them up for me and mail them to me in Ha Noi.

Resigned to the fact that I may not see my tailor made gear and headed of for an hour's Vietnamese massge for AUD25.00. I foolishly thought that like the Vietnamese people, it might be quite gentle, but it wasn't. Actually it was quite good to be pumbled a bit and get the knots out of my muscles. The most interesting part was the head massage which consisted of lots of thumping on my skull, pressing around my eyes and pulling of my hair! My head has never felt so good.

Still full from my huge double lunch, I slipped into the hotel's restaurant for a quick banana pancake with chocolate sauce...not something I'd normally have chosen, but there wasn't a lot on offer as far as desserts go.

Time to pack up ready for the flight tomorrow morning to Ha Noi. Oh, I stopped at reception and low and behold there were my shoes and top.