Today we walked around Hoi An town, we booked a ticket to see 5 attractions for the day!

We checked out of our hotel, gutted we never went in the pool, it was beaut! And went to book the bus to NaTrang for tonight. We already bought our open bus ticket for the 6 stops across Vietnam so all we have to do is phone the bus company to confirm. The receptionist tried and failed saying, because we have a bus ticket they're pretending their full, in the hopes of getting more money from people booking last minute tickets, ours is already pre-paid so they're not bothered now they already have our money!

So we got a taxi and went to the booking office ourselves, the receptionist told me to be ruthless and take charge and force them to arrange us a bus! We did! And we succeeded! We had to stand there arguing with two people to let us on, causing a scene of about 20 other travellers and locals watching us and whispering!

The guy got so annoyed and started banging his hands on his desk and shouting at us for not booking the bus the night before, even though we got here late last night and didn't have time! Either way, we knew there were seats available so we told him we weren't leaving without a bus ticket! 30 minutes later he booked it! NOBHEAD!!!

So, on with the day! We walked to the riverside we went to old historic houses, a few dotted around the town! Can't even remember when they date back to but they're old! One was still home to a family of five generations and they just let you wander around!

They were built influenced by Chinese architecture at the time... Chinese markings hoisted above every doorway are etched into wood, made from Mother of Pearl and make Chinese poetry! Totes cultural and all that! See, we don't just get drunk all the time, I ask questions and learn a few things!

The next house I learned something too, for all you blog haters! I keep asking questions to tour guides today if I don't understand something so that maybe we can all learn something together :D So many of the houses and shops All over Asia have have markings above the front entrances, they look like the Darma initiative sign from LOST! The lady explained the outer circle illustrates the 12 astrology (birth year) signs, the inner circle shows the 12 zodiac (birth month) signs and in the centre is the yin yang symbol, representing the understanding of opposites! Very Buddhist! These signs made up together and displayed on plaques on front entrances bring wealth and keep your home peaceful and safe by frightening away evil spirits! Maybe il get one before I'm home to keep my mum out of my room... ;)

She told me 1991 is the year of the goat apparently and I'm artistic, intellectual, have a love for nature and I am sensitive and totes emosh! I also think about what I do before I act upon it as goats are caring and wish to cause no harm to others! What a nice person I am... Couldn't have somed myself up any better if I tried!!

Annie on the other hand, is a little monkey, born in 1992! She didn't really say what this meant so I Wikipedia'd monkey characteristics to find out more about the real Annie! They usually play tricks and practical jokes and they like to stir trouble and bring misery to others out of boredom! When they cause offence they expect the recipient to understand that it was a joke and to deal with the consequences on there own....

I'm saying NOTHING!...

We also walked to Chinese Bridge which is a pretty epic, almost gothic looking bridge over the River. We didn't walk across it as that would be one of the sights gone, so we just took a photo of it so we still have 3 more sights to see! I figured it's free and I can just google the history of it when I'm home :D what a freeloader!

We carried on to the museum, nearly slit my wrists! This was the only place we went today where I didn't actually learn anything, I was so bored! There was a part where they showed you how they make silk and weave cotton and showed you the machine they use to do it, a wooden contraption with strings and toothpicks! Tbf it IS interesting seeing how its done and the fabrics on display must take them hours to make by hand, they're so detailed but, at the time, stood in an old fusty smelling, dusty house I just get bored and want to leave for the next sight!

So we went to the markets and ended up buying a necklace! It's one of the Darma Initiative looking ones! So il keep it in my wallet and it can scare off any unwanted spirits (including Annie) and hopefully I might have a bit more money in their if it's supposed to bring wealth!

The 4th visit was too a temple, not any big epic building or anything but a large relaxed space for meditation... They had hundreds of HUGE spirals of burning incense sticks hanging from the ceiling in the main room! It smelled good but it was so smokey my eyes stung! Made us feel so relaxed though!

And finally, we went to a pottery museum where they had weird pieces on display. This was the boring part, the more interesting part was the history of Halong Bay where we went too last week, made up of a cluster of islands it acts as a a wind trap for North East Vietnam coast! Keep me away from there!!

And that was our day in Hoi An! A really beautiful town and if we didn't have to get to Na Trang tomorrow for my birthday, we would definitely stay here longer!! I love it! We walked home and I tried to keep my eyes on the ground in front of me, of I'd have turned to look into any of the hundreds of amazing shops with cheap clothes here I would have ended up skint!

Our hotel dropped us off at the station for free which was a bonus and we got on night bus with Becca and charlotte again. We had seen them around the town today and stopped to talk to them and we met them in NaTrang yesterday... We all sat and complained about how crap the bus was, the girls caused such a scene when it was too hot at the back, so hilarious!! I think the driver was scared of Becca shouting at him! Haha...

Totes awks when at 2:00am I still couldn't sleep because I needed to pee so bad! I had to crawl over 6 sleeping Asian body's just to get to the front of the bus to ask him to pull over, whilst driving through a mountain, he was having none of it! I could wait 20 minutes though I had to go NOW so stood there arguing with him for 10 minutes before he pulled over at the side of the road! With the whole bus watching me and another coach full driving past I had to stand there and pee into some snake prone bush! What a start to my 21st birthday!!!

Yey for tomorrow!!! :D