Today was a really nice. We got up at 10ish and the sun was out which was nice after a couple of overcast days.
We went for breakfast at Retreat where we went last night, I am trying to be healthy so I had watermelon, pineapple and banana with yoghurt, although I would have quite enjoyed eggs on toast !
We wandered around the streets of Hoi An on our way to the old town, but got sidetracked by all of the little shops and market stalls next to the river. Vicky and I bought a fake North Face small backpack - I think it'll be useful for hand luggage on flights and if we do anymore treks or overnight trips. I also bought a navy blue Tiger Beer vest which I bartered down from 250,000 dong to 140,000 dong. That is about £4, so I suspected I had overpaid - this was confirmed when Vicky bought the same top in red for 50,000 dong (about £1.50) - I am quite annoyed at myself for being ripped off!
The riverside looked so lovely and there are quite a lot of both tourists and Vietnamese people celebrating Tet, so the atmosphere is really nice - I think it is my favourite town yet.
We had lunch in a little restaurant overlooking the river, I had vegetable spring rolls and rice with peanut sauce for about £1. I did a sly change into my new top at the table, it is really comfy so I think I will wear it a lot.
After lots of wandering around and taking pictures, we never actually made if to the old town, which has an entrance fee of 75,000 dong. Although come to think of it, the really nice area may have actually been the old town and it might be free for Tet. It was still really nice just to peruse the nice jewellery and explore the town, whether it was the old one or not! We saw Charlie and her friends who we had met in Hue a couple of days ago, and we kept seeing other people we had seen before in other places too. I think loads of travellers do this route so we'll probably keep bumping into them.
Before we went back, we stopped at Treat (part of the Retreat chain - there are three in Hoi An I think) and took advantage of happy hour, so we sat outside and had two gin & tonics and two vodka with fresh orange between us.
At 5ish we came back to the hotel and changed to go out. Vicky and Vix borrowed two of my Hollister summer dresses and I wore one of my new pink ones. Most of the Vietnamese people were wearing coats and even scarves, hats and gloves so we looked like silly Westerners in our floaty dresses and flip flops!
We went back to Retreat for a cocktail, and then found somewhere to eat on the riverfront. After we had sat down we heard a huge shouting match coming from the kitchen which then spilled out onto the street which was quite dramatic. After that they stopped letting people into eat but we were still able to order. I had a local dish which you can only get in Hoi An called Cao Lau, and it only cost me 50p! It was really tasty as well.
We went for a wander over the really pretty Japanese bridge, where there were loads of lanterns and went to see a stage where we heard some Vietnamese music. It was actually a form of bingo, so we paid 10,000 dong (30p) each and had a go. We each got a wooden paddle with three symbols on it, and then the musicians play some Viatnamese music interspersed with a man walking round holding up symbols, if you have the symbol he is holding on your piece of wood, you get a flag. You win if you get three flags ie. all of the symbols on your paddle. Vicky won! She got a big silk lantern which is such a good prize, although super hard to transport!
On the way back we saw a swanky looking bar so we stopped for a drink, although we were horrified to see that cocktails were £3! At home that is really cheap, but here that is pretty extortionate - the bar was obviously geared towards Westerners. I had a Tiger Beer and the others shared a cocktail - we are cheapskates!
For that reason, and because we are tired (old ladies) we didn't actually end up properly going out but we had a nice day and evening all the same!
One more day here and then yet another nightbus tomorrow evening so I will update you next time I have wifi!
xxx