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4 July: Hoi An

We freshen up and head across the road to rent two bikes, today we plan only to relax at the beach with no intentions other than to read, tan and swim. Along the way we stop at the market to enjoy our usual Mi Quan and Coa Lau, before continuing down the main road of town all the way to the beach, its only a 4 to 5 km ride and the road is relatively flat, making for an enjoyable cruise. Along the way the scenery changes somewhat from small shops and tailors to residential areas and many larger resorts and hotels, especially as you near the beach. It's also a beautiful ride through the rice paddies in the middle of the town, amazing!!

At the beach we are informed by staff of a hotel that if we want to sit at their chairs it would cost us $5 a chair, we park our bikes and wander down the beach to an area where there is no one. There we find a reed umbrella and sit down just before one of the beach vendors approaches us to try and sell her cards, necklaces and bangles. She soon finds that we are not really interested and wanders off looking for Brits or Americans. We lay there under cover while we settle into our books, stopping for the occasional 30 minute swim.

The rest of the afternoon is relatively eventless, by 14h00 we pack up and head back, having experienced two days of sudden down pours in the afternoons and not wanting to be caught in one on the way back. We make a detour and head for the riverside, sharing an ice cream and beer between us, as we watch others go about their touristy day. Afterwards we head further down river to a little restaurant we were yesterday to make a booking for a cooking course. We even chose the dishes we want to make, focusing on: Mi Quan, Coa Lau, Pho Bo, Fried aubergine and Fried spring rolls. We head to the hotel, buying fresh French rolls (baquettes) and water along the way. Back home we relax with a movie, while making a lunch of Avocado rolls.

Its that time again, we head down to Hi, hopefully for our last fitting! I only have to fit the last suit and some shirts which were adjusted. Mine are fine, no real concerns, next Leanne is up with 4 dresses and a suit. Overall she felt better about everything, except for one dress, which didn't fit right from the beginning - she thinks that they cut the material wrong at the very start and now it can't be saved. After the fitting we head back to our usual spot for dinner. We order a round of fresh beer and start off with rice and stir fried vegetables. Next its Banh Xeo, a mixture of leaves, egg pancake and shrimps, which one wraps in rice paper and dips in a sauce. The last on the list is once again the fried aubergine, with toppings of chicken, onions and tomato. We ate a little more than usual at dinner because it wasn't expensive and it was the best food we've been able to find in Vietnam!! We chat a little longer with the waitress, with whom we've become well acquainted before heading home.