Hoping the backpacks would follow us in a minibus, as promised by the nice guy in the travel company we left Hue on the back of our rented moped and headed for the open road. Fortunately for us he insisted on leading us out of town to ensure we didn't spend the rest of the day circling Hue, so we were soon cruising along the coast road, the smell of salt and fish in our nostrils. The scenery was interesting as we passed areas of land covered with large grave stones. In Vietnam we'd observed the practice of burying the dead in the middle of fields and marking the site with a small gravestone, or in some cases something resembling the Chinese style graves with curved back sections encircling the area behind the gravestone. Indeed in Hue we'd seen some much larger versions of these covering the hills on the outskirts of town, suggesting these may be family plots. The ones along the coast road were something entirely different and each more ornate in style than its neighbour, all seeming to be competing to see which family could provide the best memorial for their dead relatives. It was hard to see how the practice could continue on this scale without encroaching on land much needed for crop growing and grazing. The route took us through some great scenery, and we eventually arrived at the Hai Van pass. An extremely scenic road which twisted and turned its way around the various mountains. It turns out the The Top Gear crew filmed in the same location on their trip to Vietnam. Eventually the road dropped town into Da Nang, a town which seemed to go on for miles. The scale of development was extensive, as the major hotel chains had secured land and were busy constructing leisure villages and complexes along the coast. When we arrived in Hoi An we discovered a much nicer place with boutique hotels and obvious French influence to the architecture. Part of the town has been recognised by Unesco, as a site of historical interest, protecting it from rampant development. Famous for its silk lanterns the town is decorated with a profusion of colourful globes and lamps of all shapes, sizes and colours. At night these come alive with light, turning the town, particularly along the river bank, into an illuminated feast of colour. The town has a mixture of Western influenced cafes, and restaurants alongside street cafes, and food carts. Happy Hours abound, and with careful planning I'm sure it would be possible to enjoy Happy Hour terms for the entire day by crawling from one establishment to another. Whilst we were in Hoi An we managed to squeeze in another snorkelling session. Productive not only for the fish and coral we were able to see, but for the friends we made. Susie and Dec turned out to be awesome drinking partners and Decs Irish humour certainly gave us lots of laughs. We were frequently approached outside bars by vendors trying to sell cards, illuminating plastic balls, peanuts, fans, etc. Dec would banter with them, and the whole experience would have us rolling with laughter. As we were in the town for five days we decided to spend one out on the open road again. Donning crash helmets and hiring yet another moped John piloted the bike onto the open road. We were quickly surrounded by fields, full of mature rice, and sweet corn. Water buffalo wandered through fields and wallowed in the river shallows, and women set up groundsheets by the side of the road to dry the first crop of rice grains. The sun was strong as we drove through the villages, and we were pleased when we arrived safely at My Son, a Unesco site exhibiting stone remains similar to those we'd seen at Ayattaya, and Siem Reap/ Ankor Wat. Now those of you who know me well, will know that I'm not that interested in old relics ( obviously I made an exception for John), so this promised to be a fun day ! As we arrived there were some spots of rain and for a few minutes we had a shower which brought the surrounding area to life. Cicadas, crickets, and birds all competing with each other to make the loudest noise. For those of you who have never heard Cicadas, I can promise you it's a noise that's difficult to believe. The whole forest seems to resonate when the cicadas are in full voice. Usually is difficult to spot the elusive noise makers but today we were lucky. As well as spotting two cicadas we also found numerous skins attached to the trees. The casings were fascinating and looked like insects in their own right. The previous owners having left their outer body in perfect condition, except for the escape hatch on the back of the abdomen. We stopped off on the way back to buy some freshly squeezed sugar cane juice from an elderly woman at the roadside. She seemed delighted to have our custom and gesturing towards two small plastic chairs she proceeded to push the long sticks of cane through her press. A few moments later she presented us with two glasses and a huge smile, revealing a full set of walnut coloured stumps. When we left she was even more excited when John after bidding her goodbye added the phrase "see you soon" in Vietnamese. We stayed in Hoi An for five nights, building up our resilience for the 24 hour sleeper bus journey to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)