The journey to Hoi An began this morning with yet another bus that was going to be late. I seem to have booked sleeper buses for my entire journey through Vietnam, which is cool if the journey is at night but a little strange lying down for 5 hours in the middle of the day, ho hum.

The unfortunate part about getting 'a good seat' meant that I had to compromise on having no fan and not being able to see a whole lot as I stupidly chose a seat on the top deck near the front of the bus. It's actually quite scary seeing what the driver is doing and after spotting a massive hole in the windscreen you do wonder whether he can see where he's going either! The journey however more than made up for anything else, the scenery was stunning as we passed by the side of the Marble Mountains and onto our first rest stop of the trip. I will admit that there was absolutely nothing special about this service station so I went for a walk. Behind the service station was a small fishing lake with the most glorious back drop of the mountains behind it. I sat down for a while watching the locals in their fishing boats.

Our journey continued with a trip through the tunnel which passes through the mountains. I've been through a few tunnels so this shouldn't make the blog but it was the biggest tunnel I have ever seen. One I think to rival the New York tunnel. It was a shame that we didn't go into the mountains and over that way and I couldn't help but think I would have been better off on a motorcycle to appreciate the scenery better but at the same time I was also thinking about that rubbish Stallone movie 'Daylight' and wanted to get through to the over side sooner rather than later!

Arrival in Hoi An took a little longer as we had to pass through Da Nang which yet again had another stunning view (got to think of more words for nice!). As usual we were greeted with the usual touts but I had already booked a hotel but still needed a taxi. This is when I thought I would get onto a Xe Om. Which translated is a motorbike taxi. Basically he stuffs your bags between himself and the front of the bike and you hop onto the back. It was only a short ride but I was very wary about how easily these things tip over. What I couldn't believe was we were riding down an avenue and someone pulled up beside me to talk to me about getting a dress tailored in their shop!

It was already so hot here in Hoi An and I was glad to get to the hotel room and discover they had air conditioning. Ordinarily I don't care about that but today it was a nice treat. This is by far the best hotel room I have ever been in, ensuite bathroom, balcony, Air con, TV and a double bed. I just didn't see why you'd need a phone next to the toilet? Who are you going to call from there?? Anyhow I thought I would get out and see some of the town so I rented a bicycle and went cycling around, the old town is very nice, compact and still has some original architecture left. I took a wrong turn and ended up cycling out to the countryside which was nice till someone randomly started shouting 'F*** you' at me whilst I was riding past...

I bumped into Jackie and Caroline randomly in the town and then went back to the hotel to get changed for dinner. The town comes alive down by the riverside at night with lanterns and music and dancing. I got there a little late to see all of the shows but what I did catch was great. I ended up having dinner in a little restaurant called Wrap and Roll which is the other side of the river, very recommended, nice service and wonderful food. Although they did find it a little funny that I was struggling with the spicy food! I was getting a little tired by then and decided to walk back to the hotel...damn that was a long walk! Sightseeing tomorrow I think!

The picture is of the scenery from behind the service station on the way to Hoi An.