They next morning we went back to find granny's souvenir shop. After some confusion, we discovered that granny wasn't there at the moment but her daughter in law was running the stall. Granny joined us soon after and was very pleased to see us. She was joking with us asking us to bring our son back next time we visited as a potential suitor for her granddaughter. We bought up some t-shirts and other souvenirs for friends and family back home. Lunch was at Oodle...

We took a bus from Hue to Hoi An and went a different route than we'd travelled before. Last time we went through the tunnel but this time we went over via the Hai Van Pass. Chenda said if the weather is bad they take the tunnel but the views are worth the climb if its good. Once we settled into the hotel in Hoi An we went to lunch at a lovely little restaurant tucked away in the back alleys of the old town. Their speciality was smoked duck and Cao Lau, a type o...

Hue was a little warmer so we didn't have to rely on the jackets so much. We decided to opt out of the citadel tour because we did that part last time. Instead we tried bun bo hue noodle soup for lunch with our friend Erin from the US. It was a different flavour than the other soups we've tried and the central/Hue style is very popular. Once we walked back to the hotel, Erin convinced the hotel staff to let us check in so we had a much needed shower. The hotel ...

It was going to be a very long road trip to Ha Long Bay so we decided to avoid the rich food for brekkie incase Sue has another bathroom emergency and finally went to the hotel restaurant. Pretty standard western fare but they did have chicken Phò so Steve opted for that. We were out of the hotel by 8.30am with an overnight bag and left our main luggage at the hotel. Another local guide joined us on the bus and explained a lot of the history of Vietnam da...

We had another egg coffee at a different location today. They are all very rich, sweet and creamy and we joked about had we seen it on the menu on our last trip, Sue would have really balked. As with many streets in Vietnam, they are named after the group of business that do trade their. Today we no found what can only be described as "Hardware Street". There were stores selling everything from chicken wire to door handles. There were also shops manufacturing st...