A casual start to the morning in Hoi An before making our way into town for Vietnamese cooking classes. We all trekked out to the nearby produce stalls to take a look at the types of things we were going to be using in the class. There were lots of different herbs and veggies and we also saw the different types off rice available. Back in the kitchen, we shredded veggies, prepped various herbs and made a nice dipping sauce using fish sauce, chilli, garlic, sugar ...

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...

We decided to leave Daniel at the hotel today. He was a bit knackered from all the walking we've been doing and visiting the various old buildings wasn't his cup of tea. Sue wanted a coffee so we went next door and asked for a hot coffee with milk. She got an iced coffee in a tall glass with ice. It was hot today and we got a bit sunburned. Its the first day of our trip that we didn't get a drop of rain. The streets were unusually quiet and even the hawkers seem...

The My Son temple ruins is from the Champa people (pronounced sharmpa or sharm) and is thousands of years old. Our guide explained that the Cham people still exist in about 7 settlements in Vietnam. They are cut off from most modern things and continue to use their own dialect and writing system. They are a very peaceful people whose main activities in life are "to work, sleep and pray". They do not compete in any manner of sports or games and hold women very hig...