Got in very late to Hoi An but there were still lots of foreigners walking around the streets. We hadn't seen any Aussies for a while but it appears they were all bunked in at the Hoi An Historic Hotel. The lobby seemed full of them. The swimming pool looked promising and boasted a Western-style bar overlooking it. Actually this is somewhat of a rarity over here. Back home there's almost a pub or club on every block but they're few and far between in Vietnam. Sue was just happy to have a cold glass of white wine that wasn't $10 a glass. The room was nice and we were looking forward to exploring the next day.

After breakfast, we'd only made 2 steps outside the hotel before a lady seemed to appear out of nowhere greeting us cheerfully and asking where we were from. The good hawkers are very good at engaging you in conversation and this lady was very slick. She had a clothing store "nearby" so she set off with the three of us trailing behind. Buying clothes was on our list of things so we were fairly easy to convince.

We were led into the main markets that had a zillion stall holders with tall racks of various cloth. We were invited to sit and meet with her sister who was the main dress maker. We flicked through a heap of glossy magazines and asked to bookmark anything we liked. They could make anything we wanted and it would be custom fitted and of the highest quality. There were so many stall holders here we were very apprehensive that we were going to get ripped off and left with clothes that would fall apart after one wear.

A couple appeared and we recognised the Aussie accent immediately. They were picking up clothes ordered the day before and between the banter of the sales ladies, they assured us that this was probably the best dressmakers in the whole market. Both they and friend of theirs have been back several times and never been disappointed. They also gave us a tip we should bargain down to $60 for a dress and $20 for a shirt. Everyone relaxed a bit after that and we really started to enjoy the experience. The ladies were joking around and pandering up to Steve (see the "chopped liver" reference below). The lady that originally coaxed us in was massaging Steve's neck and shoulders.

Steve took a punt and decided to see if they could make him a karate gi. Although he couldn't find material of sufficient weight to make a proper one, he decided that a lightweight one would probably be ok for training in summer. To get the pattern, he was lead several streets away to an internet cafe so he could get printouts of exactly what a gi looked like. It is going to be a real surprise to see how this one works out. He might end up with some very coarse pyjamas.

Daniel had decided on 2 pairs of shorts and a collared shirt. Steve had 2 pair of cargo pants, two casual shirts and the gi. Sue however was being inundated with fabulous designs and a plethora of material designs and colours. As we approached the final sale point, Sue had tallied up 7 dresses, 1 pair of pants and 5 tops! Despite our protests they were not budging on the total items, instead they just trimmed the total. By the time we'd finished haggling, we'd almost got all Daniel and Steve's clothes thrown in for nothing. That being said, a million dong (about $50) might stuff your wallet with notes but doesn't go that far in Hoi An clothes shops. The clothes would be ready to pick up after 4pm the following day.

The spending frenzy wasn't over though. Before we were able to make our escape, one of the other ladies who had been pandering to us convinced us we needed new shoes to go with our new threads. Despite our protests that we had no money left (which wasn't stretching the truth), they insisted that we needed to place our orders now so they would be ready before we left. They agreed to take a credit card deposit (50%) and we could pay the rest on pickup. Steve ordered a new pair of leather thongs and Sue got a pair of sandals and pair of nice heels to go with her dresses.

With heads still spinning as to the amount of money we'd just spent, we got left the main markets and resumed sightseeing. We found a stall holder that sold a variety of stuff we'd been considering buying - wooden chopsticks, little tin coffee drippers and a few other knick-knacks. The lady wouldn't haggle down though but we still got a bargain.

I don't know how, but Sue was lead off with Daniel and Steve in tow to a little back room across the road. Sue was laid down on the bed and "threaded" which involves using a twisted cotton thread to pinch out all the fine hairs along the lip line. The agreed price was $1. Sue was wincing with each pluck and her eyes were watering. The lady then tried to convince us to spend 400,000 dong to do her chin, cheeks and jawline. Despite our protests that we were all but broke, she was very insistant. The price plumetted but we honestly just couldn't anything like that at the moment. Steve paid her the initial agreed price and we finally got away.

The rain started again as we walked along the waterfront. The buildings here are stunning in their own rustic way. This area was almost untouched by the war and dates back centuries. We found the Mango Bar which had been highly recommened to us - mainly because of their all day half price cocktails. The main meals were a bit on the pricey side (on the Viet scale) but we couldn't go past $2.50 cocktails. We decided on a variety of starter dishes which were all very delicious.

We wandered around the old streets just soaking up the scenes, smells and sounds. There are a LOT more tourists here from all sorts of countries. Loads of Aussies & poms, a few Americans and a scattering of Europeans such as Dutch, French. We also hear what we think is Russian but yet to confirm that one. Every city we've been to has a totally different vibe. Hoi An is very different to other cities but very vibrant and interesting.

By mid-afternoon we were conking out a bit so we took the hotel shuttle bus for a look and the beach, then back to the hotel to settle in beside the pool.

We headed out for dinner to find a cafe called Cargo. It has very good reviews and Steve had spotted in earlier just near where we'd had lunch. We went upstaris out of the noise and bustle of drums, cymbals and kids in dragon costumes celebrating the full moon festival.

The people sitting behind us looked familiar thanks to some tattoos on their arms. We worked out they were at the Rex the same time we were there and so we got talking. Cal and Toni were seasoned travellers and this was their 10th trip to Vietnam. They gave us some very valuable tips, especially regarding ATM's - put your hand over the keypad when you type your PIN! They'd been cleaned out a few years ago by this ratbag skimming cards. The Aus federal police had been involved as well as the Vietnam authorities.

Fantastic food once again. Sue and Daniel had spicey beef served in a coconut with jasmine rice. They set the coconut on fire in front of us! Steve had a fish noodle dish that was cooked with fresh herbs on a table cooker in front of him too. Sue and Daniel agreed that this was probably the best dish they'd eaten in Vietnam.

As we were leaving there was a spectacular dragon display outside with the kids lifting each other off the ground and scaling poles in the dragon outfits. The noise and cheering of the crowd was pretty amazing. Cal and Toni were on their way to India the next day to visit their brother (the Australian consulate no less!) so we bid them farewell and went back to the hotel.

Early start tomorrow with our trip to the My Son temple ruins.

Interesting Observations:

• How is it that a poor country like Vietnam can have free wifi in every hotel, cafe and airport across the country yet in Australia we have to pay through the nose.
• To avoid the misunderstanding with ordering food/drink (i.e. like the milkshake in Delat), some wait staff will use a pen so you can clearly point to the item on the list. Some read back the order to you so pay attention.
• Most of drivers labour the engines of their vehicles almost to the point of stalling. Driving up a hill in 5th gear doing 80km/h with the chassis shuddering should be a giveaway that its time to change gear.
• Its easy to mix up the 10.000 and 100.000 dong notes. Pretty embarrassing when you've got a $5 bill to pay and you hand over 50c. Ordering notes in your wallet helps.
• Making hand signals like you're writing on your palm with a pen is the universal sign that you'd like to pay the bill. Dead easy.
• Every restaurant / cafe we've been to has English translations on the menu. Good business sense I guess.
• Even though English is taught very widely in schools, some young people do not know a word of English.
• School kids start very early in the day, around 6am, but have a couple of hours free over the lunch break. Some museums & such also close during this time.
• Its the men who appear to get all the attention from the female hawkers in Vietnam. Sue refers to herself as chopped liver when they're trying to convince you to buy.