The girls all did really well following the head chef's instructions especially as it was a five hour class and a bit tricky at times. We made a total of 4 different dishes. First we made cabbage soup- sounds very unappetising but was actually delicious. Next up spring rolls with prawns. This was followed by crispy pancakes and finally a mango salad with spicy chicken. The head chef started out in her parents kitchen aged 10 years. She gave a fascinating insight...

This morning we booked a cooking class with the Morning glory restaurant. We started at 8:30am with a tour to the local market. It was an amazing place full of incredible fresh produce. The women here go to the market twice a day to ensure they are cooking with the freshest ingredients possible - must be why everything tastes so good - all those fresh herbs etc. After some time at the market we headed back to try our hand at making some Vietnamese dishes.

We went exploring the old town this am. It's such a lovely place. The pace of life is much slower than Hanoi which made it easy to wander around. We had heard about the tailor shops in Hoi An but were amazed at how many there are- 350 apparently! We had been recommended one so we headed off to the Gaga tailor shop. We all had a field day picking patterns and choosing fabrics. After a couple of fittings we've come away very happy and with alot more clothing ...

After a big old day of travelling we made it from Halong Bay to our next stop Hoi An. The girls couldn't wait to check out the pool so were swimming by 7:30am-certainly warm enough to contemplate swimming at this hour!