Hoi An - Day 1 and 2

I am doing the first evening and next two days in Hoi An together as we spent our time pottering around the town.  That's what you do here, walk around have coffee, wander the small streets, haggle a bit before buying something, have a mango smoothie, wander through the market etc.

Rod has discovered Vietnamese iced coffee, and me too! Condensed milk at the bottom, strong black Vietnamese coffee poured over ice. Yum! The coffee out here tastes like mocha, its wonderful. Too strong for me on its own, but over ice... Sublime.

Anyway as I have said before it is Tet here, and Hoi An was like Disneyland on speed. During the day it is fairly quiet, but a 5pm all hell breaks loose.  Coaches and scooters pour into town carrying locals in for party, and everything is done loudly and colourful.

Our hotel overlooks the river and the Old Town, by 5pm hundreds of plastic chairs and tables line the road outside, and small portable cooking stations are busy making Bun cha or Cai Lau ready for the families coming into town. We would sit on the balcony watching it all happen.

So we get our hotel from the beach. The weather has turned and it reaches 35 on the first day. In the afternoon we take ourselves off to visit the town. Dinner was a local sit on a stool affair with spring rolls and noodles.

In the afternoon when we first got there we padded out to the Silk Village, a tourist place but we had an interesting tour around the history and how silk is produced here. Of course most of it has been fully mechanised now.  Also about the different types of silk and how to tell the difference, whether it is a mix or fake. We have to take a cigarette lighter with us and see the face of the merchant when we ask to set fire to it!!

At six we are listening to a jaunty little number being sung by a woman on full volume from a stage.  It was followed by a klaxon, not nice. Then 10 minutes later the same song and klaxon, this went on until 10.30.  By that time I wanted to do something unpleasant to her with her microphone. After three days of this you became oblivious to it.  We found out it was something sort of lottery, and the song was sung just before whatever was picked out.  A bit of variation pleeeease.

Hoi An is a lovely town recognised by UNESCO. It is graceful in parts, with a great atmosphere. The Old Town is full of old house from the Japanese merchants, some French colonial buildings and an assortment of narrow shops all worth going into, unfortunately for Rod.  It's quite touristy and trendy, but wit a relaxed feel and gift and craft shops, restaurants and Wine bars, but quite delightful.  Kate, I'm not surprised you love to come back here, I would any day.

Ohh and it full of tailors shops, and if we had any room in the cases, think we would paying a visit or two into some of them.  Some look stylish and others.. Well.. Different. How about a suit or two like this for Rod! What do you think?

Just over the bridge they had a really old fashioned fun fair where you throw darts at balloons and walk up bamboo poles and not fall off, pot smashing and painting for the kids. It was really great fun. And all to win a fluffy toy or bottle of lemonade.

Right in the centre, the town was heaving with families, packs of giggling girls and boys trying to look cool. Street vendors with every thing on sale, people sat on plastic stools cooking up grub.

On the second night we found a small restaurant on our side of the water called the Red Gecko and had the best seafood spring rolls and wonton ever, ohh and two caiparinas for a £1. What more could you want.

To be continued......