Vietnam: Hoi An

The taxi transfer took us to Hoi An where we were to spend the next 4 nights.  The first 2 we managed to get a special offer in a lovely wee boutique hotel with an infinity pool (nice!) and the second 2 in a home stay (more like a B&B than the homestay I did in Laos).  We arrived at the boutique hotel (http://www.mucahoian.com/) and both looked at each other to say 'are we really staying here'?!  The grounds were absolutely lovely and we later found out it had only opened this year so everything was really new.  The room was modern, big and the bed was MASSIVE!  We went for a swim in the pool and even when the heaven's opened and we could hear thunder, we stayed in.  It was lovely & warm & quite refreshing being rained on!  We decided to stay at the hotel for dinner.  The small bamboo restaurant was set over the river so to get to it, you crossed over a bridge which was lit up by lanterns.  It was beautiful.  We had some food and a few drinks and enjoyed the ambiance of the place.  Lovely.

Next day was pretty chilled spent at the hotel enjoying the pool and comfy sunbeds. That evening we ventured into Hoi An.  It was chucking it down.  We found a tailor's that had been recommended to us by some people we met in Sapa.  I wanted to get a Chinese style dress made and Anthony a suit jacket.  The girls in the shop were so lovely and helpful, asking us things we hadn't even thought about.  Of course, they wanted us to buy more!  We were told to come back 24 hours later to see our garments. More on that later!  We then went to an Indian restaurant which was the number 2 on Tripadvisor (my favourite app - not! I should explain, it's a good app but not always user friendly and it frustrates me sometimes!).  The food was delicious!  The onion bhaji s were to die for. I could just eat some right now!

The following day we enjoyed breakfast outside the restaurant overlooking the river at the hotel, and enjoyed some more pool time.  Then before we knew it, it was time to check out and go to our second hotel.  We arrived at the homestay and the owner was so welcoming.  The homestay was more like a 4* boutique hotel!  The only thing missing was the pool, but we didn't care as for the price, it was amazing.  I had suggested using the free pushbikes to go to the nearby beach but Anthony wanted his moped fix so we hired a moped from the hotel and drove to the beach.  The beach was lovely and we lay on the sunbeds listening to the waves. Later we went back to the tailors.  My dress was amazing!  So beautiful and guess how much?  Yes 20 pounds (still can't find the pound symbol on this computer!!).  Anthony's jacket was also amazing.  Fitted him so well and the finish was such great quality.  We then ordered some more things!! I'd already found some photos on the internet from current clothing sites and they said they could copy them. 3 dresses, 2 tops and a winter coat later, I was done!  I'll not tell you how much I ended up spending, but it was a lot more than I planned!  Still, it's loads cheaper than at home.  Whilst we were in the shop the electricity went off!  She finished taking my measurements in the dark using Anthony's Iphone light.  What a pro!  We went to a nearby bar and had dinner and drinks by candle light.  Very romantic and the food was delicious... cooked in the dark!!  They must be used to it! Lovely night.

Our last full day in Hoi An, we thought we better go and see the old town so we got up early and drove down.  You pay for a ticket to enter the old town and wow it was just beautiful.  We wished we had gone there sooner!  We explored the streets visiting traditional houses, stopping for a drink in one of the bars.  We were so hot from walking around, we decided to head back to the same beach we had gone to yesterday.  Then back to the tailor's to collect my mountain of clothes.  They were all so well made and I was really happy.  I just hope I haven't paid for some young kid to make them :(

Our last night In Hoi An we decided to go for dinner and drinks in the old town.  At night, all the houses, bars, restaurants and shops are lit up with lantern's outside all in different colours.  Such a cute place.  Dinner was average (especially when they went from playing romantic music to some terrible dance music really loudly, much to the shock of 3 English people in their 60's!). But we found a cool bar with good drinks offers.  Tempting as it was to stay out, we had to get up at 5.30am to catch our flight, so we called it a night.  Next and final stop in Vietnam... Ho Chi Minh City!