Exploring Hoi An

Slept until almost 7am which felt great. Had a leisurely morning and had  breakfast by the river. Thought we would walk around town in the morning while it was still relatively cool.

It is true that you can get anything you want made in Hoi An. As soon as we crossed the bridge, we ran into a jewelry store that hand makes all their jewelry. I have been searching for some gold earrings and it turns out that Vietnam is pretty much a silver kind of country. But I wasn't giving up. We walked into the store and they were just great - pushy - told us we could make anything we wanted and be ready by the afternoon. Bingo!

Geoff decided it was time to get a new suitcase and Vietnam is as good a place as any. He was looking for a medium size duffle with wheels. We looked a bit last night before dinner. Found one that was good. The woman wanted $35 - told her we would be back today.  Going in and out of the stalls along the streets, we came upon that same bag at a different vendor.  This time it was "First customer discount" and we got the same bag for $25. Can't go wrong there. We will leave the old suitcase in Hoi An. Did some more shopping around (now that we have a bigger boat!). 

Picked up some essentials and headed back to the pool. Passed our laundry hanging out on the way back. We had talked about talking a walk along the river but it was way too hot to do much of anything but dip in and out of the water. Hung around the pool and chatted with a young gal from Toronto till it got hungry. Geoff and I offered to walk into town to pick up lunch if she would hold our spots by the pool. We walked down to get some banh mi sandwiches - which were supposed to be outrageous. The place we got them, was featured on some kind of Travel Channel. The place is tiny and it was mobbed. Finally made it back to the pool. Sandwiches were good - we like the African Swarma better however.

The group got back from biking and starting wandering into the pool area. The major consensus was that the ride was not that good and the road was definitely not that good. Really glad we took a day off to chill and get some stuff done. We packed it in at 3:30 and Geoff went to get the wash. We gave them a huge bag of some pretty stinky stuff and it came back washed, dried, and folded for around $5. Waited till 4 and went across the bridge again to pick up the earrings. Perfect!

On the way to the room, I passed the beauty salon and thought it was a time for a hair trim. We have been away about a month now and my hair is getting huge. Plus it is very hot. It is pretty much a hack job (sorry, Kristy) but it'll grow and for right now it should be a whole lot cooler on my head.

We are on our own tonight so not sure where we will wind up. Well, we wound up eating our way through the middle of town trying out some of the local street food. First there was the deep fried crab - the whole crab. Yummy but crunchy. Then we split a fried banana pancake - chewy and sweet. Next, Geoff got a bbq corn - tasted more like popcornwith buttery chili. Finally, we each got a small sweet potato with coconut patty - sweet and yummy. When we had our fill of appetizers, we meandering down to the river and tried to find a food vendor there. Unfortunately, there isn't much without meat when it comes to street food. We headed back to the strip and picked a place that had actual sandwiches. Geoff got a home made veggie burger - which was delicious, and I got a veggie panini - also very good. Had our fill and tried to find this NZ ice cream the kids at the pool were talking about but never succeeded. Grew tired and walked back over the bridge to the hotel.

Hoi An is another busy place with scooters blowing by you. There is a section of town that is strictly for bikes and pedestrians and that is just always crowded with tourists. Our hotel directly over the bridge but fortunately it is one of the quietest places we have stayed at. Usually there has been either an amusement park or karaoke or some other kind of noise.. 

Tomorrow the plan is for 100km up and over another mountain pass with lunch and swimming at a beach. I'll try but I doubt I'll make it up. In any event, I'll have fun going down. Good night.

Next time... The Road to Hue