Hoi An

Hi again,

Thought I would do a post again as Tom is getting a facebook fix. We finally managed to find a cafe with a good internet connection (about 35 cents/hour). We decided to head straight for Hoi An which meant missing a few things on our proposed itinerary, but all the little stops get expensive. There's quite a bit to do here and so far we love it. We travelled into Typhoon Mirinae territory, but it passed over the coast a bit south of here. Lots of rain yesterday but so far just wind today, so we should be able to get out and about. The typhoon was actually downgraded to a tropical storm anyway, so we weren't too worried. Hoi An got hit by one pretty bad about 3-4 weeks ago, so it's the last thing they needed.

Oh my God, the food here is unbelievable, and about half the price of Hanoi. I'm going to find a cooking class for sure, see if I can drag Tommy along too! He has been a great travelling companion, never complains and eats pretty much anything. He is giving spaghetti bol a workout though! He has been a big hit with the locals, and other travellers too. The vietnamese seem to call all children 'baby', so I get 'baby need banana, baby need pineapple'? Tom's favourite though is 'baby very handsome'! Just kidding. He's getting quite embarrassed by that one. A tourguide in Sapa was trying to get him to go to the Saturday hill tribe love market, so find himself a nice Hmong girl! (very strong, make nice weaving!!).

Our last day in Hanoi we went to a couple of museums, the temple of literature and hoa lu prison. The first one was Hanoi's first university and is over 1000 years old, but the prison was very interesting. They kept American POWs here during the war, mostly pilots shot down when bombing Hanoi - including John McCain. The prison was mostly used by the French though for incarcerating Vietnamese during the colonial period. Anyway, it was a pretty disturbing place really. We also took our life into our hands by taking a ride on a cyclo, which was on Tom's to do list. We think we've mastered the art of crossing the street, which is a mission. Basically you walk straight into the traffic or else you'll never get across, and proceed slowly, not dashing across as we do at home. Let me tell you, this is a nerve wracking experience at first, especially when you have your child with you.

Well, time to go exploring Hoi An now and maybe find a cooking course.........

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