Floods and Shopping

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Day 30 - Tuesday 30 October

As the bus to Hoi An wasn't until 2pm we'd planned to spend the morning visiting one of the royal tombs. However it was seriously raining outside so instead we just sheltered and waited for the pick up.

A few hours later we arrived in Hoi An our home for the next day or two. As it was still raining heavily when we arrived we delayed the exploring until tomorrow.

Day 31 - Wednesday 31 October

It had rained heavily all night and woke up to find the river has burst its banks and half the city is flooded. Just like summer back home then.

Now Hoi An has a reputation for being able to get cheap tailored clothes, so I decided to test that by getting a new suit made. There are hundreds of tailors to choose from so after going to one recommended by the receptionist, I went to check it out.

After selecting the style and materials I was ready to haggle hard when I heard the price, only 40 pounds for a good quality tailor made fitted suit. I was so shocked I almost forgot to barter. In the end I got the suit and two shirts for forty quid.

I'd been meaning to buy some new trainers so as there are loads of shoe shops as well I had a look for a pair. I ended up getting a custom made pair moulded to fit my foot perfectly for under 20 pounds. (Ivan you would have loved the shoe shop it was full of girls in small shorts trying on boots they'd had made. Trust me it was hard to concentrate).

That evening I went for a fitting for my suit and shirts, and was surprised at how good they were. The shirts were exceptional so I ordered another couple for a tenner.

Having bumped into Louise and Regan in the shoe shop we all met up to celebrate Halloween.

Day 32 - Thursday 1 November

After checking up on the progress of my clothes I ordered a pair of shorts. Its a dangerous place Hoi An as you could spend so much on clothes.

The sun had been shining all morning, so we'd planned to spend the afternoon down the beach. Unfortunately just as we were about to set off a big black cloud appeared and it started to rain. So instead the afternoon was spent doing my xmas shopping. I'd been looking forward to picking up my trainers and trying them on. As they'd been made to fit perfectly I was expecting them to be really comfortable. However after 32 days of not wearing any shoes they felt rather restricitve.

As the heavens had well and truly opened spent the evening sheltering in my hotel room.

Day 33 - Friday 2 November

Apart from posting my clothes and presents home, the whole day was spent on the internet trying to book hotel accommodation in Sydney for xmas and new year.

With great difficulty we eventually managed to book somewhere for christmas but everywhere is full for new year.

If anybody knows anywhere cheap in Sydney that still has vacancies between the 28 December and the 2nd Jan can they let me know otherwise I'm in the park with all the homeless. (Hope it doesn't rain).

At 6pm it was time to catch the overnight bus to Nha Trang were hopefully as its 12 hours further south the weather will be better. A couple of hours into the journey the bus ran out of petrol and we were stranded for an hour. Guess the journey will take 13 hours now.

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Photos

Flooded streets with abandoned coffin
Just like summer back home