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Published: July 28th 2009
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Who would have guessed that a thirteen-hour bus ride could be so comfortable? We left the rain behind us in Hanoi and headed for Hue on the overnight bus. It was surprisingly nice, a sleeper bus and the time flew by.
Hue is a pleasant little city, full of interesting history and sites. We walked around and visited the citadel and then went onto the busy markets. They were incredible. Our first Asian markets and they lived up to expectation. We saw the most bizarre things, from a full pig being roasted on a spit to little fish swimming in a half empty bucket waiting to be killed.
After Hue, we moved onto Hoi An. Originally planning to stay here only three days, we are still here, eight days later. It is beautiful; a small pretty town, close to the beach. The streets are filled with little shops selling tailor made shoes and clothes at really low prices (apparently the best in Asia). It has loads of little streets with amazing stalls and shops too. A really nice vibe to it and we both love it here. We rented a moped to explore the town on the first day.
In one school, we came across a group of about 20 kids training for some sort of martial art. It was fascinating to watch them, and I did have to chuckle when I saw that their tracksuits were identical to our maroon and yellow Eccles tracksuits in the early 80's. Loved them! When we went a little further we noticed some people taking their motorbike exam. It was just like the test they showed in top gear and I'm sure, me snapping away like the paparazzi didn't help their concentration! We then drove along the coast, stopping off at different beaches for a swim to cool down, but the sand was so hot that it gave us blisters on the soles of our feet! The water on the other hand was fabulous, so clean and warm.
Since we've arrived in Vietnam the food has been delicious. Although we don't always know just what we're eating, it consistently tastes good. We took it upon ourselves to take a cooking class in Vietnamese cuisine. The class took place in the middle of an open restaurant, so the pressure was on. There was no room for errors or spillages! The chef was
a really nice guy from what we could gather, he was quite difficult to understand. But three hours later, after a lot of chopping and crushing, grilling and frying, we managed to produce one big slap up meal consisting of four different dishes.
Paulo got the opportunity to do his open water diving course in Hoi An, so I was free to explore the town on my rented push bike! It was great. I spent most of the day on the beach, lying under the shade of a palm tree with my book; pure heaven. However, while I was living the life, Paulo wasn’t having such a great time. He had major problems with his ears while diving and is now on antibiotic drops in both ears. He can't hear all that well and was in a lot of pain! He's on the mend now thank God, and managed to finish his course. Once he got his license, we went out together and did two boat dives around Charm Island. It was a really incredible experience to dive together and we hope to get many more chances to dive again.
We have now reached the halfway mark in
Vietnam and have met some fantastic people along the way. Let's hope the second half will greet us with more adventures and fun times.
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Goncalo
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hey strangers
hey guys, how are you? Great to know that your trip is goin well. love all the pics. Paulo can't wait to see your cooking skills in action,(Not chicken and lemon lol) Counting the days to meet you guys. Have a ball and enjoy kisses xx