Hoi An

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Our trip to Hoi An started off eventfully, with the hostel forgetting to give back our passports. We only realised as we were at the bus stop so had to send a non-english speaking Vietnamese motorcyclist back to our hostel to pick them up! True to his word ( I think as couldnt understand him).he arrived back just in time for us to board the bus and get onto Hoi An. The bus itself was one of the hidden gems of Vietnam. Reclining beds, Wifi, AC and films on a big screen were just some of the amazing features of this mode of transport and it quickly became my favourite way of transport throughout Vietnam. The 4 hours passed so quickly so the next thing I know I am in my favourite place in Vietnam, Hoi An.

We originally planned to spend 2 nights here but ended up spending 6. it was the first beach town we had come across so the first day was spend hiring bikes (1 USD!) for the day and cycling to the beach. a free sun lounger and parasol was given to us and all we had to do was eat in their restaurant, with served some decent noodles and rice with fruits de la mare for less than £2. Don't know if you know but I speak some GCSE french so the owner and I got on like a house on fire! ( he did not have a fucking clue what I was saying!). I had my first minor fuck up when I went swimming with the bike key in my pocket and had to call the bike guy to admit my mistake. He mopeded up and attacked the lock with a pliers for a good half hour. For all pretences, it looked like I had paid a Vietnamese guy to nick a couple of bikes. The ladies that owned the bike lock-up were pointing and laughing at me and my very burnt skin. I smiled and waved whilst silently cursing them and their families. We came back and ate at this charity resturant, where they train up orphaned street kids to become chefs and front of house staff. The Vietnamese food was incredible, easily the best I have had so far. the service and food was so good we ate there a couple of times. Definitely the place to eat fish, Dec had a tuna claypot which would have been at home at any London restaurant to be charged at £20. Instead he paid £3!

The next day was quite uneventful, just wandering about the town to find a tailor to make the suit for the inevitable job interviews that we will have to come back to. We found one that made us the nicest suits I've seen. It fitted me like a glove and I didn't pay until I was completely happy with it. Took 2 days to make, so the rest of our time was either spent at the beach or wandering about the town and eating the best food in Vietnam, in my opinion.

About halfway through our time in Hoi An, we booked on a motorbike day tour of My Son, the ancient temples outside Hoi An dating back to 1000 A.D, and the surrounding countryside. It was expensive and we were just sitting on the back of a bike so at first I was skeptical, but 20 minutes it cemented itself as my favourite day so far. Just chilling getting driven round the back roads of Vietnam with a guide who was English, funny and knew so much about the area made for an amazing days travel. He was a Manc whose name was Hawk, so blatently a name he gave himself when he arrived here, made even more entertainment for me! Chuck in a great lunch, free drink and an empty temple site by the time we got there and the day was compete. just enough time for a night out and that summed up our time in Hoi An. In a nutshell great food, a relaxed vibe and hundreds of good tailors catering for your every need! Easily my favourite place.

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