you buy something from me....

---

We did indeed buy. How could we resist? Hoi An has become famous for its multitude of tailors all vying to measure you up and make clothes for you. It is definitely something you could get used to and carried away with. And lots of people do, I'm sure. There are plenty of shops where you can buy extra bags and suitcases to cart your new custom duds home. We ended up with some shoes, a shirt, two dresses and a pair of pants. Oh yes, and a set of chopsticks. Actually the shopping was pretty fun, for two people who don't usually care to shop.

Hoi An is also beautiful and there is lots to see. It was fun to just sit and sip an iced coffee and watch people go by, either speeding and beeping on motorbikes or tourists peddling bikes in the sweltering heat. We walked around, took lots of photos of the colonial style buildings, each with it's own lanterns hanging across the street, and just soaked it all up. We also went out to the beach and managed not to get sunburned, so that was good.

We've also spent some time sorting out the rest of our trip. Most of the time we travel, we try to just go with the flow, figuring out maybe one day ahead. But this time we felt like we needed to figure it out a bit more and that our initial thoughts of how much we could see in the time we had weren't realistic. I think we also underestimated the heat and overestimated our Alaskan bodies' abilities to deal with it. For these reasons, we have decided to concentrate our time in the north of Vietnam and Laos and leave Cambodia for another trip all together. It makes me sad that we're missing Angkor Wat and so many of the other places our friends' recommended, but those places have all been around for a long time and I'm hoping they will be in another year or so. So we did a little research, made some hopefully educated guesses and planned somewhat of an itinerary. We actually even used a travel agent this time. We gave our Dong to Mr. Hung and he set us up with train tickets to Hue and then a flight from Hue to Hanoi the next day. And yes, that whole paragraph was a set up for that last sentence. How could I resist. I have the humor of a 12-year old boy. Hee Hee.

Dave has started his birthday celebration here in Hoi An, with a slice of mango cheesecake for breakfast, and a short boat ride down the river. Next we're off in a taxi back to Danang to catch the train to Hué.

---

Photos

experiencing the tiger
our first beer....$.80 for the big'un

Lunch at Cua Dai Beach
The southern part of what is known as "China Beach"...it stretches all the way from Danang

Comments

[Aunt Mona]

Hi
Have just discovered your blog---am really enjoying your Vietnam trip entrys-what a trip you must be having. Dick was in so many of the places you visited there. Stay safe, have fun and take lots of pictures. Love, Aunt Mona