Hoi, Hoi An

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A very beautiful drive through the Hoi Vanh hills and we are in the lovely little town of Hoi An. It is very beautiful here and full of tailor shops. It is impossible not to shop here. You can get stuff tailormade for a fraction of the cost that you would buy it at home.
We spent our first evening wandering around this lovely town and had dinner on the terrace of a lovely restaurant (Cargo Club) by the river. I had squid stuffed with minced pork - best meal so far. For dessert we shared mango cheesecake and lemongrass icecream - delicious.

Spent most of the day yesterday wandering around the town - melting in the heat! Ordered 2 pairs of shorts and did a bit of shopping came back to the hotel and had to get into the pool to cool off!! In the evening 5 of us went to a Vietnamese cooking class.It was run by Han - a 22 year old Vietnamese lady who looked about 12. She was so funny and kept making jokes and taking the piss out of us - in a very good natured way.I think she talked non stop for 3 hours!! We learned to make some soup, spring rolls, Vietnamese salad, fish in banana leaf and aubergine in claypot. We basically cooked a course - ate, then on to the next. It was a great evening and we thouroughly enjoyed Han's teaching and the food.

Last day in Hoi An and Huy (our tour leader) took us to a local place by the river for lunch. Wow! we had a great meal sitting on little plastic stools away from all the tourists. Spring rolls, stir fried beef, fried chicken, spinach with garlic, banana flower salad and a beer all for 45,000 VND (around 1.50 GBP). After chilling out in the pool we wandered over to a local wine bar (this is the only time I have enjoyed drinking wine in Vietnam) and then on for dinner at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. The place was packed while the ones around it were empty but the food was so so - not a patch on lunch. So Huy 1 - Lonely Planet 0.

It's been lovely having a few relaxing days in this beautiful town. There are a lot of tourists here but it has still maintained it old worldly charm and I really do hope it stays that way. It would be a shame if this turns into a resort town in a few years time.

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