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Published: December 15th 2014
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We arrive at Hoi An late in the afternoon as our flight from Nha Trang is delayed by about 5 hours. Note to self... Check flights before you get picked up at 7.30 am in the morning... A late sleep in at the beautiful Mia Resort would have been nice instead of sitting around the Airport. Although it did give me a chance to sit with a coffee and write some of these blogs. Thank goodness for iPads. The blog writing has been complex as I don't know how to get photos from my iPhone to my iPad, so I write the blog on the iPad then load photos from my phone later, I am sure there is an easier way, but if Max doesn't know it then I am in trouble as he is my personal IT slave (oh I mean assistant). We check into the Sunrise Resort. It's a gorgeous resort, about a 10 min drive from Ancient Town which is the centre where all the action is. If the weather had been good, then this resort would be a ripper, but the weather is coolish, about 23 degrees but lots of rain. Although all the websites I checked
before we left say that Hoi An is not in the rainy season, according to the locals it is! The typhoon near the Philipines is still causing havoc as well and the beaches are basically closed down. Sorry Tommy, no jet skiing here! Although we do not get to use any of the resorts great outside facilities, there is still enough to keep us busy. If I came back here again during this time of year, I would stay at one of the boutique hotels in the ancient quarter as there is no point to a beachside resort if it's not warm enough to use it. We head into Ancient Town on our first evening. It is like walking into an oriental fairyland village. The town is closed off to motorbikes and cars at night which allows you to stroll or ride through the little streets on your bikes. Neat and tidy, ancient streetscapes with hidden shops full of treasure. The silk lanterns glowing in little shop fronts give it a magical glow at night. We are a bit awestruck by Hoi An in the evening. With a decidely hip feel to the area, it is full of boutique looking
little restaurants, bars and shops. A perfect mixture of old and new with a bit of French sophistication thrown in for good measure. Hoi An is one of the few areas that were not affected by the war and so has so many old buildings, perfectly intact and not destroyed by bombing. It's hard to decide where to eat as there are so many little spots to choose from. We decide on a restaurant called The Little Menu which looks promising. We order a tasting plate of Hoi An delicacies to start us off. The tasting plate consists of duck spring rolls, white roses which are rice dumplings with (I think!) a pork filling and fried wontons with a salsa like sauce on them. The boys order duck spring rolls which comes out with a rice vermicelli Noodle coating and I have bbq pork loin with banana blossom salad. Our first meal here is a winner. The owner speaks excellent English and likes to have a muck around with the lads. I am a hero in Vietnam as I am the mother of three boys! Everyone tells me how lucky I am to have three sons! What a change from
home where everyone usually offers their commiserations! Whilst I don't agree with their comments that they are worth 10 girls! I agree, I am a very lucky mother. Out dinner including beers, cocktails and mango smoothies comes to about $60 Australian. An excellent meal in lovely surroundings for less than a McDonald's meal at home. The owner gives us his card and encourages us to rate him on trip adviser, which we will do when we get home. Trip adviser has become a powerful source of recommendation here where recommendations mean everything. Many shops display signs advertising their trip adviser status, which I must admit, does give you a sense of wellbeing. It also makes you think you are less likely to be ripped off as they are so aware of how powerful a bad impression can be when shared on trip adviser, these guys really want to see you leave with a smile. The boys save dessert for the little dessert cart we passed on the street. She is frying donuts, banana fritters and coconut filled donuts in a little cart on the street. Max has promised her we will return after dinner and she is so happy we
remembered her and fulfilled our promise. The boys pick a fried donut that is round like a Berliner and is filled with a sweet coconut type filling. At 10,000 dong a piece so about 50c they are a very cheap and yummy dessert. The boys discover a shop entirely dedicated to hand made wooden ships. Max falls in love with a hand made replica of The Endeavour. His is a really large ship and it is going to be a challenge to get it home, but they have made up their minds. Max pays $130 Australian for his ship, there are similar models on EBay for $700 so he thinks he has a bargain. He chooses to take it with him rather than wait 3 months for sea mail. He knows he will have to pay to have it fumigated at customs, as its wooden, but he thinks it's worth the money. Not to miss out on the action, Harry buys a smaller one, HMS Sovereign of the Seas, at $50 and Tom Buys HMS Victory at $40. Harry and Tom can carry theirs as hand luggage for the rest of the trip but Max's will have to be loaded
on the plane so we will see how it fares. These streets have many little tailors. Apparently there are over 800 tailors in Hoi An and they are famous for their ability to tailor clothes for you in around 24 hours. Paul laughs at me because it's pretty clear that we know my plans for tomorrow! I definitely need to be let loose on these streets but I will save that for a seperate blog.
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