Why Not.....

Hoi An

Why not indeed! I met up with Jamie and Conrad - the guys from the Ha Long Bay trip - in Hoi An and "why not" was the answer we basically gave to any question posed. Had a wonderful time!

I arrived in time to watch the game against Japan. We headed to a bar in town where there were 3 Japanese and about 30 Australians. The Japanese were so happy.... until the last 5 minutes.... It was a great game.

Slept a little late the next morning, then headed to the beach. And what a beach! I didnt have my camera with me, but am hoping to get a few shots from Conrad. It was incredibly beautiful! I have been to beautiful beaches, but this one would be up there with the best of them, straight out of a brochure! Im sure the photos wouldnt do it justice. Amazingly, the water wasnt too warm, the one disappointment I have with Asian beaches and pools is that the water is too warm, most people dont agree with me, but when I dive into the water I want to feel refreshed. Spent a few hours on the beach, the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel and a quiet night....

Hoi An is famous for its tailors, the guys were getting lots of clothes made so I figured I might as well... why not! I had a pair of jeans made, a copy of a denim skirt I already have and two pairs of short. This cost me about 4 fitting sessions and around $A100. Not bad really. So after deciding on some clothes in the morning, we left the work to the tailors and rode out to Marble mountain. The mountain contains many cave and was a hideout of the Vietcong during the war. So many statues or Shiva and Buddha. The caves were really cool. There was also heaps of marble, hence the name. Anything you want made from marble was available or could be made to order. That night we headed out for a few drinks at the Tam Tam bar. Not much was happening so after a few hours we jumped on bikes and headed to a beach bar. Very amusing! The ratio of guys to girls was about 10 to 1..... Another girl and I decided to dance and most of the guys were happy to sit around and watch.... I love going out for a night when you have to get a boat or a motorbike, its more exhilarating than catching a taxi....

Another quiet day followed involving a few visits the the tailors and shoemaker, a swim in the very warm hotel pool and out for a quiet dinner over looking the river. We went out the watch the football, but the bar was full of 18 yo English kids.... Im told it got very messy.

We got up early and headed out to My Son, similar to Angkor Wat on a much smaller scale. It was really interesting, but very hot so we spent less than two hours there before heading back to the hotel, where my taxi was waiting to take me to the airport to fly to Saigon.