28th April 2010 We had a bus booked to Hue this afternoon, but that didn’t leave until 1pm, so we had a fairly quiet morning, a lot of which was packing our bags up ready to move on. This was a bit like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - what with the coats we bought in Sapa, and new clothes we’ve had made in Hoi An, our bags are becoming rather stretched to capacity. It looks like we might have to post some more stuff home once we get back to Saigon. ...
27th April 2010 In contrast to yesterday’s relaxed pace, this morning we were up before the sun. We had booked an early morning tour to see the Cham Temples at My Son (pronounced Me Sun). My Son is sometimes known as Vietnam’s Angkor Wat, but in actual matter of fact contains far fewer temples which are much more ruined over a vastly smaller area than those in Cambodia. However, it is the most extensive of Vietnam’s Cham remains. ...
24th April 2010 The train journey from Lao Cai to Ha Noi last night was a nightmare and neither of us slept a great deal. Luckily we shared a cabin with an Australian couple who were really nice and we chatted with them for a while before turning in, but once the lights were out, the lurching movement of the train and the smells of smoke coming from the toilet didn’t help with sleeping. We arrived in Ha Noi pretty tired. ...
25th April 2010 Our first proper day in Hoi An. Hoi An has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1999 as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences. Its pride and joy is the distinctive architecture of the Old Town with its well preserved houses and narrow, wonderfully car-free streets. Hoi An is also famous for its tailors with shop after shop displaying examples of their work in materials ranging from silk to linen and wool. There are anywhere between 300 and 500 tailors in a town about the size of Basingstoke, so competition for customers is quite fierce with people calling out to you as you walk down the street. ...
26th April 2010 The cultural sites of Hoi An can quite easily be covered in a day, after which there seems to be little else to do here except relax, shop and eat. It is certainly a lovely town to wander around, as long as you don’t mind the road works. So this what we did today, purchasing a few bits and pieces and picking up two pairs of linen trousers for me from the tailors. ...
23rd April 2010 It turned out to be a good job that we had bought our North Face coats yesterday, this morning we awoke to torrential rain and a thunderstorm. We were lucky to have done our trek yesterday and that we were going back to Ha Noi later this evening. With such dreadful weather, there was no rush to go out, so we spent a good part of the morning chatting with our Israeli friends Batya and Nir in reception. They have given us some great information and recommendations for Cambodia, Laos and Japan all of which they have visited recently. ...