Thursday 15 October Hoi An

Terrible night's sleep as we couldn't work out how to turn off the lights that are along the bed frames and the step down. The room was lit up like Rowley Park (for those of my vintage and a good memory). The blasted light switches we had both been pushing last night finally worked in the morning to turn the lights off! Anyway, I go and have my shower and find that the toilet won't flush as the cistetn won't fill with water. Will worry about that after my shower. Have my shower and fill the cistern with water and voila it now works again. Thinking I can start a new career as a plumber, while I am getting dressed in the bathroom, the shower starts running, having turned itself on. I try and turn it off, turning both hot and cold taps and no result. I tell J that the shower had come on by itself so she comes in and tries to turn it off, no result, so she quickly gets in and had a super quick shower and it still won't turn off. I call reception and they send a fellow about 5 minutes later. He comes in, turns the taps and the bloody thing turns off! Give me strength! Thoughts of becoming a plumber have long gone...

We head to breakfast and at 8.30 Head out in a vehicle which is best described as a golf buggy on steroids. Seats about 12 people. Where we are heading doesn't allow big buses as the streets aren't wide enough. We are taken to a tailor where I order a dress to be made up. I took along a similar dress so they know what style I want. Fitting tomorrow afternoon and delivered the next day. Paid in US dollars which I got ages ago when AU and US were dollar for dollar so a long as it is a good fit and makes me look at least 20 years younger, it will be money well silent. We then have a walking tour of the market area which is part of a cooking lesson we will be having at the end.

Passed this fellow in the street, who had a small dinner bowl filled with a cement of some type, who used a trowel to fill a hole in the road. Could do with more like him at home for our roads.

Walking along the river which is brown due to flooding last week.

Rice is dried along the street and I think I've found my happy place.

We then went into the Morning Glory restaurant where we are having a cooking class and lunch. Miss Moon was our chef teacher and referred to herself in the third person all the time which had us giggling like school girls. It was a lot of fun and plenty of food.

Don't think I'll be repeating the process at home though as all the prep work had been done, we just had to combine it. Finally, with full bellies we head back to the hotel for a cuppa and to put our feet up long enough to catch our breath and then head out up the street for a wander. Had a long walk around the hotel area which is full of tailor shops and food stalls. I'll need to head back to old town market for any souvenirs so how to have some time for that tomorrow afternoon. Took some photos of the front of the hotel and the pool thatwas where I spent the rest of the afternoon.

Finally time to get out and after a refreshing shower that stayed turned offwhen I'd finished, it was time for a makeshift dinner in our room. I had bought a bottle of wine on our earlier walk around. I also had some cheese and crackers packs along with a box of Favourite chocolates we had already started on. Julie had a block of chocolate she had bought earlier and a cookie left from what the boat staff gave us when we left yesterday! We ate like kings. 🤴

We have an early start in the morning so decided on a quiet night in and an early one, minus the blasted bed surround lights and step down lights!

Wednesday 14 October to Hoi An

Early start this morning to be on the tenders to a Floating fishing village at 7am. We then boarded rowing boats to view the floating village. There were initially about 600 people living here but now about 80 to 100. All the children and elderly are in the cities. The government supports them now as they used to be closed to outsiders but this became a problem with inter marriage of bloodlines so now the children are given an education in towns and the elderly housed in towns. Tourism is supported to put money into the community. It is certainly a hard life.

Back on board for breakfast and to settle the bill. It is still scary when paying in millions of Dong! Time to leave the boat as we head for the airport to fly to Hoi An.

the bay was full of boats and apparently there are some 500 boats in the bay on any given day.

Here's some info on burials in Vietnam, in that you are buried twice! First time is for about 3 years and then you are dug up, bones cleaned and reburied in another plot that now has a headstone, hence the photo of a cemetery. We get to the airport at about 2pm and it takes a while for the group to check in, and then go through security but we manage it. One lady has had to be dropped at the international terminal to go to Bangkok for an overnight stay and then fly back into Da Nang tomorrow to rejoin our tour (all at extra cost) because her visa wasn't completed correctly and was 2 days short of the actual tour period! She didn't realise until she got here as her travel agent completed it for her. The Viet authorities wouldn't let her just get an extension or even apply for a new one to cover the 2 days as they call it 'visa hopping'. No wonder I was worried about whether I had filled out the visa application correctly! Anyway, our flight is at 4.10 and I'm in economy near the back of the plane so will just have to suffer in silence for the 70 minute flight...

We arrive into Da Nang, safe and sound, having been given a bottle of water during the flight and then a little gift bag with a small shampoo sachet and a very small tube of shower gel. What an unusal.offering to passengers on an hour long flight. I'd have preferred nuts! Anyway I kept it, so am not really complaining. We all collect our bags and are put on coaches that take us for the hour long dive to our Hoi An hotel which is really nice and our home for the next 3 nights.

As it is already after 7, we go straight to dinner in the restaurant. It is nice, but not up to the standard of the boat.

Up to.pur room which is good slthough the taised beds are a worry as I'm sure one of us at least, will fall down the steep during the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom. But now it's lights out as we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow.