Hoi An Trade Union Hotel

... That evening we all split up for dinner and i ended up going for a indian curry with the majority of people. Later went out to a bar and played some pool and drank some more beers, we tried to find another bar we had heard was good but were told it was shut so just returned to the bar we had started in. Only this time indulged ina couple of tequila's, we all got invited to a beach party but turned it down as we had a reasonably early start.

... much deliberation from Miriam she decided on the same and we got measured up and very excited about our wacky boots.
The hotel managed to really wind me up later over the bicycles that were allegedly free but turned out to be only free for 24hours and then they didn’t believe me that I hadn’t used mine as Miriam and Nathan had already used the bikes. Eventually I got a bike after seeing rats bigger than I’ve ever seen and so left the hotel much later than I intended ...

... his Puma thongs being stolen several months ago. When Paul and Jol visited, they brought another pair, which was great. When we had a chance to assess what had gone missing in the flood, there was only one thong in the house and Mark was beginning to think these bloody thongs were bad luck. Anyway, after noticing Paula’s conical hat in the block of land next door, presumably washed there, he went exploring and found the thong submerged in the mud about 10 metres away ...

... Grand Final day and we went to Hai Café to watch the game on a big screen. This place is owned by an Aussie, in fact a Pies supporter. We had a great time there, drinking beer and red wine, and having sausages in rolls. Mark sent wishes of good luck to several of our friends, supporters of both teams. It was, of course, a magnificent match befitting the best two teams of the year. Congrats to you Cats supporters, and you know who you are. Commiserations to Saints fans ...

... Had some pho in a local restaurant, visited a couple of bookshops, bought a few things at Big-C, where Mark had to contend with young women smiling cutely as they pushed in front of him at the checkout queue. Of course, back at the paper shop, the order had not arrived, so they went back to Hoi An and waited for a later call.

On returning to Da Nang two days later, Mark had to discuss the price they had charged him at the paper shop for glue sticks, 5,000 VNĐ each ...

... amount of touting, hassle and ‘entrepreneurialism’. It’s like nothing we have encountered before however – it is 100 times more than we could ever have thought with scams, over charging and short changing everywhere. For example in over half the cafes that we ate in Hanoi, Haiphong & Cat Ba the price of items on the menu did not match that on the bill! Earlier today we sat down and counted the number of genuinely friendly ...

... and they bloody turned the lights off at 8! Except for this, it was fine..

After a refresh we walk into Hoi An town itself - a lovely old town with probably some notable architecture that I had no idea about. The place is crammed with tailor shops - made famous (to me anyway) by that Top Gear episode where they go to Vietnam. Before ordering a new wardrobe we first explore the town a bit, buying a ticket to get into some of ...

... another lady selling the same bags. She had a wooden right arm with a hook for a hand, and no left arm, the result of a bomb in 1972 in Nghe An. These encounters bring you back to the historical reality of this country, yet even this seriously scarred woman showed no bitterness. The war has ended, it is in the past, we cannot change things, we move on. This is a mantra one often hears repeated in Viet Nam.

Near Nha Trang, we said goodbye to the Central Highlands and headed ...

... hanh hu'ng- 103 tran hung dao st

Pix and vids of stuff we checked out:

Photos:
Vietnam Highlights
http://www.flickr.com/pho tos/greggoodman/sets/72157621962263834/
Vietnam Communism Posters
http://www.flickr.com/photos /greggoodman/sets/72157621837674597/
Vietnam Food
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gr eggoodman/sets/72157621837699383/
Videos:


Fan dance at the Heritage Center in Hoi An
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj 3UtZid1uw