Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This morning, we were up early for our free breakfast at the hotel - a fantastic buffet that we definitely made the most of! Then we headed out for our day of sightseeing in Hoi An! Our first stop was the Museum of Trading Ceramics...not the most thrilling of exhibits, but it was worth going in for the house - a restored wooden building which gave us an idea of how Hoi An must have looked in the mid-nineteenth century. Next was Quan Cong Temple, which was founded in 1653. Quan Cong was a Chinese general who is now worshipped as a symbol of integrity and justice. His huge statue was on the centre altar inside, and he was flanked by his two guardians - quite an impressive sight! Time for a drink and a rest...
Then we found our way to the Handicraft Workshop, where we were hoping to see craftsmen making a whole range of things. Unfortunately, they all appeared to be eating their lunch when we wandered in! It was a bit of a waste of our tickets as it was really just a shop with nothing much to see! As we carried on down the street, we walked past the intriguingly named 'Hoi An Department of Managing and Gathering Swallow's Nests'! This is a lucrative business out here - the nests are used to make birds nest soup, and are sold for up to $2000 per kilo!
Our last stop was one of the old family housesw that are open for guided tours...except when we arrived at the one we wanted to see, it was closed for its 2 hour lunch break! Ah well, time to head back to the hotel then! We went to cool off with a swim in the rooftop pool - very nice!
In the evening, we collected our clothes from the tailor after a final fitting of my suit. We were both very impressed with the finished products and can't wait to wear them back at home! We ate at a restaurant across the river and enjoyed another set menu that was even more delicious than last night. It included the local speciality of 'white rose' - shrimpt wrapped in rice paper in the shape of a rose - delicious! Then we looked for a bar showing the FA Cup Final. We found one showing a Premiership game but they turned the screen off when it finished... it was only back at the hotel that we ound out that it was a later kick off. I stayed up to watch it as it was shown on one of the channels on our TV - not a bad game!
Tomorrow, we leave for the capital, Hanoi.
- comments