Enjoyed a bit of a sleep in today. Hoi An turned out to be such a chilled place for everyone in the group. Khoa had told everyone about some optional activities but very few, if anyone was interested. I had to go pick up my camera this morning and pop by for a fitting at the tailors. I hired a bike after a breakfast which was quite handy as the heat was once again relentless and I was joining Tash, Susie and Monica for a day at Cua Dai beach which is about 4km from our hotel.

Before hiring my bike I pop by the spa across the road to book a massage, my first proper massage ever and not sure what to expect but have always heard good things. First stop, after hiring my bike (for A$1.30/day), was the camera repair shop. Turns out the damage to the camera was worse than first thought and I needed to come back later that day. No probs. I make my way to the tailors (Yaly) which is just a little further down the road. My shirts look great. I'd ordered 4 in total, 2 business and 2 casual. The casual shirts were a little too long so I had them taken up and arranged a time the following afternoon for a final fitting. Off to the beach!

I swung by the hotel and met up with the girls and we made our way down to the beach. We had to park our bikes in the bike parking lot about 100m from the beach. It cost us next to nothing to leave them there which was great and saved worrying about where else we would store the bikes while on the beach. We got to the sand and walked through the palm trees that boarded the road and the beach, I took my black thongs off, the ones that chaffed a little… flip flops people *wink* to make it easier to walk on the sand. The sand was f***ing hot! I braved it barefoot for all of 10 metres before retreating to the foot haven that were my thongs. We gingerly walked down the beach to the rows of sun lounges and umbrellas and were greeted by the owners of the lounges. As we approached they began the flogging of their lounges to us. We picked out some lounges owned by a young guy as they were well shaded and considering my proneness to skin cancer, this was sensible. We plonked our stuff down, I applied my 5th layer of sunscreen in 2 hours and Monica and I made our way down to the water, with thongs to avoid 3rd degree burns to the soles of our feet. I noticed that almost everyone else in the water had their thongs down by the water also so I wasn't being a p**** That sand was f***ing hot!

The water was actually quite warm and not all that refreshing but it was still nice to be immersed in water after the relentless heat of everyday so far. The humidity was the real sapper of your energy though. The air was constantly thick but anyway… So we'd managed to get in the way of the parasailing operation running on the beach so we moved a bit further, and further, and further up the beach to avoid being sliced in half by the parasailing rope. The girls decided to have a go at the parasailing after a dip in the water. It was about $30 so uber cheap when compared to other places but then all of Vietnam is cheap. Tash and Susie went first. They were rigged up on the sand and once secured they began the run across the sand towards the water as the boat takes up the rope slack. It looked as is Susie stumbled as they got close to the water, which was mildly amusing from my sunlounge, and up they went. They were up for between 5 and 10 minutes before they were floated down to the water and collected by a guy on a jet ski. Monica decides to have a go too. Watching her up there was like seeing a rag doll, she kept flapping about in the air with little or no control. It didn't look comfortable.

After the beach I go chill for a bit (both literally and metaphorically) in my room and the pool before picking up my camera that afternoon and dinner later one. My camera cost a little more than previously quoted but considering I was up for the cost of a new camera if I didn't repair it I was happy to pay. Good as new and still water proof. I had no plans for dinner so I decided to wander around the streets looking for somewhere nice. I noticed Tash and Susie in the Tam Tam bar so I popped in and said hi and joined them for dinner. Monica and Crystal were going to be joining also but they were nowhere to be found. Turns out they were in the Tam Tam café, which adjoins the Tam Tam Bar, while we were eating dinner. Oh well. During dinner the street sellers wander in flogging their wares. Tonight 2 of them were particularly memorable. The first woman called me darling while trying to sell me woven bracelets. I was on the lookout for on for my ankle so I indulged her and bought a green one for about $2. Then a guy came in flogging other things and started charming the girls in the hope of getting a bite but they weren't interested. Poor guy, he did try hard. After dinner we popped by a café that Khoa had recommended. I was keen for dessert and had purposely saved room for it. I got myself a brownie cheesecake and a Vietnamese white coffee. The cheesecake was quite light and not all that cheesy but it was still good. The coffee I'd been keen to try since arriving in Vietnam. The white coffee is served in a small stainless steel filtering device with condensed milk on the side. It's not too bad. I don't drink my coffee with sugar usually so this was a little too sweet but wasn't too bad. I wander back to the hotel while looking for some extra souvenirs but nothing catches my eye.

I'd booked my massage for my last full day in Hoi An thinking it'd be good idea considering we had a 12 hour train ride to Nha Trang the next day. I strip down to my jocks and lay on the table and the masseuse gets to work. I'd asked her to be gentle as it was my first time (innuendo much?) She started on my legs and to be honest, it was horrible and quite uncomfortable. In particular the work she did around my ankles. I was considering stopping her but I persevered. The work she did on my back and shoulders wasn't so bad. Now that I've had a massage I can say that I'll probably never have one again, at least not on my legs. It was not a relaxing experience and no, there was no "happy ending". It wasn't that type of massage you filthy minded fiends