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We arrived at Da Nang airport in the afternoon and we're greeting with rain, again. Driving through this coastal city, it appeared very modernized and it was obvious that the emphasis of construction was geared towards tourism, with several new, large, western styled hotels and a brand new theme park.
Our accomodation was a homestay situated just outside the "old town" of Hoi An. With a succulent and ample selection of fresh fruit for breakfast and a pool it made for a very relaxed atmosphere. As well as this, they leased bicycles for free from the hostel, which made for a great means to explore the surrounding area.
One trip we made by bicycle was to a nearby beach, which was very charming if a little too geared towards tourists. In the evening, some local women who spoke absolutely no English came to the seafront and coked a cockle-rice porridge chilli soup, presumably usually eaten by locals. It was very cheap (even for Vietnam) and extremely tasty and fresh. I felt like this gave a more genuine appreciation of what like here actually consisted of.
Alongside the beach, several rice paddy fields are situated in the local area and a herb garden, where we were taken on a tour of how to plant and take care of certain edible plants, such as bok choy and Vietnamese coriander. We enjoyed a fresh, well seasoned lunch at the herb garden, served by extremely hospitable local people.
Another interesting place we visited was a silk farm, where we learnt how silk was produced, from worm to weave. I found the handmade weaving to be particularly impressive as there was a convoluted array of equipment to manipulate to produce the correct pattern.
Hoi An itself was previously a major trading port of Vietnam and the centre of the Chinese, Korean and Japanese influences in the country. Today, the city has a well preserved old town and night market situated betwixt a scenic river with several wooden boats rowing across it.
I found it particularly stunning at night with glowing lanterns beguiling visitors through the narrow streets. We decided to take a short boat trip, guided by a keen weathered local woman, who toured us around the river at sunset, it was very scenic and a welcome break from the humidity and the throng of tourists in the streets. As well as this we enjoyed some traditional "Vietnamese bingo", where we were randomly assigned a wooden block with some scriptures we needed to match to a board. The music and atmosphere was very unique and welcoming.
In the day, a new quality of the town was taken on, it was less busy and the Buddhist temples opened up to visitors which I felt had very heavy Chinese influence. In addition the intricacies of the buildings (mainly shops and restaurants) become much more apparent.
Unfortunately one member of the group was struck with a bout of food positioning here, a reminder that the food may not always be as safe as home.
Our next journey took us by motorbike along an extremely scenic coastline road to Hué.
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