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Hoi An is amazing!We are chuffed to bits that we planned and managed to end up here for Christmas.Our hotel (a Christmas present from Gem's Dad and Steph!) was beautiful.A beautiful pool, overlooking the river with rice paddies on the otherside and occasionally a little dude came along in his Sampan to collect his fishing nets.Serenity itself!
There was a slight hitch when we arrived in that they'd lost our booking, but it actually turned into a bit of a result!Independently of each other we both managed to tell the receptionist that we'd booked the most deluxe room . . . for the cheapest price.Bless her, she believed us!So we ended up in this vast room with a balcony overlooking the river and free champagne and foot massages!Result!So, first things first - we drank the champagne!And then we went and lay by the pool!
For those who don't know Hoi An has literally hundreds and hundreds of tailors.So after a morning spent on the beach - gorgeous - we did what everyone does when they come to Hoi An . . . we went shopping . . . . for a long time!It was wonderful!Graham got himself kitted out with some new suits and shirts . . . Gemma bought everything else - dresses, tops, trousers and most important of all . . . shoes!When we went back the next day we were so pleased with everything we bought a load more!We ended up with 4 suits with extra trousers, 10 shirts, 4 dresses, 4 tops, 2 pairs of trousers and 5 pairs of shoes!The currency here is so massive we spent over 14 million Dong . . . but believe me, for all that, that's notta lotta Dong!The only thing is we've been eating so much here, we better ease up a bit otherwise none of it is going to fit by the time the box arrives!
On Christmas Eve we had another result.The hotel put on a christmas eve meal and "entertainment" and all the staff had invited their families.It was great.Father Christmas even came . . . on a sampan!The food was so gorgeous we didn't bother filling up on potatoes and rice . . . we just ate crab and squid and crayfish alllllll night!And then the entertainment.Well.It was quite sweet . . . to start with!All the different departments had practised a dance, or a song and for the first hour it was great.But it just went on and on and on!By the time "Accounting" had come on for the second time nearly everyone else had gone to bed!We were desperate to join them but felt so sorry for the staff as they seemed so excited, so we stayed . . . and Graham made Gemma whoop and cheer in applause - we made enough noise for 20 people!This caused a slight problem when they thought we were really into it and Gemma was forced to join in . . . on her own . . . excruciatingly embarrassing.Particularly as at this stage she had also consumed enough alcohol for 20 people and had great difficulty negotiating the banging sticks she was supposed to be jumping over!All this paid off. Next was the prize draw!There were 3 prizes.There were 3 couples left.We won first prize after a little guy tugged Graham's trousers to ask what his name was about 30 seconds before it was "pulled" out of the hat!(We're guessing we won first prize because of the amount of noise we'd made.It was unlikely to be Gemma's dancing!).It was a free night, so we extended our stay and indulged ourselves in luxury a little longer - mmmmmmmmm!
Christmas Day was fab.We lazed by the pool and then headed into town to meet Paul and Kelly for a Christmas lunch.We weren't sure what to expect as we'd booked it on the fact that it was the only place we saw that was advertising roast potatoes and we couldn't remember the rest of the menu! But what a lunch it was! 7 courses that started with half a lobster and some passable bubbles (!) and continued in a similarly indulgent fashion! Graham even got a mince pie (but they weren't up to mum's standard!).
We phoned home to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and managed to make most of them cry (yes, you were all crap at hiding it!) and it made us realise how much we're missing everyone. So we did what any homesick person would do on Christmas Day and went back to the bar! We had a great Christmas Day in Hoi An, with great company.
We spent Boxing Day, in a slightly hungover state, with a major scheduling nightmare, trying to get back to all the tailors and shoemakers where we'd ordered stuff for more fittings and collections.We did however, manage to get our box of goodies in the post in time for a final laze by the pool and gorgeous meal in gorgeous Hoi An.
We don't feel like we spent nearly enough time in Hoi An. It was amazing and has everything. Beautiful, quiet beach, great pool, gorgeous people, amazing shopping, cheap beer and scrummy food. We're already planning to come back next year . . . we're certain Gemma will need new shoes by then!
Oh, and as a p.s. - more randomness. On Christmas Day we were walking down the street and bumped into a guy we went to Iceland with! Weird!
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