Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Day 8
29th July 2012
We meet up for breakfast and discuss plans for today, the next 2 days are free day so there are no scheduled activities planned and we can do our own thing. 5 of us decide to rent push bikes and explore the town and area. We hire the bikes and head into town and the first stop is the tailors so Tracy can order her dress. Han's, Hassan, Roger and I all wait out side like all good men do! While we are waiting B and Mike come out and are heading off to one of the 2 beaches which are about 5 km from the main town. Not long after Tracy appears and we cycle around the town for a while before deciding to head out into the country side and see what's about. After we leave the main town are less busy and we slowly peddle along stopping now and then for photos. Before we know it we are at the beach so decide to go and get a drink and have a look around. The beach is nice and the sea is warm as we paddle but not the clearest iv ever seen (slightly better than Bournemouth on a good day). We chat and take in the view as the sun beats down on us it's 33 degrees today and the sky's are blue with a few white clouds drifting around. By about 13:30 we decide to head back as we have a motorbike tour at 15:30 and as we look towards Hoi An town we see black storm clouds. We head off and after about 20 minutes are back at the hotel we then decide to get some lunch so we ride back into town to a reastruant we ate at on our first day here. As we step into the reastruant the heavens open. Whilst having lunch we meet Simon and Jill and chat to them the rain stops for a while but before long starts again. Bond our guide rings Roger as he is the only one with a local sim card and tells us the sunset boat ride at 17:30 is cancelled and that the motorbike tour is also off due to the rain. We are not to disappointed as we are all a little knackered and it would be nice to relax for a few hours before going out tonight. We finish lunch head back to the hotel and time for a afternoon nap. Around 17:00 the door bell goes and it's Simon, Jill, Sharon and Russell asking what was Bond said about the sunset tour. We say as far as we know it is cancelled but if they want they can check with Bond. I decide now I'm awake to go down to Mr T's to collect my laundry. The laundry services outside of the hotel charge by the Kg rather than per item and mine is 4kg and costs 150,000 dong (about £4.50) and everything is perfectly pressed and folded even my underwear! For these prices I could do with this guy at home to do all my washing and ironing. When I get down there Simon is there on his motorbike he has hired and then Jill turns up and tells us Bond has said the sunset tour is back on. I see Bond in reception and he confirms it so I rush upstairs grab a quick shower and Roger and I dash out the door, the boat leaves at 17:30 we have about 10 minutes to get from the hotel to town on foot. We make it just in time and Sharon, Russell and Avril are already on boat but no sign of any of the others. We start to pull away from the moaning and head off down the river just as Simon and Jill arrive on the bike. We pull over and they jump onboard. As we chugg down the river there is a lovely cool breeze which is always a nice relief from the heat. Unlike the heat in the middle east last year which was much hotter but a dry heat, Asia is a very humid heat and you feel hotter even though its about 10 degrees cooler. We are on the boat for around an hour although the sunset is not very spectacular as its very cloudy again. We arrive back on shore and wander off to the Lanturn market for an hour until its time to meet the others at 19:30. The market is very small but the latterns look amazing lit up and so many bright colours and sizes. We start to wander back towards the meeting point and as we have a spare half hour pop into a bar for a quick pre dinner drink. Mojitos at 25,000 dong each (0.76p) I'm in heaven. We meet the others and head to the reastruant which is called "Morning Glory" and the food is amazing. After we walk back to the lantern market so the people who missed it earlier can see it then it's off towards the hotel and maybe stop off at a bar on the way. As we are already on the other side of the river Simon and I think if we walk straight up it will be a short cut. Wrong before long we find the path stops and as we don't have a clue we turn around and go back the way we know. The funny thing is that some of the others have followed us thinking we know where we are going! We get to a bar just up from the hotel which is a little bit shabby called "Old and New" and head in for a drunk. My eyes light up when I see they are doing buckets buy one get one free so I orders rum bucket and offer the free on to Han's. When we get them I'm very disappointed to find out that unlike the bucket I had in Hue this is just like a plastic jam jar and not much bigger than a normal drink. We sit outside drinking our drinks and smoking cigars kindly supplied by Russell and as some of the group have an early start he head back to our hotel.
- comments