On the way to Hoi An we managed to find an empty, white sandy beach with clear blue water. Fantastic to have a swim but the sand was crazy hot to get there. The only other family on the beach were very confused by our sun cream and wanted to try putting some on. They probably thought it was what made our skin white. There are loads of beauty products out here that include skin whitening properties. A lot of people also wear masks to stay whiter (as well as keeping out pollution).

We had three days to ourselves in Hoi An, which is a small town crammed full of tailor shops. Although I don't think we saw all 500, we saw a lot! Every one we saw yelled out 'hello lady' every time we passed and if you went anywhere near them they would harass you. It was a bit much to begin with but we did get used to it and found a few tactics. We were practising our haggling again and got a few 'bargains' :D

Some of the girls spent the three days in the tailor shop getting suits or clothes made. Too many decisions for me though :-/ so we stuck to wandering the town. Lots to do, nice shops to look in, delicious ice cream, watching the boats on the river. There was a ferry that crossed to an island that had a flat deck which was crammed with people and motorbikes. It was quite amazing. We also visited some of the traditional merchant houses where we were given cups of green tea and a tour.

We had eaten as a group at a restaurant called Lantern Town and it became our centre point for meeting up, often by accident. The food was delicious and some of us signed up for a cooking class. We went to the market and saw the ladies tying up crabs while holding them with their feet, as well as shrimp, eels, frogs, and fish. Our chef was fab and we had good fun :). We cooked Hoi An spring rolls which looked a bit like nests, fresh spring rolls and tuna in banana leaf. We ate it on the balcony with a glass of wine :D

Hoi An at night was really lovely with a lovely buzz about the place and floating candles along the river as well as lots of lanterns. We went to the market, ate good food and watched a dance performance. Back to the hotel for evening swims (it is still very hot!) Coffee on the Saturday again while it rained a bit :)

Along our journey so far we have seen a lot of different things carried on scooters, motorbikes and bicycles. It is pretty normal to see at least 3 people on one scooter, often two adults and a tiny child in between, any age including new born. If there is only one adult the child rides in the front, sometimes in a small, attached seat. Usually people wear helmets, not always though and very rarely does the child have one. Sometimes there are up to 5 people on one bike. People also use the bikes to sell their wares or transport whatever materials; large boxes, sticks, bricks, long building materials, wedding flowers or masses of flowers to sell. When you think you have seen it all there is always something to surprise you. From the bus window we saw a bicycle which had a frame on the back with hundreds of bags of water hung from it, in each was a goldfish. It was amazing but totally mad. The animal ones are probably the craziest. In Hoi An we saw pigs, still alive, bound up or in a woven basket on the back of motorcycles being taken to the slaughter house or market!