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The flight from Hanoi to Da Nang was only just over an hour and was very uneventful, as was the taxi ride to the hotel. We paid Charlie a ridiculous 200'000 dong, about £6 and he was on his way. We all checked into the Vinpearl Luxury Hotel which Dave assured me was 6 star...Immaculate. This hotel also featured in the Top Gear Vietnam Special, its nice to know the BBC licence fee is going to good use!
All the travelling and the little mishaps along the way, now seemed insignificant and a million years ago. This is the place to relax, forget about your troubles, no matter on what scale, as this is the closest thing to heaven, if there is such a place. Everywhere is immaculate, rooms are to an incredible standard and as for the service, that's just second to none.
We've been here for three days now. Saturday we just unpacked.....finally, followed with a little exploring of the hotel. All rooms appear to have one of those interfaces that contol everything from a/c to lighting and curtain operation, very swanky. This is my kind of gaff.
Once all settled, it was time for our legendary 5 o'clock club held in the hotel bar with happy hour being 5 till 6.30 (an hour and half, dont ask!) Here beers are 120,000 dong, about 4 quid . From there, some of us opted to go and watch the mighty blues in a bar in the town. Another taxi to the bar, the beer was cheap as chips (just under a quid) and even better was the result. So back to the hotel happy and off to bed.
Sunday was a lazy day around the pool still gobsmacked with our surroundings. Late afternoon, washed and changed ready for.....yep the 5 o'clock club. Dave muttered something about Trafford Rangers later that night having a game on and there was a bar in Hoi An where it could be on. Sure...why not, im always up for a laugh.
We all headed off to Hoi An and had a quick walk round various shops and stalls. I stopped at a Taylors (of which there are many) just to be nosey. I could get a made to measure suit in two days, in a wool/cashmere mix for $90....how mad is that? We found the bar..3 Dragons, just up from the market. There we had a few drinks and a spot of dinner. Ours was very nice but Denise had a burger that resembled something that may have been called Shep at one time!. Anyway football was done and Dave was truly pissed off so we headed back to the hotel to try and cheer him up. We got back and all went to bed, apart from me, Andrea and Dave. Our plan to cheer him up came with the assistance of a Mariachi band playing the night away. They were asking for any requests which i gave some suggestions and they fulfilled them. They did a couple more familiar tunes, then a great classic followed, originally done by Smokie, but more recently re-hashed by a Mr Roy Brown....yes, Chubby. The three of us looked at each other with raised smiles all awaiting the chorus.
The boys didn't disappoint and we were all in hysterics. Andrea, quickly got her phone and recorded it for all you Facebookers.....enjoy!
Monday was yet another lazy day around the pool with temperatures touching early 30's and getting hotter by the day. This is just bliss, with 6 hours of relaxation, it was back on with more serious issues of the 5 o'clock club. After the hour and half happy hour, we jumped into taxis bound for downtown Da Nang for drinks and dinner at the Red Sky restaurant. Again the food was really good, even the local rats could be seen queueing to get in according to Joan.
We all arrived back safe to the hotel, no entertainment at the bar so we all went our separate ways.
Lets see what the next few days have in store....possibly a bit of sun, drinking and eating. For god sake, we are on holiday
- comments
Mike Taylor Yes Taylors are everywhere we like to spread a little happiness !!! like Irish bars !!!
Tony Feesey according to F.T. the latest exchange rate is 1 GBP is equal to: 34,820.102 VND it's a service i provide ??!!
Mark Yes Mike, therd are a couple of those too. A drop of the black stuff £4