Day 15 & 16.

27th & 28th November.

Hanoi to Hoi An, Vietnam

Our cab was collecting us at 8.15am so we decided to have breakfast at the airport. Once we were rid of our bags, we settled down in one of the many lounges and commenced our breakfast raid .

They had cows milk, yay, so I took the chance to have a good old cup of tea .

Gareth went to the toilet in the lounge and came out telling me I had to go look. The weirdest thing, there was a panel on the side for heating, lights, water temperature etc some people have too much time on their hands!

The flight with VietJet was good, only a hour to Da Nang. Incredibly they still offered an inflight service if you needed it.

Our b.com transfer driver was waiting for us, and I have to say, though taxis are cheap the transfers through b.com have so far always come out cheaper, so we will definitely be using the service again.

It was warm and windy in Da Nang when we emerged from the airport and took the 40 min ride to our apartment.

When we arrived, we were a bit confused. It turned out we were dropped at the back of the block and had to walk through an alleyway. This then brought us out to the back of a load of beach bars and restaurants, we were nonplussed at where to go, when one of the workers approached and asked our name.

We were in the right place, thank goodness, it just didn’t look the same as the brochure. I know not a lot of places do, but it took us a few minutes to reset our brains.

Our lovely apartment is on the top floor, has a balcony facing the beach, has a shared hottub and communal kitchen – Inc washing machine – and lounge area. It’s actually a very good space, especially if there were a few of you.

We are the only ones booked in at the moment so have it to ourselves. Haven’t used the hottub, not sure how well maintained it is so will give it a miss.

The people running the place are lovely and friendly, happy to bring you drinks and food to the beach beds . The sea is quite rough at the moment, we are on An Bang beach in Hoi An just up the road from where we stayed 5 years ago. We are sure the water was a lot calmer then.

After settling in, we took an hour or so to sit on the beach and chill out. There are a few properties together here, so customers from each just mingle in all of them. This is a great spot for backpackers who want the beach, our apartment costs just £20 a night including breakfast!

After a little siesta we got ready and took a taxi into the old town. We hadn’t planned it but have turned up during the full moon, so at night the town is lit by beautiful lanterns, traditional music and plays are performed, tea lights can be bought, placed in a paper lantern and floated on the water, all to honour their ancestors.

The roads are closed off to motorised traffic – though you do get the odd rogue scooter driver flouting the rules.

There are lots of little boats you can hire for a ride, paddled by an oarsperson, much like a gondalier. The boats have big colourful lanterns on them, which just looks lovely as they move up and down the river.

A bridge crosses to an island which is quite the opposite to the ambience of the old town. Loud music plays from bars and restaurants opposed to the serene and tranquil pace on the mainland. There is something for everyone but all in bright beautiful light .

We found a Korean restaurant and enjoyed our first ever Korean meal . There was Kimchi – fermented cabbage – a green leaf with a very strong flavour – the waiter said it was best eaten with boiled rice – some strange little vegetable salad dish that we think included pasta, marinated onion and the ever delicious morning glory – a bit like Pak choi or chard. Gareth ordered bbq’d fish and I had Korean spicy noodles.

We couldn’t eat it all but it was lovely .

As we walked back through the old town we remembered that it starts to close quite early, I think traffic is allowed again after 10pm, so made our way back to the taxi.

On the way we spotted a monument we didn’t notice on our last trip. I couldn’t read the name it was dedicated to as the lights were too bright so I googled it.

Kazimierz Kwiatkowski was an architect and avid conservationist who saved Hoi An from demolition and a couple of other Vietnamese special places from being ‘ruined’, thanks to his efforts these places are now World Heritage sites. The town wanted to honour his memory and so they now have this monument.

Our taxi was waiting for us – the driver is the brother of the guy running our apartment . No need to give him directions then .

Our lovely pet sitter Kaye sent a pic of Meg – who couldn’t pull herself away from her bone to say ‘hi’. Definitely having a fab holiday herself and obviously not missing us at all, which is great news

Today was a lovely relaxing day, spent on the beach after breakfast and apart from water breaks stayed there all day . There’s a strong breeze coming off the sea so F50 was definitely a good choice today.

Off to the old town again later, eating and drinking etc, etc

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Day 17 & 18.

29th & 30th November

Hoi An to Ho Chi Mihn City (HCMC), Vietnam

Another night time stroll around Hoi An old town. There are so many little lantern lit roads you can visit, all the bars are different and the people aren’t pushy at all.

Last time we were here we tried Bao Buns, so we went looking for some , we found them and they were as delicious as we remembered. We then stopped for cocktails and our first ice-cream of the trip . The cocktails were buy 2 get 1 free , a Pina colada, long island ice tea and a Sex on the beach. Very nicely interspersed with strawberry and coconut ice-cream.

It rained all day yesterday, so we decided not to hire a bike or go on a tour. Instead we chilled out in the apartment and in the bar downstairs. Took a little video of the shared space so you can appreciate what a great little area this was. We also, for the first time watched the telly, the new Luther was on Netflix, really good. Gareth had some squid for dinner from one of the bars downstairs.

Today, our taxi wasn’t coming until 2pm and as the sun made a welcome appearance, we sunbathed. With the strong breeze coming off the sea, it always felt cool. The waves here are so big and white, I’m surprised there weren’t any surfers!

We’ve just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) , and I can’t believe that, for the second time, our accommodation is in the same street as our previous trip 5 years ago! I really should check my notes .

Anyway, all the Aircon is affecting Mr G, he’s a little under the weather. Sadly, this means we’re aren’t going out to explore – a crime really as we are right in the heart of it. Also this means I’m not going to get any pics for you, but, I have dug out our pics from Oct 2018 which hopefully will give you an idea of what you can see here.

Hopefully my venerable tour partner will be in a better condition tomorrow as we have a flight to Cambodia at 1pm!

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