Our new home Hoi An

Ferry, Vietnamese style
see all photos »

My last email I struggled to properly explain all the places we had been in a one week, so this is going to be a little different, as we have been in Hoi An since we left Hanoi five days ago. We have definitely overstayed out itinerary, but for those of you that have been here, im sure you can understand why. Beautiful quiet streets (big change from hanoi), gorgeous architecture, friendly locals, cheap, fresh food (particularly seafood), its easy to see why so many travellers here stay longer than intended.

Exploring the markets
see all photos »

So the last 5 nights we have really just living up the viet/french inspired café society! Pastries are just 90c, cocktails are about $4 and fish dishes are about $3, so any weight lost with the stomach bugs in Halong Bay has certainly been put back on in Hoi An! We have met a couple of tourists - two french ladies who were actually on our bus to Halong Bay, but typically french, arent the friendliest. Then we met a guy from chicago, who was nice enough, but HAD to be on steroids and had put waaay to much fake tan on, gross! The nicest surprise was when Andre, the Sth African from Adelaide jumped out in front of us as we were walking to the tailors last night! We first met him on the flight from Sydney, then in Halong Bay, now in Hoi An, and he will be in London the same time as us.. crazy crazy!!

Our feast at Lan's, the tailors. Check out the Vietnamese pancakes!!
see all photos »

Last night we all (andre included) had dinner with our tailor, Lan. She has been so lovely to us, we all now have way too many beautiful new clothes, but are so thrilled with them, that we cant bring ourselves to ship them all home, as we will want to show off our clothes when we return to sydney! Last nights meal at Lans was an absolute feast, we had vietnamese pancakes, satay sticks, fried rice, fresh spring rolls, and of course, vietnamese beer (which is excellent, i might add). This was great because us girls had done a cooking course a few days earlier, whih included going to the markets to look at the fresh produce, catching a boat down the river to a secluded restaurant/cooking school, and attempting to cook all of the above. While our pancakes were almost as good as those made by the locals, our skill for making spring rolls definitely needs improvement!

I should leave it here. We are in the process of looking for accommodation in croatia, and at the moment it looks like we may as well buy a tent with the lack of available rooms in the country!!

Keep in touch everyone, there are never too many emails to send!!

L xx