Next Stop, Hue

After leaving Hoi An we went to Hue by by bus, roughly around 4 hours in a sleeper bus. The day we left was just getting cold in Hoi An so we were hoping for a nicer day in Hue. Unfortunately for the 4 nights we were there it was cold and bleak. Luckily we had our new jackets to keep us warm. We didn't do a lot in Hue as there isn't really that much to do. We went to the Citadel which for me was pretty cool, but for Amanda and the boys not so interesting. It was designed to be the city in Hue where all important people lived from the Emperor to the law makers to the religious leaders. Some fantastic old buildings were designed, however the city was bombed severely in the Vietnam War, so many ruins are left.

We had a great hotel, but the rooms were cold. It is a funny city where hotels, restaurants etc all have their front doors open showing that they are open and welcoming. However as they wore beanies, scarfs and jackets inside for us Westerners it was not much fun having dinner in freezing cold conditions. We stayed probably 1 or 2 days too long in Hue but the boys chilled a fair bit.

Hoi An

After deciding to fly from Saigon to Danang to get to Hoi An we spent a night in Danang in a great 1 star hotel. A really nice place except Liam and Amanda's room was half the size of ours (oh well!). Next day we travelled to Hoi An. It is truly a beautiful town, very old and rustic. We had a good look around the main centre as we were only 200m away from the markets and main shops. We decided to purchase North Face Jackets in preparation for Hanoi. Although we needed them much earlier than that. Not a bad price 2,500,500 dong for 1 childs jacket and 3 adult jackets, roughly $150 NZ dollars. Can't beat the price. The area was ideal to cycle around and for one of our 4 days we rented bikes and cycled around the less touristy areas to get a true feel for the place. The kids enjoyed the cycle although Amanda's bum and mine were a little sore afterwards especially as my bike had very little air in the tyres.

Hoi An holds a Lunar celebration when it is full moon and we were fortunate enough to time our visit for this. They turn of all the lights at night and use lanterns. Truly a pretty wonderful sight. The boys purchased candles that float in the river which is meant to bring you goodluck, hopefully it works!

Hoi An is famous for its tailor made clothing and Amanda decided it was time for her to spend more of my money. She decided to get a traditional outfit made and a dress. The surprising fact was that the girls in the shop talked me into getting 2 shirts made. Total bill $178 US. The next day we were to pick them up and for Amanda to get the sizing checked. Funnily enough my shirts were to tight around the chest which is the common problem I have in Asia so they were going to fix them up. When we went back they were perfect, so perfect they talked me into getting another shirt made ($23). Still my bill was less than Amandas.

The place we stayed at was pretty noisy but the staff were really good. The people overall in Hoi An were similar to that of Cambodia except for 1 or 2 that tried to rip us off. We found so far that the Vietnamese are more street smart resulting in trying to take more advantage of the tourist. Unfortunately for them we had traveled abit before this and had a good idea of what is what.