With nothing in particular planned we go and collect our first lot of dressmaking. An outstanding job on my jacket but now far from the casual comfy jacket I wanted. Beautifully tailored and finished it is now a formal and structured jacket which fitted to perfection and was quite uncomfortable, but for $30 it will be warm and will be worn again I am sure.
Next stop the market to collect the next garment. Again well made but not as tailored as the jacket. For the same price the jacket was the better deal but still I like this one.
Lunch is Pho at a funny little basic place with seats outside someones house and the kitchen in thier front yard. For a total of $4.50 we done well.
I get carried away in a bamboo clothing shop and buy a pile of unecessary tops but look forward to wearing them in the summer. Maybe in Krabi!
We try to visit a temple and find we need a ticket to visit things in the old town. Not happening and we leave. Our one attempt to do something cultural and it is over. Shame it looked pretty too.
Some time later we go to the coffee shop have a coke, see the crane has eventually been taken out of the water and it sitting in the back of a truck. We watch it drive away and watch they guy lifting power lines with a bamboo pole so the load can fit underneath.
We drag ourselves back to the hotel. Honeymoon over, we are all over wandreing aimlessly and want to move on. I could go home tomorrow and not be unhappy but four weeks to go for me and it will be busy from when we hit Lao tomorrow. Bring it on. I have really enjoyed Hoi An and loved spending time with the kids. Once again though I am leaving a place not having seen much, but that's my fault as I had plenty of opportunity to go exploring, but just didn't have the enthusiasm. This was such a pretty place there didnt seem any need to go sightseeing or exploring.
Back at the hotel. I crawl into bed and have a nap before we venture into town again for a meal next to the river, where we ate last night. Those beef and betel leave rolls were, again, delicious. I still haven't figured out what the lovely aromatics are, maybe it is just the taste of the betel leaf.
Enjoying a beer from the plastic mugs after dinner
Electricity provider for the food stall where we ate
The covered bridge 
Lanterns floating in the river. and a cute alleyway
Coming back to the hotel I open todays wee scroll. Each night there is a scroll left on my pillow. It is somesort of mythical story but Most nights Becuase of the poor print quality I can't read it. Today the quality is great and I start to read........" Rice Goddess is a beautiful girl,effeminate and design of computer or sulking.........." And that part was understandable. Further on ".... Rice Goddess is leading the rice ears on the pitch, the pitch, dirty street trash have bothered in the heart, to be thundered a broomstick at the beginning, that much. Both rice crowd exclaimed..." The rest (a full A4 page) is gobbledygook rubbish. I'd love to know what the story is before it was wrecked by the translation and had to laugh. A hilarious end to the day.
Our stay in beautiful HoiAn is over and I am so pleased I came. Perhaps the prettiest place I have been. I would ahve loved to have been able to take some artwork home as some of it is stupendous, much capturing the lovely people and their way of life. I have copied some of the ones I was easily able to photograph.
Vietnam, I mostly loved you. Each palce I visited was totally different to the other with huge contrasts across the cities and within each city. With the exception of Sapa town, which I would not go to again I would love to spend more time in each of the places I went and really explore the wider area and the people, who were, in the main, just lovely. If I ever come back to SE Asia, I will be back.
Goodnight HoiAn. Thanks for a serene, peaceful and flavour filled few days.
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