Day 37 - Sightseeing Hoi An .. by pedal bicycle

Today we decided to go see the sights of Hoi An, so we hired a couple of bicycles after breakfast in the hotel. This is the first hotel that we stayed in where breakfast is included ... it really is turning out to be a very nice hotel!! Breakfast has been the same as it always has in Vietnam ... eggs eggs and more eggs .. you can have them fried, scrambled or in an omellette .. as long as you want eggs. You do get a buffet of fruit in some places as well, normally pineapple, watermelon and banana.

Once we got on our bikes we decided to head the whole length of town and see what sights there were. There was very litle in the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a shoestring book but the hotel did give us a small map of the town with dots wherever there was something interesting to see so we decided to go look for the dots!

We came across another Wat . . as expected, some local farmers ploughing a new rice field with an ox! We also came across some of the neighbouring rice fields being tilled with a machine! Oh .. and we came across another stripped down home made lorry of some sort!

We then went down into the market side of town where there weere markets of food, drinks, fruit, and all sorts of homewares for all the locals as well as the souvenir shops for the tourists. There really are some fabulous hand crafted shops here in Hoi An. You can get clothes and shoes custom made for you (Caroline got a pair of Puma runners custom made for her). There are loads of paintings, carvings, pottery and lanterns for sale ... some fabulous stuff for any home .. but you really would need to come over here with 2 empty suitcases and a wallet full of Dong or US Dollars!

We made it down as far as the river as well where we saw some more traditional Vietnamese boats, some people fishing and also where we came across the Japanese Covered Bridge. This is a really old bridge that was used decades/centuries ago as a river crossing and it now is a tourist attraction.

After that we headed back to the tailor shop to pick up our tailored clothes that we had ordered the previous night at about 6 or 7 pm. We tried on the clothes and they fitted perfectly first time!! An impressive feat for any tailor!!

We then went wandering around the markets when my mobile rang and it was Ben and Katie who we had met in Halong Bay on Christmas Day. I had given Ben my mobile number on an email so that if we both made it to Hoi An we could met up for a drink! So, we arranged to meet up for dinner and drinks at 8pm!!

We went back to the hotel and dropped off all our purchases, got changed and headed walking back into town to meet Ben and Katie, at the Japanese Covered bridge. The only landmark that we both knew!! We made it to the pub where we had just got in on time for Happy hour ... well Happy 4 Hours!! Several hours later, and several drinks later, including a very strong cocktail we headed home .... tukked up in bed by about 12:30 ... late by Vietnamese standards .... because everything everywhere on the way home .... other than the pub we were in was closed!!! Another pleasant day in Hoi An!