?? to Hoi An - 5th July 2009

I woke up this morning feeling quite peaceful. Unfortunatly the water for the bath was a bit cold so I decided to skip it, which was annoying as I'd been really looking forward to it!
On the TV, was a very comical (although I'm sure not intentionally!) hot dog eating contest! Everyone was taking it so seriously!! It was fun listening to their techniques and training! I listened to a bit of music whilst packing up my rucksack! It's becoming quite a challenge for it all to fit in the one bag!
I couldn't really be bothered about breakfast, so I asked if we could just get some bananas somewhere on the way.
We had a few coffee stops today, including one with bananas. One of the stops had a couple of cats who couldn't keep their paws off each other; it was really adorable! And also a dog who had some kind of skin infection, but still looked adorable, and enjoyed eating the leftovers from Hue's meal (which I gave him!)
It wasn't long until we passed the turn off to Laos and then the Ho Chi Minh trail, and we headed East towards Hoi An.
We arrived early afternoon, enough time for me to check into a suggested hotel and check out the local sights! It was time for lunch I decided, so I had a delicious fresh pineapple juice, and some garlic bread, before heading downtown! I popped into a travel agent to see about flights from Hanoi to Saigon, which seem quite reasonable at 30 pounds. I saw lots of whites on the way, easy to tell we were in a fairly large town. There were quite a few on bicycles and motorbikes too! Not far from my hotel, I came across a bike hire place, for only 10,000 dong! A bargain! So with my bike in tow, I was ready to roll! Apart from I promised a tailor-shop lady I'd have a look at her shop. So I spent about an hour in there, getting measured from head to toe and choosing material for my suit/dress/jeans... and tomorrow I will go back to see how they're getting on! Quite exciting, and better value than those trying to sell us the same things in Bangkok, although this definetly is being counted as 'extravagent spend' and not including in the daily living allowance!
I cycled up and down the streets, enjoying attempting to still overtake motorcycles but failing slightly, although I found that I was more likely to fall off or hit someone when going slowly so speeding was the trick to being safe! The roads were a bit bumpy, which made things a bit more fun, I'm glad I didn't have much in the basket at the front, as it soon wouldn't have been! I popped over the river to the old town, which was nice, although there was so much more character in the new one. The river had various lit up decorations along it, as well as boats to take people on tours etc.
There were various street markets, which I meant to go back to, but couldn't actually find after leaving them to find an ATM! It was quite fun, spotting a white person, and then (presuming they were English) asking for directions to some place! I actually needed the directions, it wasn't just for the fun of meeting a fellow white! Some where Americans, others Australians... I had a bit of a scare with the bike as I stopped, locked it, and then on trying to unlock it, I somehow jammed the lock! I thought I'd have to walk it back to the bike place carrying it, which would have made me sweat even more! It was so much hotter down here than Da Lat and the highlands.
I eventually found the things I'd been looking for, and had had fun finding them on my bike. I seemed to find a place, but be whizzing by too fast and end up at the next shop along, and then not be bothered to go back, or be dragged in by the eagar shop assistants! As I was cycling I heard the song '6 million bicycles' by Katie Melua being sung, which I felt really appropriate!
There were lots of pretty lanterns and shops on the way with interesting paintings. All the buildings carry such character too! There were women carrying a stick over their back with baskets balanced on them to carry goods for selling.
I was browsing past on my bike a shop selling coffee, when the old male owner who enthusiastically shouted me in, in a way that was obviously more enticing than the other shop assistants, as for his jovitality, I felt I needed to buy something! Despite having already bought coffee, I bought some more!
There was cinammon sticks on sale, as well as other local produce such as pepper. On the motorbike earlier, we'd passed some pepper pods drying out on the side of the road.
I bought quite a bit of fruit; bananas, lychees, bam-bams (or something like that!) and an avocado; of which I shall enjoy later!
During my browsing, a lady offered me a manicure, to which I said I'd return to after a bit more shopping. At around 5.15, despite me saying I'd return my bike by 6, I set off to be pampered!
It started off as a manicure, and then I got my legs and various other body parts 'cotton threaded' which was painful especially in certain areas! I also got a pedicure, foot, back and face massage; oh and the usual chiropractor foot works! For what I got, it was a bargain by UK standards, and although it felt expensive by Asian standards, it was one of those treats that I 'just had to do' or I'd feel I missed out on a very interesting experience! The place where it was done, was just off from the market where I'd been plucked from! It looked like a garage, and had two beds and various tools of the trade. For the massages they put a curtain around, as I think their family were dining at the table a few metres away!!
It was dark by the time we finished, around quarter to 8! I was a bit scared of getting mugged or not being able to find the hotel, but thankfully I was okay, and I didn't get hit by any motorbikes either! A few people helped with giving me directions, which was a bit quicker than me trying to find my way using the Lonely Planet map!
After finding the hotel, I went back down the street to return my bike, and saw a white bloke looking a bit lost. I initiated conversation and in fact he was just looking for an internet cafe. We had a short but sweet chat about the local area which gave me a bit of inspiration for the following day!
I passed the tailors shop on the way back, and said hello! I also passed, on the opposite side of the road, a man who was either unconscious or dead, who had a group standing around him, not doing much!
I was going to go straight in the shower, but instead jumped on the chance of getting on the internet as the hotel has two computers with free internet access, one of which was free!
Someone came and started to talk to the guy beside me, about having just booked a 6 day motorbike tour to Da Lat! I involved myself in the conversation and enjoyed having some company, although declined to go out with the two guys for a drink, as I was rather tired. They were both travelling alone and seemed like nice guys, it's a shame I'm feeling exhausted!
I'm off to bed now, after a shower and some fruit!