The pre-shopping preparation

 We spent the first half of the day getting from Hanoi to Da Nang and then to Hoi An.
The bus trip from the Hotel to the Airport was the usual exciting noisy and perilous journey: horns honking, last-minute lane changes and an array of vehicles.

The flight to Da Nang took just over an hour and was completely uneventful. It's interesting to note that both at Hanoi Airport and at Da Nang there still remains some of the semi -circular aircraft hangars leftover from the Vietnam War ( or the American War as it is known here).

Then it was on to another bus and an hour drive to Hoi An.

The first time I did this trip over ten years ago there was barely a small hotel along the palm filled beach road. Now the beach is dominated by HUGE resort hotels with thousands of rooms. Probably very profitable for the developers (many of them from China, Singapore etc. I would imagine), and they no doubt provide employment opportunities for many of the locals, but very ugly and although they are right on the beach, stuck in the middle of nowhere.

We arrived at last at the Life Resort on the river in the middle of the town of Hoi An. Big old colonial style buildings with lots of rooms (not unlike the ones I've just criticised!) but within walking distance of the centre of town and the old Japanese quarter.

After all of this travelling we were exhausted - it's such hard work being a tourist! - so we decided we'd have a swim, massages and a bit of down time (which for me means updating the blog!). Fortunately the pool is about ten steps from our front doors so in the heat and humidity that will be great.

After reviving we headed off to The Brothers Cafe for a riverside dinner, sitting in fragrant jungle gardens looking out over the river. Vietnamese food is really wonderful as it has lots of fresh ingredients and interesting sauces - we avoid too many chilies and then we all do fine.

We wandered back to the Hotel which seems to be full of Aussies (which was a bit of a shock for us after Myanmar).

I decided that the best way to cool down was a quick dip in the pool but as I was about to get in I realised that there was a line-up of large frogs ( about the size of my fist) sitting on the edge of the pool croaking away. One of them had a baby on its back.They looked to me as if they were going to plunge in at any moment and, as I wasn't sure I wanted to share the pool with them, I hesitated. They didn't move so I had a dip at the other end of the pool without any company - human or frog!

So, with a bit of R&R we were ready to roll - the onslaught on the shops could begin!

Your refreshed correspondent

Dianne