Not much else to do in Hue besides the old palace and citidel so we spent the morning strolling around looking for entertainment. The amount of stuff that the locals can attach to a scooter (with or without rope) would impress even in Africa. The French flare can be seen in some of the buildings here and definitely in some of the restaurants – we found a good one for breakfast. Our 5 hour bus ride to Hoi An left on time at 1pm – again a sleeper full of faces that we have seen on and off for the past week (including the couple from the Ha Long bay trip). It feels like we are on an organized tour ! The scenery was more of the same (could have been Natal South Coast), the roads were bumpy and busy but at least they were straight. We passed well know spots like Danang and China beach in comfort. It was not an unpleasant trip. 

I mentioned the good value of these ‘open tour’ bus tickets before. It seems impossible that they can make money from the system since competition has driven the price down. We were aware of the catches (linked restaurants and hotels where the buses stop) but have not felt forced into anything. Today was the same. The bus pulled up outside a pleasant hotel a 20 minute walk from Hoi An town centre. Perfect rooms and facilities for $15 per night – we took it without question and then looked the place up online (probably the wrong way to do it). Shocking reviews all over the net (oops) but we had an absolutely wonderful stay at The Grassland Hotel. In the evening we took a walk into town – those that complain it is too far to walk should get on a treadmill sometime! The old section looks interesting (another UNESCO site) and should be even better in the daylight tomorrow. Hoi An is known for its tailors, cobblers, jewelers and other handicrafts. Stores line all the streets advertising shoes and suits custom made in less than a day. Maybe I should get a tux and V a ball-gown to add to our travel gear – wonder if they do them in Gore-Tex ? 🙂 

[Pictures: Hoi An at night]
    

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi