Monday 26th October Hoi An

A beautiful clear sunny morning in Hoi An and the group had little to do except shop, swim and eat. By all accounts the local clothing stores did a roaring trade. With temperatures around 30 degrees the beautiful pool at the hotel was also popular, although a few opted to try the beach only to find that the cyclone damage from earlier in the year hadn't been fully repaired.

Tinh had organized a boat cruise on the Thu Bon River and we enjoyed a 1 hour journey down the river, returning on sunset. The skipper let us off on them other side of the river and we walked straight to the cooking school. Rice paper spring rolls were constructed with varying degrees of finesse before we were ushered downstairs to be served the rest of the meal. The banana flower salad was a favourite as was the fish dish which had been cooked in banana leaves. After leaving the restaurant we joined the throng of people on the riverbank to watch candle boats being released on the river for good luck. Tomorrow night is full moon so we are expecting a bigger turn out for this lunar event.

An old lady selling candle boats for good luck