DAY 9: How far is the East from the West?

Today we broke into teams and had a treasure hunt through the Old Quarter of Hoi An. We trekked through beautiful laneways lined with all kinds of interesting buildings, shops, cafes and restaurants. We discovered an array of interesting trivia about Hoi An: there are several fair trade shops whose profits go towards people with disabilities; ornate, intricately decorated temples are in plentiful supply; the Japanese bridge has dog and monkey statues because it was started in the year of the monkey, and completed in the year of the dog; cyclo is the name of a riding contraption that some of us had a go in; the Vietnamese dress is called Ao Dai, and Grace caused a sensation wherever she went wearing it; Cao Lau is a popular dish with noodles, pork and vegetables; and If you want to work as a tailor, this is the place to do it.

Next adventure was a hair-raising drive to Da Nang Airport, and a flight to Ho Chi Minh City, followed by a mild delay while our bus' clutch died. We had noticed that we were driving very slowly, in one gear only, then suddenly, we just stopped. We broiled in the bus while some mobile mechanics scurried to our rescue, but the problem was more serious than a quick repair, so we were loaded onto another bus. After checking in at our new hotel, we had a crazy walk along the streets to dinner in a restaurant where we had delectable seafood cooked in a broth at our table, and beef fondues, and great big snails, and all kinds of other delicacies. We finished off the day with a spot of marketing: we are improving in our haggling ability, but Mrs Razey is quite a force in the bargaining stakes. Earlyish bed tonight, because we have a very early start for our last day in Vietnam.