"Singing In The Rain"

Seems like we were lucky with the Hoi An Beach component of the tour. This morning it chucked it down and it aint looking much better this afternoon. Still, my sunburn could do with a break. Back when I was planning this adventure I asked the TripAdvisor forums whether it was better to stay in Hoi An town or on the beach. As you see, the results were a bit bipolar. The assertion that it is the wrong time of year for the beach just isn't true . . . but only if you get lucky and miss the rainy days, methinks.

Neverthe less, Hoi An is a fascinating place; different yet again in character from Da Nang and Hue. One of the complaints of the town is that is has become too touristy. Plenty of gift shops, tailors and art galleries. Personally, I think the galleries add to its charm as there are plenty of paintings on offer that one thinks would look nice on their walls (of course, its never the same when you get them home). One thing's for sure, you will never go hungry or thirsty in Hoi An. As I am sure Steve will attest to, there are hundreds of tiny bars and restaurants that face the river complex that offer cheap happy hours beers, cocktails and Viet snacks but, of course, also means that you will inevitably be subjected to the roving peddlers at a rate of one every 10 minutes. Cue dismissive imperial wave.

Last night we met up with the Wandering Jan, the Flying Dutchman, and exchanged stories of our travels (Melissa, Jenny and Paul having moved on to pastures new). It would seem that there are few places we have been to that Jan has not also got a story to tell; even in Alaska! It made for an entertaining few hours. This evening we hope to make it to Cam Nam Island to a bar recommended in our outdated Rough Guide as being a "chilled sunset bar", the evocatively named Sleepy Gecko. That pre-supposes a sun in the sky to set in the first place but, as I write this, there is more light streaming through the window than there was a couple of hours ago. Might even get my camera out . . .