Takin a break (without the kit kat unfortunately) from the road , in sweet little Hoi An . On arriving in Hoi An there was a real sense of peacefulness . People did still say hello but there just wasn't the push you are usually greeted with when arriving in a town anywhere in Asia sporting everything you own on your shoulders . A later found out that there is actually a ban on touts in the town which is a good thing too when i learned that there is roughly 500 tailors lcated in such a small space . After a stinky room on the first night , and a little hunting the next morning , found a room on the 4th floor of a hotel ( its funny here the rooms get cheaper the higher you go as you have to cart your bags up there yourself ) overlooking rice patties on the outskirts of town , yet its still less than a minute walk to the centre .
After the first morning exploring the beautiful old town where it is not rare to see people using wooden carts and people wandering in and out of the old french colonial style buildings , it came appparent that this was as good a place as any to kick the shoes off and soak into its easy pace and peaceful , chilled out attitude . Plenty of time to discover that the tailors are friendly and extremely good value too . Yesterday i had a suit tailor made of Cashmere wool for a whole $70 dollars . Ready over night it was all too easy .
Last night was a bit of a treat and were very lucky as far as timing went . The town is known for its lantern making and on every full moon they close the old town off to all traffic and all the shops and residents turn off all the lights . You are left to wander through the old streets lit up only by coloured lanterns , small fires and the odd couple of candles lighting up a game of checkers played by older men on the streets .
There is also a beach about 5km down the road which should be worth exploring over the next few days . Overall a definite highlight of the journey so far and great place to retreat from the road and be absorbed into some old school culture. Probably end up being here for a week in all before heading to Hanoi to celebrate my birhtday ... goodtimes ...
I must be off for now , be sure to check the truckload of new photos i have posted if you are interested .
Hope all of you are all smiles wherever you are and enjoying each moment you are living ...
Big love .... and of course ... enjoy !
