Went walking out Cam Thanh way nearly to Red Bridge and through the rice fields back into HoiAn. Was on a different road than previously and it was lovely as it was beside a small river and the road in the shade for part of the way. After breakfast we headed to the beach. Kevin took 15min 54sec and says there was no wind. Well I certainly felt it when I was riding to the beach. Monika and JeanAnn were there and I chatted with them about there plans to buy an apartment in Vancouver as this was the reason they didn't make it to dinner the other night with Jodi. I offered to load some ebooks on their devices. They are going on a trip mid week up past Hue to some caves for a few days and are taking the train and staying in a farm Homestay. I went for a walk along the beach toward Danang and saw a girl from school and so I chatted with here. She was there with her brother who was snorkelling for fish. Her name was Li. We stayed at Soul Kitchen for lunch and ordered a ham and cheese baguette with a side of fries. We stayed at Soul Kitchen for lunch and ordered a ham and cheese baguette with a side of fries. Washed down with a cold Larue for me and a diet coke for Kevin. I went off to the teaching lesson just before 2pm and Kevin stayed at the beach until after 3pm. At the lesson today the kids were a little older and we again did “why do tourists come to An Bang / HoiAn”? The kids wrote on butchers paper and then each team put up an answer for the main board. It was fun. I didn't stay for the second lesson but went back to Homestay. Kevin had just arrived home as well. Cuc gave me the 2 sun dresses that were just back from the tailor. Unfortunately the tailor had let them out 2” on each side when I only wanted them let out 1” on each side. Kevin went back to his local tailor to pick up the shorts he had made. They were perfect and cost VND$180k or just over A$10. I also gave Kevin a hair cut – No 1 with the clippers. We went to Vang and Duc’s for tea and had beef rolled in betel leaf char grilled together with fresh rice noodles and a peanut sauce. A side of lettuce salad. It was yummy and Kevin says it is the best meal he has had at Vang’s. After dinner Vang went with us into the ancient town for the lantern festival that happens at the Chinese new moon. This is when along the River all the lights are turned off and businesses only have lanterns burning. You can buy a small floating candle for VND$10k that you release into the River and make a wish. We all bought one and used a pole with a scope on the bottom to release the candle. We then stopped at Cinnamon Cruise to see Vinh who was working. I gave him a hug and we chatted for a few minutes and made arrangements to have coffee on Tuesday morning to catch up. It was lovely to see him. We wondered around for a little while longer but the streets were crowded with both tourists and local Vietnamese people and so we decided to head back. We stopped for an ice cream at the Kem shop on Cua Dai Road and Kevin shouted a double for each of us. Vang enjoyed this as she had never been here before. We thanked her for coming with us.
