We arrived at 7am after the 12 hour bus journey - which thankfully went relatively smoothly except for the crazy driving and awful bumpy roads! We sunbathed for most of the day around the pool in the hostel and played some pool (pretty badly). That evening a group of us went to Ganesh Indian Restaurant which had been recommended by both the hostel guy and the Lonely Planet guide book - sure enough it was amazing! I had the chicken coconut curry and it was the best I've ever had! After dinner we headed down to Why Not bar/club and played some more pool (strangely Vicky's coordination skills get better when she's drunk so she actually played pretty well!). Vicky and I started to feel a bit sleepy so we had a quick 20 minute power nap in the club and when we woke up were ready to party again! Which we did, we danced all night.
The next day we slept in (although woke up for the free buffet breakfast then went back to sleep - we did not want to miss out on pancakes!). When we woke up we went for lunch and had the most delicious Vietnamese curry. Hoi An is famous for having over 200 tailor shops which make suits, dresses, anything you want - shopping heaven! We went dress shopping for most of the day which was so much fun. You can choose the style, fabric, pattern, lining, everything. Both of us got 2 maxi dresses each - I got a Grecian style halter neck maxi as well as a backless maxi, both of them silk lined with chiffon material all for £60!
After indulging ourselves we wandered round the old town as the sun set. We loved it. It's such a beautiful place with a great atmosphere. There are lanterns everywhere including disposable lanterns flowing down the river, very serene.
The next day we were up early for a Vietnamese cooking class. The class started with a tour round the market to buy our ingredients. I couldn't believe how unhygienic it is. All the meat is sat out on cardboard with no packaging, no refrigeration and to choose the meat everyone touches it to see which is the freshest! The worst bit is the lady who sells the meat handles all the meat, chops it up, answers her phone, handles the money all without washing her hands! Later on in the cooking class the chef said to cook the beef however we preferred; rare, medium rare, well done - well there was no way I was doing anything other than cooking the s*** out of that beef!
After buying our food at the market we had a cruise up the river to where we were cooking. To begin with the lady showed us how they made rice milk - grinding rice and water together between two stones. We then made 4 dishes: fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese savoury crepes, beef noodle salad and beef noodle soup. All of them were delicious. My chopsticks skills are also improving after only using chopsticks to cook (much harder than they make it look).
Afterwards we went for our dress fittings which we got very excited about. That evening a big group of us went down to the old town and had dinner at a sweet looking rooftop restaurant. We found a better bar/club at Infinity and had a great night with everyone.
We picked up our dresses the next morning (and spent ages prancing around the shop in them) and then went to the beach for the day.
Four of the boys had gotten suits made and us two had bought our dresses so we decided to have a 'prom' night and get all dressed up. It ended up just being four of us as two of the boys had their suits shipped home but it was still really fun. We had another Indian dinner that evening and ended up at Infinity again.
Y x
