Day Four in Hoi An

Our last full day in Hoi An.... Boy, this trip has flown along.

With a break in the weather this morning, we treated ourselves to a full breakfast at the Dingo Deli rather than the Hotel offerings and noticed along the way that the water we waded through for the ATM the day before was gone. With the weather holding, we jumped a taxi to the main centre of town to survey the state of the place only to be surprised that the water had receded considerably and there were more shops open for business.

 The only way to the other side of the river with the bridges out

A young tout has breakfast between luring tourists

The river was still over it's banks and the waterfont businesses where still closed but the opportunity to sink some Dong back into the economy was too strong and so shop we did. Most of the morning was spent doing deals on 'genuine' Lacoste and Ralph Lauren polo shirts, Oakley and Rayban sunglasses, beer t-shirts, dresses, scarves, pashmina's, kidswear and the like. You name it, today was the day to buy it.

 The cleaning up begins. note the water level stain above the motorbike.

Local workers pitch in to help clean up

A quick lunch ensued, which may have been the cause of some 'bathroom issues' later in the day and night for both Murray and Phillip. Ouch! Just when we thought we could get through the trip unaffected!

With the weather still holding in the afternoon, we headed back down to the town to finish off any shopping we missed in the morning and with the tourists starting to realise there was 'more' town to explore, the place filled quickly. At this point, we retreated to Hotel for few drinks prior to another trip to the Dingo Deli for the evening meal and back to the bungalow for the night.

Hoi An cyclo drivers waiting for tourist fares 

Phil tries to flog some fruit to the locals

We are heading for Da Nang tomorrow as part of the trip home. We leave Hoi An at around midday for the drive to Da Nang airport some 30-40 kms away, from there we fly back to Saigon before heading back to Darwin that night.

The Hoi An experience hasn't been the same as previous trips here with the weather and flooding, however it certainly showed us another side of Vietnam we hadn't witnessed until now. The amazingly resilient people of Hoi An know every year (usually later in November) that their homes and businesses will be flooded and yet they just take it on the chin and get on with it. Whole streets get out and help clean up, they work all night cleaning after the water recedes to have their business back to normal. It's pretty amazing stuff to witness.

I guess that's it for Da Nang Me 3! We shall consider ourselves "All Donged Out" and may see everyone somewhere else in the future....