Waking up in Nha Trang we had breakfast on the rooftop looking across the town. Unfortunately everything seemed to have eggs in it so I had tofu with tomatoes and green beans for breakfast – unexpected but better than I thought! We went to the beach and lay under a palm tree for the day. It was nice but it was so hot and it was pretty sad to see lots of plastic in the sea. Later on, to get a break from the heat we got some pizza between us for lunch and I had a tiramisu flavour ice cream too which was incredible!
Later in the day we headed back to the hostel to de-sand and shower before our night bus. I sadly had to leave my converse behind as they had come to the end of their life and smelt awfully of the lake we went canyoning in. Not a pretty smell so it had to be 😦
—- Hoi An —-
The night bus we took from Nha Trang was a bit of a mixed experience for the three of us. It seemed fine to me as I went to sleep straight away and didn’t really wake up much. However, Katie and Rhianna were slightly concerned when the bus kept stopping every few minutes. The driver would get off, make some banging noises and get back on the bus wiping oil from his hands – eek! I think the phrase ignorance is bliss comes into play here as I had no clue this was going on!
Anyway, we eventually arrived in Hoi An safe and sound early in the morning around half 6. Bleary-eyed we found an open cafe for some tea and to search for a hostel as we didn’t have one booked for that evening. In hindsight I have to say we lucked out as we stayed in Tribee Kin which turned out to be one of my favourite hostels on the trip so far. It was the right balance of chilled and sociable, with clean rooms, no bunk beds and they had some super cute puppies too. If you’re ever in Hoi An I’d thoroughly recommend.
So we now had a hostel, next it was time to explore what the place is known for, its Old Town. We walked down passed loads of tailor shops and old buildings to the river.
That evening we dined in the market, eating super tasty and super cheap noodles as pictured below. We were crammed round this lady’s food stall on tiny chairs as she cooked the food in front of us whilst also trying to fit in as many customers as possible.
We spent quite a few days in Hoi An which was lovely as it’s such a nice town. I’m our hostel we bumped into Bianca and Tom again who we’d met in Dalat, and Rico who we’d met in Saigon and again in Dalat also joined us the day after.
We rented bikes for the dayfrom our hostel and braved the roads to get to the hidden beach. This tuned out to be not so hidden but it was lush all the same 🙈
As you can see there were sun umbrellas and loungers so Rhianna and I in particular were pretty happy in the heat! We also stopped on the way back into town in this amazing bakery where I had an incredible sandwich (sausage, caramelised onions, tomato and mustard on ciabatta bread: YUM)
As well as the beautiful lanterns, Hoi An is also known for its tailor shops, and after a lot of consideration I decided to get a playsuit made and Katie got a jumpsuit made too. After choosing the fabric, the shape and getting measured, the tailors set to work. I had to go back a couple of times over the next few days to get adjustments but this is the finished result:
Overall I really loved Hoi An and I would definitely recommend a visit!
Sarah Jane's Adventures 