Slept pretty well last night considering the room smelled like vinyl. I woke up to some pretty damp rain. I packed up and headed over to have breakfast with my grandmother. I said my goodbyes to all the relatives and headed back to the hotel to meet up with Javson who was on a bus heading towards Hue from Hanoi. We are headed to Hoi An today. I hope it does not continue to rain for the next few days as on of the towns we hit is a beach town (Nha Trang).

The bus ride to Hoi An was an uncomfortable 5 hours. It was quite stuffy as it was raining and there were lots of other travelers riding as well. We stopped a few times to eat. I think the buses have deals with the restaurants along the way. Anyways the food at the stops is generally not that good. We met another traveler from England traveling solo (William Stacey). He didn’t have plans while in Hoi An so we adopted him into our group. We check into our hotel and were off to check out Hoi An. The town itself is somewhat of a tourist trap. It seemed like every bock is lined with shops that tailor make anything from suits to shoes. Tommorrow I may try getting a custom made suit before I leave. The prices are fairly cheap. Anywhere from $20 to $400 a suit depending on the quality of the material. At those prices why not try one.

After walking around the riverbank and perusing the novelty shops we stopped for lunch. The place that the Lonely planet recommended was flooded with travelers so we opted to eat right next door which looked exactly like the same restaurant. It was very pleasant inside. The local delicacy in Hoi An is Cao Lau which is a noodle dish with sprouts, croutons, pork and vegetables. It was quite good compared to some of the other things we’ve tried so far. William and I tried that banana pancakes because we wanted something that resembled home. They were just OK. They were dense for pancakes and there was no maple syrup just butter. Nothing to rave home about but a decent lunch. We have another full day of walking around so we’ll see what Hoi An has to offer.

Dinner was very complicated. We ended up following Su around for a few miles it seemed. My stomach wasn’t feeling good again so I was practically ready to eat anywhere just to use the bathroom. Anyways Su was on a mission to find some local delicacy. We ended up walking to the other side of town it seemed where the paths were darkly lit. Trudging through the puddles and through the light rain I felt like something was going to step out of the shadows and mug us. Anyways we get to the restaurant that she was looking for and I immediately ask for the bathroom. Unfortunately there was no toilet in sight. It was a squatter in a dark shed with no light. I refused to use it and was angry at this point. So I walked back another mile to what looked like a high class restaurant while the gang ordered there food. About 30 minutes later I rejoined the team and finished some of the seafood they ordered. It was back to the hotel after that and quick to sleep after a long day of walking.