The Werners in Asia: Sun 15th - Day 4 in Hoi An

After a nice snooze to celebrate our decision to stay on in Hoi An, We caught the Hotel Shuttle to our bit of beach. Had a quick dip, and since James has slept through breakfast again, decided to try a beach restaurant. This was a big mistake.

The beer was cheap and cold, but James cappricosia has peas, beans and some other green bits he couldn't recognise, so it was quietly wrapped in a serviette and quickly transferred to the back pack for later disposal.

Steve's chilli chicken turned out to be beef that has obviously been sitting in he sun for a few days and smelt like it. To cover the fact that it was not the chicken ordered, it was wrapped in some freenery that was a touch on the mouldy side. One mouthful was enough. We paid the bill and left back for the hotel. I might add that this was the only food disaster encountered so far..

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing - no suits to pick up, a few swims and a chance for Michele to increase the cocktail count. The Villas were lovely - probably ideal fopr a honeymooning couple, but James had one to himself and loved it.

We had chatted to Lily (a tiny Vietnamese girl who worked at the hotel) over the previous day or so and she told us a little of her life in Vietnam. She lived with her parents in My Son and studied travel studies. She told us that the average wage in Vietnam amongst those who worked was about $2m VND a month. This was about $100 in our money and said that since the influx or tourists, prices had gone up and most people struggled. We had to say goodbye that day and left her with some Australiana and a few hundred thousand dong to help with studies.

She had convinced us to dine at the restaurant in the Hotel that night, but we couldn't find much to our liking (this always seemed the way with attempted 'Western" food, After a cocktail on the balcony by lantern light (see pic) we went back to Chips n Fish n Stuff for dinner. We had recommended it to a few at the hotel and when we arrived almost every table has people from Hoi AN Pacific. As this was only one of hundreds of restaurants in the town and a fair way from the hotel it was obvious word had got around.

Wandered home (well taxi really but wandered sounds better). We stopped for a late night drink on the way, which meant a few extra photos (Michele again) on the way home.