This morning at breakfast we got talking an English man who was cycling through Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam and Laos just using his sat Nav on his phone-in crazy!
We ordered a taxi to the airport, although it was much cheaper to get a grab bike which is Uber for motorbikes I wasn’t keen on this with my big bag and the streets here so we paid for the taxi instead.
On arrival in Da Nang, the closet airport to Hoi an, the hostel taxi service picked us up, Although getting the bus would have saved us around 5pounds between us it meant getting 2 buses and a two hour local bus ride so it seemed worth getting the taxi, particularly with when we arrived the rain was torrential!
The hostel we are staying in is called cheerful and it certainly lives up to its name. The owner is so lovely, such a people person, but very full on aand initially overwhelming. We got a warm welcome with hot mug of ginger tea, she sat on the sofa with us and went through everything, the map, the trips, her recommendations, where is likely to rip you off in town, to avoid the night market for costs.
She is very trustworthy, there is a notepad by the fridge and if you want anything we can just take it and write on the list why we have had. She doesn’t stay here overnight her family home is across town so we have a key for the gate too. The other guests here are super friendly.
When she showed us our room we were gob smacked, it’s like a studio flat, kitchen area, dining table, sofa, TV, balcony with tables and chairs, and a bathroom.
As Hien, the owner was talking us through the map she noticed our rings and asked us and when we told her it was out honeymoon she was so upset we hadn’t told her because she wanted to get us a cake. Instead she arranged for a lady to come in and paint my nails for me as a wedding gift!!
At 3.30pm Hien took us on a free of charge street food tour, there was about 8 of us and we took the hostel bikes, not only did we have the crazy roads to contend with but my left peddle was falling off, the bikes are made for very small people so as you turned the handle bars your feet hit the front wheel, oh and also David’s handle bars moved independently to the wheels so he was always making a left turn, and his tyres were flat! The plan was to leave the bikes at horns family home and then walk the tour, but the first stop was on route. We all made it together to the first place, papaya salad with deep fried rice pancakes and quail eggs.
Then there was a blip, on route to her family home five of us got separated from the others and Hien who was on a moped because of the crazy roads!!! We had to stand on the street corner by the hospital until she found us. Once all reunited we dumped the bikes and went to stop number 2…. A black sesame soup stop, we had tiny bowls to share of this thick tar like jet black goo, it had taken the lady 3 hours to make it, it was actually nicer than it looked, but a couple of spoonfuls and that was it! They tell you everything here is good for your stomach….. We will see tomorrow!
Stop number 3 was a steamed dumpling which was really strange the taste wasn’t so bad, we had green bean stuffing but the texture was really odd, so slimey!! Stop number 4 was papaya salad with noodles which was really tasty but the make shift cafe was a little grubby to say the least. Number 5 was a noodle bar a special type of thick, rough noodle only bought in Hanoi. Finally Hien took us to a bakery and bought us coconut bread and banana fritters from another street food stand.
Wow so much food….. Only £2.50each in total. It was good to get talking to the other travellers, hear about their experiences and get tips.
The only problem now is that it was pitch black outside and still torrential rain. Riding back to the hostel on dodgy bikes was not the safest of plans…but it was the plan. We made it in one piece…
In the evening we stayed in the hostel because of the weather being so shocking.We had a beer and tried to plan the final flights for the Philippines etc but our cards weren’t working at all. I had to ring the bank which opened a whole unexpected can of worms.
My bank card has been copied whilst we’ve been out here likely by an ATM but can’t rule out online also and someone had made multiple attempts to clear our account….great! Luckily they only got a fiver from us but 30minutes on the phone later resulted in a 60quid phone bill and a blocked card. Fabulous. David’s is ok to use still but it’s made us extra cautious about using the card, I have been aware of checking the ATMs for scanners but still got caught out!!
So a quiet early evening turned into a late expensive one!…. And it’s still torrential downpours. Apparently the rainy season is delayed and tourism has decreased as a result in the town.
The WiFi isn’t strong enough to add photos well , I will do my best to get them uploaded but may be at our next stop.
South East Asia 2019 
You sound like you’re having an awesome time!
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