I arrived in Hoi An early after a long overnight bus from Nha Trang. I joined a few other sleep deprived backpackers and headed for breakfast in the town famous for its Banh Mi (filled bread roll). In this small little town we were surprised to hear that it hosted over 400 tailors. Walking down the streets you had to dodge the staff as they came running after you with measuring tapes & fabric to make a tailor made outfit. The old town was quaint, covered with lanterns and blooming flowers.

The following day I rented a bike with Ed, a lovely English fella who was also staying at Tribee Ede Hostel. We cycled along the town edge passing the rice paddies, clay village and onto the sea front. On An Bang beach we found a lovely little restaurant called Soul Beach, where we lay on loungers for the day sipping cocktails dipping in the sea when it got too hot. The hostel had a spring roll making class that evening where we learned the art of making and eating their fried spring rolls.

The next day we rented motorbikes, and quickly learnt how to drive like the Vietnamese (no rules applied!). We headed to the UNESCO world heritage site of Myson Temples, the ancient ruins of the kingdom of Champa. We decided to take the back roads there and ended up across wooden rickety bridges and dirt tracks whilst sharing the roads with buffalos and cows.

I explored the old towns ancient houses early the next morning before the midday heat before heading back to the beach for the afternoon with other friends we had made along the way. The beach although deserted during the day because crowded with locals as the sun set, who try desperately to not let the rays darken their skin tone. We moved to Seaside Bungalow that night, located right on the waters edge.

The next morning we set off early to drive to the next town by motorbike. We had two mountain passes to get over on the way & my little bike struggled as the incline reached 18 degrees. The views were spectacular overlooking tropical beaches and the bay of Danang. The route skirted along the cliff edge firstly going around the Son Tra Peninsula and secondly the Hai Van Pass. On the way we stopped at Marble Mountains, China Beach and Elephant springs. It was late in the evening by the time we arrived in Hue & my bike was giving up, my only option being to keep the bike rolling at all times, which was fairly difficult when the traffic lights turned red!

Hue was a big city, the old capital of Vietnam and the buzz of the traffic reminded me of Saigon. We visited the colossal Imperial Citadel, a moat encompassed walled palace. It was beautifully ornate and peaceful within the city centre. But after only a night in Hue we decided to head off and made our way to Phong Nha that evening.