This post was originally from February 10, 2012

Hello!

The other day we hopped on the sleeper train and spent the night rattling through the country side. When we arrived at about noon we were in the cutest town in Vietnam thus far. It is called Hoi An. The town itself is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is gorgeous!! Lanterns are hanging from all the trees. Birds in bird cages hanging from almost every door. Friendly faces smiling at you. And a river with typical Asian looking wooden boats floating by. It is completely picturesque and my favorite place here in Vietnam so far.

We were taken to this alley yesterday afternoon for an all you can eat lunch. It was definitely sketchville to look at, but the food was amazing. They kept bringing us more and more and it was all for a whopping $4. After lunch we explored the town which is known for its tailor made clothes. I told myself I wouldn’t cave…but I did. I got a really nice winter coat made as well as a pair of boots. I have yet to see the boots so cross my fingers they will look good. I am even getting my name on them. hahaha…that is no joke!

Walking the town at night was even more wonderful. The lanterns lit up the streets and reflected off the river. And to top it off there was a full moon that just made everything seem so serene!  It is like walking around a dream world. I can’t believe that I am here.

This morning we woke up bright and early and rented a bicycle to tour around the countryside. It was a 2.5 hour ride around farms, and rice fields. It was absolutely gorgeous. Did you know that when lemongrass is picked it smells EXACTLY like lemons? With my accident prone past I am quite impressed that I didn’t bail while riding the bike. Some of the ruts where treacherous and maneuvering around buffalo, cows, chickens, other motorbikes was a real treat. We also stopped off at a school and little 5 year old children sang for us. We brought them toiletries from our hotel and they were quite excited to receive gifts.  It was quite fun.

The only real mishap of the day…I think I cut off a man riding his bike – but the clincher is that he only had one eye! Good one Heather! Eventually we got on a boat (with our bikes) which took us down the river and back to the town. It is all quite surreal.

Another interesting but sad sight…picture this…music blaring and in the first truck is a man dressed as Tarzan with a MASSIVE snake wrapped around him. Yes, I had to do a double take to see what this was. Then another truck right behind this one has a black bear dressed in a tutu standing on the top of the truck. Triple  take. Is this for real?  Yes it is! It all happened too quickly for me to snap a pic…

Tomorrow we are off to the next destination. I couldn’t tell you where…but north we go. You can tell the temperature is getting cooler, boo hoo.
Until next time…