Day 28 – 6th December – Dong Hoi
We woke up early on sleeper train and arrived in Dong Hoi approximately 7:30am. We found our accommodation (buffalo hostel) checked in and had a walk around. We ended up at tree hugger cafe on Cat’s recommendation for brunch. It was really nice! In the evening we had a couple of drinks in the hostel bar before heading out for dinner and an early night.

Day 29 – 7th December – Dong Hoi
We had an early start this morning as we had booked a tour the previous day. We set off about 8am for our first stop of the day, Paradise cave. This cave was huge! We walked from the car park to the entrance of the cave which was a mile or so. We were in the cave for about 90 minutes walking around and taking in the incredible stalactites and stalagmites. After a stop for lunch we set off for the second cave of the day, the Phang nho caves. This was a lot more relaxing as we travelled here by boat and went into the cave in a boat as it was a ‘wet cave’ and had running water through the middle of it.
We then got our transfer back to Dong Hoi and arrived about 5pm. It had been a long day and we had dinner in the hostel before an early night.

Day 30 – 8th December – Dong Hoi to Hue
We got the morning train from Dong Hoi to Hue and arrived late morning. We checked in and then went for a walk around and lunch. Hue is a lovely little town with a lot of places to eat and drink. The Vietnamese people are also the friendliest people you will ever meet and they can’t do enough for you. After we had lunch, the heavens opened and the lovely owners of the restaurant gave us ponchos so we didn’t get back on the way back to the hotel.

Day 31 – 9th December – Hue
We had booked a day tour of Hue today and got picked up about 8am from the hotel. The first stop on the tour was a Dragon boat ride on the river to the pagoda, followed by the citadel & imperial palace then the local market, Hue museum and then a stop for lunch. In the afternoon we went to two tombs and a village to see local people make traditional hats and incense sticks. It was a good day and we saw lots. In the evening we braved the rain and ventured out for dinner and drinks. We had dinner at a really nice restaurant and when our food came out they had hand carved a dragon into a carrot!

Day 32 – 10th December- Hue – Hoi An
Booked a ‘tour’ from Hue to Hoi An as wanted to go via Hai Van pass but unfortunately due to the severe rain we couldn’t go that way. We also couldn’t go to marble mountain either! Instead we went to 2 pearl shops and a marble shop! Also got absolutely soaked looking at a bridge. All in all money well spent!! We arrived in Hoi An to absolute torrential rain and stayed in the hotel for dinner.

Day 33 – 11th December – Hoi An
The rain was still really coming down this morning so we thought we’d try and be productive and have a bit of an admin morning, booking accommodation and sorting out washing.
In the afternoon the rain had eased a little bit and we walked into Hoi An and explored. The centre was great as it is a no car or scooter area so it made walking around a lot easier and safer compared to the crazy noisy streets! It was also very pretty with the river, the boats and the lights. We had a couple of ciders at Irish bar and watched the world go by. It’s such a beautiful place, we would highly recommend it!

Day 34 – 12th December- Hoi An
Hoi An is famous for its tailor made clothing and shoes and today we went to look at a shirt for Dan and shoes for us both. The tailor measured Dan for his shirt and was surprised at how short Dan’s arms were! When we got measured for the shoes, they actually draw around your feet so they are fully custom made to your size. It was really interesting to see! We spent the rest of the day walking around before we had drinks and dinner in the evening.

Day 35 – 13th December – Hoi An
This morning we went for Dan’s first shirt fitting at the tailors with a Vietnamese lady aka James Bond! She was funny and made a few observations about Dan ie big belly!
From here we went to try on our shoes. Liz’s fit but Dan’s were a bit tight so they had to go back for altering. After this we walked back to the hotel and hired bikes and cycled to the beach via rice fields and saw water buffalo. We stayed at the beach for a little bit but the weather was pretty poor and it started to rain.
In the evening Dan had his final fitting for his shirt and then went to try his shoes again but again were a bit too tight so needed one more alteration.
We then went out for drinks and dinner one last time in the centre and at one point a motorbike shouted out at us. It turned out to be James Bond driving past saying hello and waving with her son!