Very early start to the day - we were booked on a sunrise photographic tour, due to be collected at 4:45am! The alarm went off on the iPhone to wake us ip, but although Errol has it set to local time, apparently the alarm wasn't - it was only 1:15!!! Back to sleep, eventually, and reset alarm woke us at 4:15. Picked up right on time, collected a few other people, then down to the river.
Etienne is French, but has been living in Vietnam for 10 years, and has been doing photography for a living for about 4. We caught a ferry over to a fishing village where he knows the locals - very authentic, his groups are the only tourists that go there. There were 6 people in the group, including 5 Aussies, and we were the only ones with 'point and push' cameras, all the others had fancy SLR jobs! The morning was interesting, but probably a little too long for us and our basic cameras. He knows his stuff, and was able to give us a few pointers on how to adjust settings to get the most out of what we have.
Ferry took us back again, then we had bikes to ride back into Hoi Anh. Now it has been a while since either of us has been on a bike, so it was an interesting venture. Errol crashed on kick off, much to the amusement of locals, then I found it really hard to get going again once we were stopped in traffic. We did make it, but had missed breakfast by the time we were back at the hotel (about 10:15)
Back to our room for a much needed shower - it was hot already. The tailor was due at 11 for my first fitting. Long story short - she didn't arrive till after 12:30, but there was good progress with the clothes. Although she didn't have all items to try, there were only minor problems to fix - she promised to be back at 3 this afternoon.
Off into town to find some lunch - ate at Citronella - another Internet recommendation. The food was lovely. From there, wandered through the old town, checked a few more tailors to see if they had anything different for trousers, but no luck. Back to hotel for a cold drink just before 3.
Lan was only about 10 minutes late this time - not too bad. Four items are now perfect, others still need adjustments. She will be back at 7 tonight.
Meanwhile, Vi An had arrived to take us to the Goian Cooking School. We stopped at the local market first, and saw the produce available, then walked around to their home/kitchen. Vi An took a little getting used to, she wanted to break into song about almost everything!! But she was good at what she was doing, and we soon settled into an enjoyable evening, and the food was beautiful - things that I am sure we could reproduce at home.
We had to pay for the taxi back to the hotel. The streets were full of kids doing lion dances as it is mid autumn festival day. There were drums and children everywhere. Lan arrived back pretty much on time, again a couple more things are just right, only 3 items need minor adjustments. Due to festival, we have agreed that she can deliver at 7:30 tomorrow morning.
We decided that it was hardly bedtime at 7:15, but we didn't want to venture out amongst the chaos either, so settled for a cocktail at the garden bar. There were a few other people there, including an Aussie couple we had spoken to yesterday. Enjoyed a chat over a few drinks, then decided to have a swim before retiring to our room.
We had no sooner arrived back in our wet togs, but the phone rang - reception to tell us that the tailor was back. We dressed and went over. This time all was correct. Errol went to the ATM to sort out money, through the back streets of Hoi An, on the back of the tailors motorbike, in the rain, holding an umbrella at 9:30 on a Sunday night. The first machine said 'transaction okay', but gave no money. The second would only give half what he requested. Tailors shop was closed, so couldn't do credit card. Back to the hotel to scrape together enough Aussie dollars and Viet dong to pay the bill. All this took over an hour!!
Another eventful day, now it is definitely bedtime!
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