On Wednesday, we enjoyed a small sleep-in before our motorbike tour around Hội An. We filled ourselves with buffet breakfast (yet again) and met our tour guide for the day, Mini T.

I was so scared to get on the back of a motorbike, especially given the chaotic driving of Vietnam streets, but after the first 30 mins, all was well. First, we visited Cẩm Thanh (Coconut Village). We drifted down Coconut Lake in a Coconut Boat surrounded by Coconut Trees. Pat attempted net fishing off a boat with one of the locals and we also fished for crabs by the river bank. Pat also took one for the team and hopped onto a spinning coconut boat for a ride, whilst “Gangnam Style” played in the background – a Vietnamese theme park ride, if you will. His stomach didn’t recover all day…

Our next stop was Trà Quế (Vegetable Village). I’ve never seen such a beautiful herb garden and my OCD was satisfied. Nonno, you would’ve loved it! Considering most of the village is underwater for 2 months of the year during the monsoon season, it’s incredible how quickly the locals tend to the crops – it is such a different life to ours. Also, we were regretting our failure to put sunscreen on at this point. It was very hot.

After Trà Quế, we motorbiked to Thanh Hà (Pottery Village). This is quite literally a village of houses that create and display pottery for a living. We were able to attempt our own pottery at a local house, and for SOME reason, Pat’s attempt was better than mine. I’m pretty sure it’s because the guy helped him out a bit more…

Our last stop of the day was Marble Mountains in Da Nang (a cluster of 5 limestone mountains named after the five elements: Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth)). We stopped very briefly for a beef noodle lunch at a local restaurant and took the elevator up the mountain (lazy, but worth it). We explored the Buddhist and Hindu grottoes and temples, enjoyed the panoramic view of the beach and saw the famous “resting Buddha”. This was beautiful, but in all honesty, I think we’re all templed-out.

Mini T took us back to our hotel for the afternoon and we realised we had been ripped-off. We could’ve done the tour ourselves for more than half the price. Oh well, you live and you learn.

We sat by the pool for the afternoon before dinner, and yes, we were very sunburnt. We walked to Green Mango, a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant overlooking an alleyway of lanterns in the Old Town. We were initially seated outside, but requested to be moved inside after being continuously swooped by a bat. Anyway, we indulged in 10-pieces of pork and beef dumplings, lemon chicken with rice noodles, pork with noodles, 3 cocktails, and of course Pat’s chocolate lava cake – all for $23 AUD each. Amazing.

We strolled the streets and markets and purchased a deck of cards to keep ourselves occupied – the cheapest cards one could ever buy. We played gin rummy at Funky Monkey bar where we enjoyed 2-for-1 cocktails (again). FYI – the gym is calling.

On Thursday, we skipped buffet breakfast and each hired a bicycle to ride around town. First, we rode to Bánh Mì Phượng’s to properly enjoy the world’s best bánh mì. We enjoyed it thoroughly – so much so, that we purchased 2 each.

We then rode approximately 20 minutes to An Bang Beach, parked our bikes, relaxed on beach chairs, read our respective books and enjoyed a cocktail (the beach chair was free if you purchased a cocktail). Unfortunately, it was overcast and quite cold (contrary to the previous day), so we didn’t enjoy the beach as much as we would’ve liked to. By the way, riding a bike in Vietnam is the most scary thing (and definitely quite dangerous).

We rode back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool before collecting our clothes from our tailor, (they turned out to be perfect) and purchasing the biggest, brightest The North Face bag I have ever seen (to fit all our (mostly my) purchases on the plane).

After sorting our luggage situation, we arrived at Mango Mango Restaurant, located next to the lake for our last dinner in Hội An. We selected a bar seat facing the lake and the road and we people-watched and listened to the live music – a very cool vibe. For food, we had seared tuna wrapped in rice noodles, sweet potato wontons with beef, boneless sweet and sour pork with salad, chicken in lemongrass and salad, mango flambè and passionfruit crème brûlée, and of course, a bottle of red wine (Australian wine, actually). We met Emily and another Cassie from San Diego at Mr Bean Bar and shared stories and laughs before heading back to the hotel.

We already miss Hội An so, so much. It is the most beautiful city. But, we have arrived at Phú Quốc Island and are currently enjoying our private pool and beach front villa at the Novotel Resort… more to come!