“Everybody Hurts” (REM)

Although Hue is on the coast, it did not provide us with beaches, and so when we finally saw the sea on our drive to Hoi An, it was fantastic – we were all so excited that what had started as a quick comfort stop ended up with most of us running onto the beach and getting our feet wet (and sandy… Don’t think the bus driver was impressed!). The sun was shining and the combination of white sandy beach, gently rolling waves and warm water was amazing. Reluctantly we re-boarded the coach and headed along the coast. The road was excellent, and included a rather impressive 6.3km long tunnel. The final part of the drive saw us follow the beaches, and see the huge amount of beachfront development that is going on. Hoi An is about 5km from the beach, and is home to hundreds of tailoring shops. Many of the girls (and some of the boys) were keen to get clothes made, and so headed off as soon as we arrived to get measured and chose fabrics and designs, while a couple of us headed off to the beach and found a rather idyllic bar on the beachfront for a quiet G&T while the sun set. On our first full day in Hoi An I headed off with Edel, Jen, Jo and Ann on a bus and boat tour to My Son, an important set of ruins about an hour from Hoi An. Again we had been blessed with a beautiful blue sky day, with the associated stinking hot temperature! Our tour of the ruins was a little half-hearted it must be said, as we dashed from shade to shade… Then it was back onto the coach for short trip to the boat for the rest of the journey. Travelling along the river at boat pace gives you plenty of opportunity to appreciate the scenery and get a glimpse of the way of life of those who live on the river. We stopped at a woodworking village which is on an island right near Hoi An, and resisted the temptation to buy their wares. Then it was back to Hoi An and on to the important task of buying more clothes. Edel had a first fitting for one of her dresses, and Ann was instructing the dressmaker about the dress her daughter had asked her to make, accompanied by photos on her camera. I saw a dress which I wanted for wearing at the beach, and ended up accidentally getting one made for me. Oops. Other people had suits, long dresses, shorts, tops and even boots made. After all that shopping it was time to head to the beach, so we piled into a taxi and headed off. The ruins at My Son: The crew were already at the beach and were hard to miss as Tim was finally getting the opportunity to use his kite-surfing gear! After a dip in the water, which is so warm in the afternoon that it is almost too warm, we set up on the loungers under an umbrella and enjoyed some G&Ts served by a very cheeky waitress! Pete & Tim in their very fetching helmets and very manly scooters: The next day the action woman within resurfaced and I headed off with Tim, Rich, Michael S, Chris & Elaine to go jet-skiing. We were doing a tour up the river, but first Rich was keen to have a bit of time just playing around on the jet skis. I wasn’t that keen, but went along with it, and after the first three went out, it was my turn. I headed off and soon discovered that not only did I like it, but I loved it. I was racing full throttle across the waves, bouncing around and laughing like a madman. Doing a donut on a jet ski didn’t really interest me until I did one, then I almost made myself dizzy spinning around! My 10 minutes of rampant stupidity was over far too soon and we picked up the others and headed off along the river section. Once I had worked out how to hold on as a passenger, it was all good! We pelted along the river, passing traditional fishing boats and fishing nets, dredgers and some very low bridges! Half way through it was time to swap drivers, and so it was my turn again. The sound of the engine almost drowned out Tim’s screaming and yelling of “Karcher, you are going to kill us” as I managed to get airborne and land sideways a number of times. But we got home safely, and as they say, a miss is as good as a mile… Although after he relayed the stories after we got back, I don’t think too many of the group will volunteer to get in a car with me… From jet skiing, to cooking. After a slightly longer than anticipated motorbike ride home, courtesy of my continued “running out of fuel” curse, it was off to a Vietnamese cooking course with Edel & Mike T, Jo and Ann. We made spring rolls, grilled fish in banana leaf, and beef with lemongrass, garlic and chilli. It was all delicious, and seemed deceptively easy to make… We will see… Cooking with Ann, Mike T, Edel & Jo: After all that activity it was time to relax, so we headed to the beach. Unfortunately as Pete had not been on a jet ski in the morning he hired one, and so started us all off, and next thing we had three jet skis out playing in the waves which had picked up from the morning. I was cajoled (well, ok, not really) into going out for 10 minutes, and armed with the knowledge that I survived the morning session, went even more nuts. I scared myself silly at some stages, but had an absolute blast! OK, not quite Ursula Andress, but happy and in one piece! Then it was time to relax, bob up and down in the water and find a shady spot to enjoy the afternoon. G&T in hand, watching the water and the sunset… doing it tough! Treated myself to a nice dinner at a riverside restaurant and found the Vietnamese dishes that I had been looking for – Pho Bo, and fresh spring rolls – which were delicious (almost better than at Randwick Vietnamese Restaurant)! Ok, so it doesn't look that impressive in the photo, but in reality I was at least 10 feet off the water... well, it felt like it anyway...: The next morning was a very early start, 6am on the bus. When the alarm went off at stupid o’clock I went to get up and discovered the downside of all that fun on a jet ski. I could barely move! My muscles hurt from head to toe (well, no, my toes were fine. The pain stopped about at my ankles, just below the lovely bruises on my calves). Would still go back and do it again tomorrow!