We took a night train from Hanoi to Da Nang…it was really nice and super comfortable! We shared a cabin with two cool people from England, Julianna & Paul. Sherri & I have done a lot of train travel through Europe so we came prepared for the long journey with enough snacks, drinks and cocktails to share with our new friends! We were having such a great time that even the girl in the cabin next to us joined in the fun, as she was traveling with her sister, sister’s husband and their little baby. The views from the train the next morning as we traveled along the coast were beautiful! We arrived in Da Nang by midday and Julianna & Paul were super sweet and had their driver give us a ride to Hoi An, which was about a 45 minute drive from Da Nang.

We checked into a small hotel on the river and set out to explore. Hoi An is a super quaint town with beautiful old colonial buildings and is a well preserved example of a traditional Asian trading port. The street that runs along the river floods when the tide is high but people just go about their day riding motorbikes, bicycles and walking through the water. Hoi An is famous for their custom tailor shops. It’s overwhelming walking the streets because everyone is trying to get you to buy something and there are too many tailor shops to choose from. Our friend Richard (who lives in Bangkok) recommended a tailor shop so we went to meet the owner, Lan. She was so sweet, her shop is beautiful and before we knew it we were picking out fabrics for some custom made clothes! Hoi An is a shopper’s paradise. You can get custom made clothing and shoes for great prices! Plus they can turn the goods around in 1-2 days. You can have them copy your favorite pieces & remake into new colors, bring in a photo from a magazine, choose from the many samples they have in their shops or make up something unique…the possibilities are endless! We had so much fun picking out fabrics, colors, trims, lining, buttons…you can customize every detail and get exactly what you want. The stuff we had made at Lan’s turned out amazing. If you are ever in Hoi An definitely stop by her shop B’Lan. It located at 23 Tran Phu Str. or check out her website www.hoianblan.com

We met back up with Paul & Julianna for a hilarious night of karaoke. You get your own private karaoke rooms so we had a lot of fun dancing and singing. It was pouring down rain on our walk home and I woke up the next morning not feeling so well. Sherri & I both ended up coming down with the flu…high fevers, coughs and congestion…no fun.

On our last night in Hoi An we were both feeling sick so we chose at restaurant close to our hotel. Dao Tien Restaurant ended up being so much more than we expected! Located in a charming two storey French colonial building you can sit inside or outside. The food and service were great & the meals were well priced with a nice mix of Vietnamese, Thai and Western dishes. After our meal we met one of the owners/investors, he was from Australia. We got to talking and found out that this restaurant was dedicated to helping underprivileged children and young adults in the community by training them in the hospitality and service industry and giving them jobs. We also got to meet Tien who runs the restaurant, alongside contributing to her many volunteer projects (helping to support local orphanages, centres for the physically and mentally disabled children, schools and homeless centres) that are funded by the restaurant profits. Currently she is trying to open another restaurant that will have an English language training school above it. She will be looking for volunteers to teach English once the restaurant is up and running so if you plan on spending time in the Hoi An area & would like to do some volunteer work please contact Tien at daotienhoian@yahoo.com or visit the restaurant website www.daotienhoian.com. Tien’s husband is the head chef at Dao Tien Restaurant. He trains the cooks and teaches cooking classes to visiting tourists. Sherri & I wish we would’ve met these wonderful people at the begining of our stay in Hoi An, so we could’ve spent some time doing volunteer work with them, but we were already booked on a flight to leave the next morning.