It's made more difficult because very often during the typhoons the sea water meets the fresh water in the fields so all this has to be cleared before they can plant. Some of the fields are already starting to look green as the rice sprouts and it will be ready for harvest in three months time. You realise though what incredibly hard work it must be, and they have three rice seasons a year in this part so there's little downtime.On the way we saw huge mounds of what looked like sand but in fact they were sawdust which is used to make paper.
Our drive took us over the Hai Van Pass. Beautiful on the way up and down and on the top are about half a dozen pill boxes the Americans built as a look-out point during the war on this very important route. But the area is really dominated by lots of souvenir sellers with all sorts of the usual tat. We made a quick loo stop and on we went, leaving the coach loads to succumb to the hawkers. We passed through Danang just north of Hoi An which marks the beginning of China Beach - a beautiful sandy beach which runs south for 40km. It's also where the Americans during the war went for their R&R. Quite ironic really to think of them surfing, drinking beer and the rest before going back into the jungle to fight. Danang is currently undergoing huge development - massive chain hotels are being constructed and a casino - you do wonder who is going to inhabit all those hundreds and hundreds of beds. The Vietnamese are not allowed to gamble so only the foreigners will be using the casino. Very weird all of it really. And then just 30 minutes down the road you come to Hoi An which is very old and beautiful and not at all large - just 300,000 people but 1000 tailors!
We arrived a bit early for check in so our guide took us via one of the tailors. We delved into our suitcase and pulled out a few items and took them in for copying, which they do over night and for a fraction of the price at home. It seems everything is priced on the fabric. David ordered a short sleeve shirt, very simple. He ordered the same style, with long sleeves and button down collar - same price! Our first morning at the hotel we woke up early. I peeped out of the curtains to survey the weather and there was a fantastic sight as a buffalo pulling a wooden wedge was truding up and down the beach to smooth the sand. God forbid we should all come onto the beach and it wasn't looking pristine!
We're loving Hoi An and the hotel.
Our room is right on the beach and at night you can hear the waves crashing. The hotel has some beautiful circa 1950 500c Daewoo motorbikes with side-car that will chauffeur you into town if you don't want the shuttle bus or a cycle ride. After breakfast we took one into town for some sightseeing. 
It was such fun and you feel like 'Wallace and Grommit go to Vietnam'! It was hugely exciting and you couldn't help but beam throughout the entire journey. At 11am we had an appointment with the tailor to pick up our treats. The shirts and David's trousers were fantastic. We promptly order another each and need to go back tomorrow to get them.Our first evening we cycled to a small cafe/restaurant by the river. The menu was in English but they spoke little, except one kindly waiter who wrote out some bits of vocabulary for us in beautiful handwriting as after three weeks we still didn't know how to say hello and good-bye. We say Cam On (thank you) a lot but really we must learn 'no thankyou' a phrase we need the most often!
For lunch on New Years Eve we had fantastic bbq'd fish on the beach at a restaurant called Number 5, next to Number 4 and Number 6 no doubt. Great beer here called Larue. In Hue we drank Huda Beer, in Hanoi we drank Hanoi Beer and in Luang Prabang we drank Lao Beer. Which is the best is difficult to say, all good, but possibly Huda has the edge in our opinion.
New Years Eve which was a 'Compulsory Gala Dinner' at the hotel was very good. The hotel had gone to a lot of effort with decorations etc. We enjoyed lovely cocktails around the pool whilst we were entertained by local dancers followed by a wonderful buffet. We drank one bottle of wine but it was only 10.30, not quite sure how we made it last that long (probably because even though it was a simple provence rose it cost $42) so we had to have another to get us to midnight. They lit a huge bonfire on the beach and everyone sat around gazing at the sparks flying off it and looking across the sea lit by the full moon. There was a 'surprise' scheduled for midnight which we thought would be fireworks, but instead the hotel's french general manager called everyone to the hotel lobby where there was a large cake and at midnight two scantily clad girls burst out of it whereupon men were invited to have their photo taken with them - all very odd! and disappointingly no fireworks!!!
Todays 'aside'
Since being in Hoi An whenever we're asked by the local sellers where we're from and we say England they reply all in the same sentence "Lovely Jubbley, it's cheaper at Tescos" we laugh every time.
RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS:
Morning Glory - Really great Vietnamese food. Upstairs is a little more airy. Book
Song Xanh - lovely Vietnamese food with pretty riverside setting. Between town and beach
Brothers Cafe - always good. Also in Hanoi and Saigon.
The women always ask us "How many children you got". Obviously we always reply "none". One woman made us laugh as she replied "are you sure?"
Vietnamese couples are now 'advised' to only have two children. You'd never think it as almost every young girl you meet has a bump.
Todays Vietnamese headline:
The Red River is the lowest ever recorded due to low rainfall and hydroelectric dams
WE WISH EVERYONE A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY 2010 AND WHICH WE HOPE WILL BE FULL OF LAUGHTER
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