Mr and Mrs Tran who entertained us to a delicious lunch at their home yesterday.

It was easy to smile for this photo as Bo, our Tour Leader had 15 cameras dangling from his wrists as he took the same shot for everyone.

During the visit to the fishing village some hardy souls took on the challenge of a short trip in these TINY rush boats. I think the captain of mine was even more concerned for his safety than I was of mine. He has never had a heavier cargo!

By the time we reached dry land again a crowd of locals had gathered to watch the spectacle. They were well rewarded by the entertainment factor of our efforts at making it ashore without getting wet. That water looked far from clean.

Having had fun on a motor cycle in Hue we took to bicycles in Hoi An. Mr Tran took us on a 6km tour to his home fishing village. It was a great opportunity to get to see how the local fishermen and their families live and work.
We visited a small ceramic factory, fished by the river using bamboo poles and then finished with a delicious lunch prepared by Mrs Tran in their family house.
We saw young boys catching geikos for fishing bait.
As soon as we got back to the hotel it was the pool for us all.

Here you can see the high water mark left by the flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana only a week ago.

There were squads of workers using the simplest of shovels to move tonnes of mud. Even in the three days we spent here the improvements could be seen.

The Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An.

You've heard of "lining up your ducks in a row".

I went out very early each morning to catch Sunrise, the quiet streets and the teeming market. The sights, sounds and smells were something to behold.

The hardworking people seem to have no leisure time at all although the men do a little sitting about putting the world to right. All their jobs are so very labour intensive with apparently little reward.

Cooling off after a hard day's wandering!

Our hotel room in Hoi An. Again, not exactly 5* but much more than we expected - it DID have a window.

We took a bus for the 4 hour drive south to Hoi An, driving through Da nang. Again storm damage everywhere.

As soon as we arrived we dropped our bags and headed out downtown. Lonely Planet described it as a charming tranquil town. That's not quite how it is. Those darned motorcycles again.

We have arrived safely and on time in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Again, having fretted about luggage allowance we flew in a boeing 777-200

Now I have finsihed posting photos of our stay in Hue. We leave Hoi An in a couple of hours for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).
Note to self: must do better in keeping current with postings. But it's hard work with so many nice distractions.

The Emperor's Reading Room within the Citadel in Hue. This was in it's original state which wasn't too bad. The government is funding renovations on the site which are so badly needed. So many of the historic monuments and sites in this city suffered badly during many wars/invasions by the Chinese, Japanese, French and most recently Americans.

Our guide in Hue.

This was taken outside the Citadel. A complex of very old buildings modelled on the Forbideen City in Beijing.

This bar advertised as being open from "10 am 'til the last one passes out".

We all managed to WALK out despite there being a Happy Hour offer on all evening.

A Rice Haystack

Glamourous Grandmother in Hue