Day 9 - All but over....

Happy Birthday Murray!

Morning tea in a 640ml bottle - Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

Hoi An waterfront with local taxi service

One of the many faces of Hoi An

Birthday time! The cake supplied by the resort - nice touch

Michelle enjoying her coconut juice fresh from the tree

Murray, Michelle and the notorious 'Chicks from Vic' celebrate Murray's birthday

Happy Birthday to Murray! Our last full day in Hoi An before heading home via Ho Chi Minh City saw us hit he resort pool for an early morning dip prior to breakfast and then into Hoi An for our last chance to shop before departure.

We started our day in Hoi An finding and photographing the Japanese ancient bridge that crosses the Thu Bon River before stopping at one of the tiny riverside restaurants for a hard earned beer and soft drink. Their version of “small bottle or large bottle of beer?” resulted in a 640ml stubby of San Miguel for morning tea. Afterwards Murray staggered to the shopping markets with Michelle to finish our “list”.

There were no plans for any major birthday celebrations and with that in mind, we headed back to the resort to laze around the pool and catch up with the ‘chicks from Victoria’ who led a resounding version of Happy Birthday to all in the area.

The day wound down with another visit to town to again finish the shopping list and  have some dinner. We had chosen a restaurant earlier in the day that sold fresh seafood so our last evening meal in Hoi An was whole crab in salt and king prawns with lemongrass. An absolutely fantastic meal washed down with another San Miguel super stubby for Murray and a fresh coconut juice for Michelle all for under A$15. When we arrived back at the resort, a knock at the door saw 4 housekeeping staff deliver a huge birthday cake. They then completely re-serviced the room before leaving and bidding Murray a happy birthday. Michelle then invited the ‘Chicks from Vic’ up to the room to share the cake and some drinks. It was a great night, sadly our last in Hoi An and thus our last blog entry for this trip subject to internet connections at airports etc.

We have both enjoyed our time in Vietnam immensely and would love to come back again soon. The Vietnamese people are so welcoming and honest, their food is absolutely sensational and the shopping everywhere is great value. The travel arrangements through Travel Indochina, to this point, have been completely flawless. The people we have met on our way around Vietnam from the housekeeping staff at the hotels, our tour guides, Miss Van the laundry lady to the ‘Chicks from Vic’ have made this a most memorable trip and we hope we will be back soon. See ya!