Sapa To Hoi An

It was a long day of mostly travelling so I shall keep it brief. We had the morning to enjoy the lodge. Elliot and I chose to sleep and enjoy the vista from our bungalow. My parents walked around. We briefly braved the local women to buy some of their remarkable needlework goods. Lunch was another tasty affair. We hung out at the lobby and were plied with free coffee and tea as well as cool towels to await the arrival of the Topas minibus from Hanoi. At 1430 we commenced the 5 hour drive back south towards Hanoi Airport.

Goodbye beautiful balcony view

It has now become habit to have pho as part of breakfast

There was a fresh juicing station!

Braved the locals to buy these!

It was hot but they walked around the resort

Haven't had a bad meal yet! Pomelo and prawn salad

Spicy pork and beef noodle soup

Blue swimmer crab spring roll. They weren't stingy with the crab either!

One pot pork belly with sticky rice and banana flower salad

Waiting for our bus

Going back down the mountain

A different road side stop! But much the same in terms of ambience

A bizarre texture, almost like sticky corn

Super tasty although I'm still not sure what the filling was exactly

We flew Vietjet to Danang. I was nervous with all the terrible online reviews. It was seemingly the Jetstar of Vietnam. However we didn't have a choice as Vietnam Airlines modified their flight time which made it impossible for us to make the flight. Online check in was ok. Bag drop surprisingly efficient. The staff at the counter was friendly and spoke good English. Hanoi domestic airport was nicer than I expected. I know I should stop tainting this country with experiences from 25 years ago...

The good - the flight left on time, arrived on time and our suitcases came out immediately at the other end!

The bad - the seats were uncomfortable and there was a slight hint of old urine odor...ew

Either way, I was simply relieved that we made it to Danang without mishap. We were picked up by our guide Hung who took us to our hotel in Hoi An (a 45 minute drive away). Hoi An Central Boutique & Spa looked old world but it was 1130pm by this time, mostly dark and we were tired so truthfully anything would have looked good. Our rooms were most definitely spacious though. It didn't long to fall into slumber...

At our gate waiting to board

The plane. Cheering for ontime departure!

Our hotel room in HoiAn

Bathroom