Hoi An Ancient Town: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

First of all, let me just recommend Sunrise Premium Resort and Spa in Hoi An - even though it was gloomy weather during our time there, we had a blast. Lots of Aussies, the food was amazing, and there are two infinity pools! Doing our laundry ourselves didn't work in our favour, however, since the clothes (hung in our little sunroom alcove!) did not dry due to the humidity :/

Second of all, our guide Hoàn was SO GOOD!!! He was very funny, informative, and very flexible, which is good because we cancelled our day trip to Hue, since I wasn't sure I could manage three hours in a car on the 8th day of my stomach bug :/

I had brought clothes from home so that the tailor in Hoi An could replicate them, as they were well-loved pieces from my wardrobe that had seen their last days. I selected BeBe as the tailor (they are the best in Hoi An and have three locations to choose from), and I was not disappointed! Went in the morning of January 8th for measurements and consultation with Tina (my fitter), came back that evening for the first fitting, and the morning of the 9th for the final fitting! Had my clothes delivered to the resort on the evening if the 9th, and the five pairs of pants, three shirts and one jumpsuit I ordered came to my exact budget (once I told Tina what my budget was, and she lowered the price by $15).

I had booked a spa treatment in June 2016, which the spa still honoured even thought they had changed their menu! I experienced my first body scrub (amazing!) and first (but certainly not last!!!) four-hand massage, and was in absolute bliss for the remainder of the day. Hoi An is also the place where I started eating more frequently, but only phó (Vietnamese noodle soup, which I had for breakfast AND dinner every day). I should have started eating phó well before that point, since I'm pretty sure it aided in my complete recovery on day 9.

Hoàn was sad to hear that I still wasn't recovered on day 8, even though I was feeling much better. He took us to Marble Mountain, which was a happy accident since we were never supposed to see it, due to our scheduled Hue daytrip. But everything worked out for the best, since we were able to visit Hoi An Ancient Town AND start the day with my final fitting, which we couldn't have done if we had gone to Hue because BeBe was closing early that day for a staff party. Everything happens for a reason and it's best to always go with the flow and don't take it too seriously ;) 

When we visited Marble Mountain, I rubbed Buddha's belly for luck getting rid of my ever-lasting bug, and the big guy (all respect intended!!) complied! Day 9 I was feeling fine and working my way back to normal. It is also the day we flew to Hanoi, even though our flight was bumped back and no-one told our Hanoi tour guide....

More on that in the next post!

Happy New Year from Danang!

Rubbing Happy Buddha's belly on day eight of my illness

Japanese Covered Bridge in Ancient Town, Hoi An