Day 40: Hoi An

Well I love Hoi An just as much as everyone said I would. It's a beautiful little town, so beautiful it almost feels a little fake, like one of those make shift villages in Disneyland. The homestay I'm in is lovely, and the owners are super nice! I spent the day just wandering the streets and checking out all the shops. I ended up buying a couple of canvas paintings for the flat and can't wait to get home and put them up. Well, I can't wait to put them up, not get home....😒

For lunch I went to Morning Glory, which is probably the most famous restaurant here. I had BBQ pork with noodles and it was very yummy! Plus I had the nicest glass of white wine I've been able find in Asia. 

The town gets VERY busy in the evenings. So busy that the place starts to lose its charm a little. Streets are packed and it's hard to walk. But, it's so pretty with the hundreds of lanterns that line the streets. Apparently it's inevitable that if you come to Hoi An, you buy a lantern. I'm not sure I have the room!

Clearly I have arrived in the town at the right time, as for the next two nights there is a food festival on here! It's a charity event with 12 chefs from 12 different countries, 

using Vietnamese ingredients to create their own dishes. I didn't eat there tonight as I wanted to try Cao Lau, a speciality of Hoi An. Basically pork and noodles in a broth. Very tasty. On my way to the restaurant I walked passed Jack Whitehall and his film crew. Obviously I decided to follow them around for a bit to see what they were up to. When I started to look like a security threat I gave up and left them to it. They weren't actually filming at the time, just walking around looking for something. 

After dinner I did some bar hopping and lit a floating candle before making a wish and dropping it in the river. Rather strangely at 830, all of the street lights went off. The only light came from the little candle lanterns floating on the river and lights in restaurant windows. It was pitch dark and hard to walk around! I thought it was a power cut until an hour later when the lights came back on and I saw a sign that said "lights off to turn on the future"....whatever that means!