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Day 68 – Hoi An

After a short 45 min taxi ride from Da Nang we entered Hoi An to a warm welcome at a delightful boutique hotel. The receptionist was super informative and provided a map of Hoi An Old Quarter and additional info like a good optician for new glasses/tailors/activities and what prices were fair for tours etc.

I’d already been researching opticians here as I would like a pair of multifocal sunglasses which I’ve never invested in before given the cost involved in Australia. So we marched along to the recommended optician who seemed to get great reviews from people from around the globe who have used him. The shop had plenty of frames to choose from and I quickly saw some that would work for me. The optician provided a quote (around 1/3 to 1/2 the Oz cost) which I was happy with so he took a look at my script, checked the prescription and measurements and will let me know (via WhatsApp) when the sunnies arrive (turnaround time 2-3 days). Fingers crossed this all works out…I’ll let you know!

In the evening, we went to see the highly popular Hoi An Memories Show https://hoianmemoriesshow.com. Ponchos were handed out as rain was threatening but fortunately this only resulted in a few drops of rain. This show was an impressive spectacle, although we did have trouble following the storyline, but that did not spoil our enjoyment of all the visual aspects. Hundreds of performers take part, lots of impressive stage sets and costumes, fire, water, great sound system and music…we had a good time. The only downside was getting off the island where the show is held with the other hundreds of members of the audience including tour groups blocking exits and then trying to get a Grab taxi back to the hotel!

The Palace Museum was fun to get to as it was quite a way away from where we were staying. We started off by taking the subway from Taipei Main Station once we’d found the right line. (Taipei Main Station was so difficult to navigate I’ve written its own post!!) From there we exited the...

After a short 45 min taxi ride from Da Nang we entered Hoi An to a warm welcome at a delightful boutique hotel. The receptionist was super informative and provided a map of Hoi An Old Quarter and additional info like a good optician for new glasses/tailors/activities and what prices were fair for tours etc....

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and the Palace Museum; this was a big walking day and time on our feet. We joined a tour to cover off these places as it can be easier than trying to do it yourself, especially getting through all the security to get into the Square and into the Palace Museum....

We were looking around for an activity other than temples for a day and Nick came up with visiting a Lotus silk farm. It turned out to be a very interesting tour and it was great to hear the operation is providing meaningful employment for vulnerable local women and caring for the environment and sustainability...

A fairly quiet day today, we had a flight at 19:00 to Shanghai so we took it fairly easy. We decided to go to the Muslim Quarter, somewhere we had heard about, but didn’t really know much about. This was a great area, a labyrinth of streets filled with small food stalls, souvenir places and...

Today we went to Universal Studios Beijing as we like a theme park, and this one has been built and run like a US theme park; clean, well looked after and generally excellent all round. There isn’t anything we could fault here, other than setting the seed that if we were to pop over to...