Our alarm went off at 6:30am but I was already awake as I had started to feel a little cold due to the very efficient air-conditioning system. We packed our stuff and then went to eat breakfast whilst waiting for the 'Sinh Cafe' bus to pick us up. It was the usual scenario at breakfast as I ordered a banana shake but was served a mango shake which was also warm. We had been told that the bus would pick us up between 7:30am and 8:00am but it got to 8:10am and even our hotel owner seemed concerned so he rang the company office on our behalf. I assumed the worst but the hotel owner was told that the bus was just running late. It turned up at 8:30am but it wasn't a 'Sinh Cafe' bus so we reckoned we had been left and another bus company came to collect us. Anyway, we set off towards 'Hoi An' but after only an hour on the road we stopped at a dirty road-side restaurant for a break. I braved the toilet which ranked as one of the worst of our trip. The bus had by this point become a heat trap and so it was quite an uncomfortable journey to 'Hoi An'. We dropped some people off at a beach resort called 'Da Nang' where there was a lot of upmarket development taking place directly behind the beach. The next stop was 'Hoi An' and it was pretty unbelievable that we were dropped off right outside the 'Hoa Binh' hotel which was where we had found to stay online. It cost $10 for an air-con room and it even had a window, even though the view consisted of a brick wall! We were given some advice about choosing a reputable tailor shop when we checked-in at the hotel and we read a comment book which was useful.
We read about a cheap place to eat in the Rough Guide called 'Jean's Cafe' and I asked Andrew to double check the map so that we would find the place. We walked out of our hotel and turned left but it soon became clear that Andrew wasn't entirely sure if we were on the correct road. We also realised that our hotel had a front and rear entrance so that also messed up our understanding of the map. Anyway it was ridiculously hot so we stopped at a decent looking place called 'Cafe 57' instead of wandering around clueless. It was a surprising choice as the food was tasty and super cheap. Andrew sampled a cao lau, a local speciality of thick rice noodles, bean sprouts, pork slices as well as crackling in a light soup with fresh mint. He reckoned it was one of the best dishes he had eaten during our entire trip. The beer was even cheaper at 29p per 450ml so we had more than one! We returned to our hotel to cool off for a bit and rest as the bus journey had tired us out, along with the beer. We then had a walk through the narrow streets of 'Hoi An' which were mainly lined with tailor shops and restaurants. We stopped at a place called 'Streets' just as it started to rain which was lucky. It was a restaurant which aimed to develop and operate sustainable programs for street kids and disadvantaged youths in SE Asia and throughout the world. The young staff were very friendly and the food was also pretty good so the program was clearly working. We returned to our hotel once the rain had subsided a bit.