Flood waters and cool shops

What an adventure getting to Hoi An. After a surreal dinner the night before in Hue -- complete with Vietnamese Christmas pop music, a huge fish watching us eat, and Anna's meager three prawns for $5 -- we went in search of more food and found a bakery. Next morning, we caught a big bus through immense stretches of windy roads and jungle (what I pictured Vietnam like)to the lovely village of Hoi An. For whatever reason, this town was spared a lot of the bombing from the war. It has a French/Japanese/Chinese mixture of architecture and feels a bit like New Orleans (without the beads). There are hundreds of tailors as this is THE place to have clothes -- and shoes -- made. We are planning a bike ride to the beach if the rain stops and a tour to some ancient ruins of the Cham dynasty, much damaged by the war. Last night we had a fun dinner in an old surfer style shack eating things like White Rose (rice paper wrapped shrimp and stuff) and Won Tons. When we got there, the waiter pointed out the flood lines for several years as it sits on the River. When we left, the water had reached the steps -- the tide and muddy bank -- and we had to walk back along planks and up an alley. "Every night," he said smiling. This is a great town and we plan to stay here several days. Oh, and did I mention our first blackout? The lights/power went off in the hotel for about an hour last night...excitement but trepidation too. Will work again to get pictures posted soon. Hugs!