I really like the little seaside town of Hoi Anh - a lot more than the nearby larger and more touristy city of Danang, with its skyscraper beachfront hotels. I made a brief stop in Danang, and a one night stop there on my way north from Saigon. This time I spent 2 nights in this historic and cozy place. Once again I had hit the jackpot, when I booked into Loc Phat Villa. The Buddhist lady owner spoke great English, and gave me a lovely room on the first floor, overlooking the beautiful tropical garden. Hoi Anh has a famous market in the old quarter of town, right next to the Thu Bon River. It is THE place to shop for fruit and vegetables and anything from the sea, shrimp, prawns, squid, mussels, and any kind of fish you can think of, if you are planning to cook your own dinner. Apart from the food markets, you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a coconut juice in one of the numerous restaurants in the narrow streets in this part of town. Hoi Anh is famous for its handmade leather goods and lacquer bowls and jewelry boxes. Also branded bags and rucksacks from The North Face, Nike, Under Armour - guaranteed fake, but made to perfection and indistinguishable from the original! In one of the shops I saw a buffalo leatherbag I thought my wife might like. I asked the lady “How much”? 1.500.000 Dong ($60), she replied. I countered with 1.000.000 Dong, which she initially didn’t want to accept. I told her that I would send some pictures of the bag to my wife, and come back in the morning if she liked it. She did like it, and the following morning I went back to the shop. I offered her a final price of 900.000 dong, which she absolutely would not accept. After lots of arguing and banter, I decided to leave and try another shop. 30 seconds after leaving, and as I was about to turn around and go back, I heard a shout from the lady - OK, OK I will accept 950.000. Back in the shop, I paid her the 900.000 I had offered her, and which she accepted with a big smile. She was happy with the deal, no doubt - and so was I. Since my food poisoning episode, I had tried not to eat anything too spicy or “fancy”. About 200 meters from my homestay was a restaurant called The Circle. They got great reviews on Google, particularly their Juicy Lucy Burger got fantastic reviews. I hadn’t eaten a burger since leaving Denmark, and decided to try it out. Only thing preventing me getting to The Circle this evening, was torrential rain. Walking the 200 meters would definitely get me drenched. Hoi Anh is situated in a typhoon area, and although this was not a typhoon, I had rarely experienced a downpour like this. OK, I thought - I will just wait till it stops! 2 hours later it was still raining and I was starving. I decided to climb into my motorcycle rain gear, and walked the 200 meters to the burger joint, where I was rewarded with the best burger I had ever had - Australia beef, injected with the most delicious cheese you can imagine. So delicious, I went back the following evening for another one!! While in Hoi Anh, I spent a few hours riding my bike around the area. It is a really special little town, that has somehow managed to retain its authenticity and charm. I could have stayed a lot longer, but it was time to move further south towards Saigon.