Ha Noi - Hoi An

Before my training started, I went travelling a bit in central Vietnam for 1 week and a half. I spent 3 days in Hue, the ancient city of the mandarins with its beautiful citadel and its numerous mandarin tombs. The city itself has no charm but the ancient city is worth visiting. However, I must say I am not as sensitive to bricks covered with cement as to carved stone, and most of the tombs of the mandarins are in cement and usually restored in a heavy way ... I then went straight to Hoi An which is a charming small city with superb wooden houses from several generations of chinese people settled in Hoi An. There are tons of tailors, shoe-makers, fancy restaurants and a beach nearby. You can imagine what a nightmare it is to stay there, especially when the sun is shining (and it was !).I met 3 great women with whom I spent most of my days in Hue and Hoi An: 2 american women travelling each on their own for several months around the world and a french stewardess: Alison, Tara and Nathalie: we had good fun together !