We left home at 12:45 p.m. for a 1:20 a.m. flight thinking there might be bad traffic. Turned out there was light traffic and we stopped for lunch and parked the car and arrived at the terminal about 4. Our airline check in didn't open until 4 hours before take off. But we were there in time!
So I checked in on-line and got our boarding passes, I thought. We were first in line and the attendant printed passes for our second leg, Taipei to Hanoi. At security my electronic pass was denied, so 1/4 mile back to the desk where they issued a paper pass and took pictures of my failed pass to send to IT.
Smooth 13 hour flight with a little extra leg room. They served wine from a bottle into a plastic cup and it was about an inch deep. Big frowns from Pam, but she convinced them to add MORE.
Arrived in Taipei at 5 a.m. the net day and walked and walked. Had a long lay over, but the 3 hour flight went quickly as we were beat. Picked out another Jones couple from Lynnwood who were on the trip before ours.
Another layover for the flight to Da Nang that was only an hour long. We had to retrieve our bags and take a bus to the domestic terminal.
At the Da Nang airport we bought a SIM card and eventually found our driver for a rush hour trip to our hotel. Thousands of scooters going every direction. Very few stop lights and they were mere suggestions. Made a stop at a mini mart for some 'supplies'.
Got to our resort and checked in and took a golf cart to our room which is spectacular! 2 bedroom, 2 full bath, ocean front with a 30 foot deck. All for under $200 on airbnb.
The first day we chilled and walked the beach. We took a cab to town for a look at a local mall and had lunch at a chicken joint (all the other options were buffets). There was great commotion with the younger employees running out the door and back in and back to the kitchen, then out again. I figured someone collapsed outside their shop. Turns out it was some celebrity (our cooking school chef said it was just "some Korean" when I showed him the picture).
Yesterday we went to Hoi An with our pre-arranged driver who dropped us off and pointed where our cooking school was. I plugged the name into google maps and it said it was 2 miles away. We had an hour to get there. The old town is closed to cars, but plenty of scooters. Our driver called us to find out where we were and found us and took us back to the meeting place. Google was taking us to the actual cooking school, not the meeting place.
Toured the markets and then a boat ride to the school. I was the only male and the others were Brits or Aussies. Good group and funny chef. "Your English is very good!", he would tell us.
We are leaving for Marble Mountain and My Son in 10 minutes.
Pictures later
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