2017 Anzac Tour: Day 11 - Hue to Hoi An

Today we left Hue to set off to Hoi An. Whilst checking out, Mr Blackmore announced that there was a pair of white slippers missing from room 306. It was found that Krystal had accidentally packed them in her bag.

We set off on our two hour journey in the bus to Da Nang and halfway up Hai Van pass we stopped to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. Our driver Ben was very good at navigating his way through the hairpin bends up the mountain.

Once we arrived at the top of Hai Van pass we walked up the rocks to the French bunker and witnessed a lady in a gorgeous red wedding dress standing on the ruins of what looks like a lookout tower with her husband getting their wedding pictures taken. Later, our boys being boys, had to climb to the highest point of the bunker and whilst up there we put them to good use as our photographers.

Ben then drove us back down the winding roads to the beautiful city of Da Nang. During this journey Chi explained the Chinese Calendar and the Cycle Of Life. We figured out which Chinese animal we all were and which element is ours. Mr Croft was not impressed when he found out that roosters were not the strongest animal.

The next point of call was the spectacular marble mountain where we were treated to a spot of shopping in a marble sculpture store. We climbed the steps of the mountain and once at the top Chi explained why we climbed the steps instead of taking the elevator. This is because the temples need to be hard to reach. Rhonda conquered her fear of heights like a boss by climbing the 150 steps.

The hungry bunch of Anzac kids were treated to a brilliant American spread for lunch that consisted of burgers, spaghetti bolognese and three types of pizza. Josh managed to finish a second burger in an impressive time of 49 seconds and Tilara loved the spaghetti so much that she licked the plate clean.

On our way to My Son Sanctuary most of us took the opportunity to take a nap. The back row noticed that Paige was sinking in her chair, and as the driver braked Paige and her chair skidded down the aisle with Cameron and Chloe catching her on the way down.

At the temple Chi organised for buggies to take us up the hill to see the temple up close. Toni had a great idea of taking a panoramic photo of everyone scattered over the temple grounds. This temple was used for religious ceremonies for kings as well as a burial place for Cham royalty and national heroes. Chi informed us of the way the bricks were stuck together with sugar when the temples were first built.

We checked into our Riverside Hotel in Hoi An where we had an hour to ourselves before we met in the lobby for dinner. We ate at Vy's Kitchen, who won Master Chef America in 2012. It was another delightful meal.