We’ve travelled south 130km from our last port of call in Hue, and have been staying in the historic trading-port town of Hoi-An, very close to the city of Da Nang and a few kilometres from the beach. The vibe here is very low key and easy-going, with just the expected low-level soft sell from the locals interrupting your casual stroll or road-side frappucini.

Much of our stay here has been focussed on shopping, eating and general moseying, activities for which the place seems finely tuned; the old town is taken up either by stylish cafes or restaurants, and shops containing local (and not-so local) arts and crafts. There’s the odd temple and traditional house to visit if you look hard enough (they keep a few as museum pieces for curiosity’s sake), but by and large Hoi An is a designed to deprive you of your dong as quickly as possible. That said, it’s a great place to do it in; strolling through the streets, though the market and down to the river is an enjoyable stroll to say the least, and at night the place is lit up with colourful lanterns hanging across the the street.

As is our want for boutique accommodation, we decided to stay somewhere with a little more character; our digs for the duration was the Orchid Garden Homestay, a place with a name that’s only two-thirds accurate; roomy bungalows set amongst beautiful and well-kept orchid gardens sets the scene, with clean comfortable rooms and a nice pool for cooling off after a hot day wallet lightening. The term “homestay” however is pushing the definition slightly; what we have here is a full-fledged guest house, and all the better for it.

The weather here during the afternoon has been punishing, so we’ve been limiting our outdoor activities to the early morning and late afternoon (interspersed by long dips in the hotel pool). We managed a 4am start on our last day to the ruins at My Son, a supposedly get-up-early-and-watch-the-sun-rise-over-ruins excursion which turned out to be hugely disappointing, mostly due to the face that it was broad daylight by the time we arrived, followed by the obligatory guided route-march that gave us no time to enjoy ourselves.