I would have liked to spend another day in Hué, but we have places to go. After breakfast we pile into the bus and begin the long and winding road over the mountains and through the Hai Van Pass, past Danang to Hoi An. It’s about a four-hour drive, with one stop to use the loo and get a cold drink.

The view from Hai Van Pass is stunning, looking down the steep slopes and out over the Danang Bay, and its long, arcing, sandy beaches.

The rest area is lined with stalls, each selling the same cheap, plastic beads being marketed as jade, lucky cats and smiling Buddhas in a variety of sizes and colours, and various souvenirs featuring the Vietnam flag. Each stall also sells cold drinks, ice cream, chips and candies, and every second stall advertises “WC”.

I buy a can of Coke Zero, and Adele makes the mistake of buying a bottle of orange Fanta, something she’ll regret in a couple of hours. She says it tasted more like Tang, and there’s a good chance it was made with tap water. It was pretty much flat, too, but as she’s not overly fond of carbonated drinks, she didn’t mind that. At first.

As we neared the hotel, Adele made a bee line for the lobby restroom. After we’d checked into our room, just as we were about to meet up with the rest of the group to go for lunch, she needed the toilet again. I went downstairs and she eventually texted me that she was going to stay behind.

The rest of us headed into the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and had lunch at the Bi Bo Cafe and Restaurant. The food was excellent. I had beef fried rice and a couple of beers. (They’re two-for-one during happy hour.)

After lunch we met up with a local guide who walked us through the Old Town for an hour, stopping at various temples, bridges, cafes, and tailor shops, explaining that Hoi An is chiefly known for lanterns and tailors.

When I got back to the hotel, Adele was starting to feel a little better. (Thank goodness for Imodium!) I gave her a rundown of what she’d missed, and she said she’d like to visit a tailor, look at lanterns, and maybe get something to eat.

Now, back in the hotel again, Adele is asleep, and looking forward to what tomorrow brings. Outside, I hear thunder. It’s been threatening to rain almost since we arrived in Vietnam, and I think it’s likely to happen now. Oh, well! We’re not made of sugar, and won’t melt away in the rain.

More tomorrow.