Hoi An and Typhoon Nari

I had spent months planning a great vacation in Hoi An for our October Break.  It had everything: beaches, mountain hikes, shopping, a list of restaurants, even a tour of a traditional Vietnamese farm with a cooking class.  But it turns out Mother Nature had other plans.

We flew into Danang, and were taking to our resort in Hoi An.  We had some lunch and then changed into our suits to play in the amazing pool at the Golden Sands Resort.  The pool was HUGE, and the kid's pool had a play structure turning it into a mini-water park.  We had a blast taking pictures of the boys with our new underwater camera, and both of the boys loved being able to freely splash around at such a cool kid pool.  The bar has been set pretty high for our little dudes.

Later that day we learned of a potential typhoon heading straight for us.  We were told not to worry as it would most likely blow north.  So we went about our business with our Day 1 plans (while still keeping a close watch on the storm).  We went to Old Town Hoi An to do some shopping and visit the world renowned tailors.  We had fun perusing the shops and ordered some clothing.  We bought some silk lanterns, souvenirs for our families, and trinkets for the boys.

We also got to visit a shop and tea house owned and operated by Vietnamese people with disabilities.  They make all of the goods right there in the shop and are incredibly friendly people.  I bought a tea set, a couple of Christmas presents for the boys, a very nice silver necklace with matching earrings, a couple bags, and a table runner and placemats.  What can I say?  I loved the shop!

Back at the resort we learned that the storm was indeed headed for Danang.  We asked to be moved to the second floor for the night just in case and found a flight out the next day as soon as possible.  The earliest plane we could get with three seats (Ollie still sits on my lap) was at 4:45 in the afternoon.

On Monday morning, we went back into Old Town to collect our clothing items from the tailor.  We went back to the resort quickly and discovered that the Vietnamese government had mandated evacuation for that resort and many others down the strip.  The shuttle to us to the airport in Danang a bit early, but I was glad to be farther away from the coast.

At 3:00, two of the three airlines canceled all of their flights.  Our airline, thankfully, was still willing to fly.  Our flight at 4:45 was the last flight out.  It was pouring rain and extremely windy.  It was a bumpy ride back to Saigon, but we made it safely.