Hoi An in the Rain

The shore excursion from Quantum of the Seas was titled "Hoi An On Your Own" and it took place on a day of torrential rain.  I was soaked by the time I had walked from the ship to the coach, just a few minutes along the pier.  Friends asked why I was wearing flip-flops and conceded that poolside footwear was a good choice as we splashed through deep puddles.

The soaking on the way to the coach was probably unavoidable so we tried to shelter from the rain for the rest of the trip.  There was a very long pause for weather at the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An but I remembered the great advice from photographer Hamish Scott-Brown about using available natural light to take pictures of people.  The portraits made under cover came out well and when one of my friends asked for a picture of himself standing in the torrential downpour, I also took some shots of the street.

During rain breaks we managed to get to a temple and a restaurant.  Lunch at the Hai Cafe was a good retreat and I got my top two wishes; beef noodle soup and a Vietnamese coffee.  When we returned to the ship, my waterproof watch had condensation inside it and I was worried about the camera, so I tried to keep both in the air-conditioned stateroom for a couple of days.  Perhaps I should have waved a hair dryer at them, but all seems well.