Hoi An

The cutest old Vietnamese town by far, it's a very old merchant town where Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese merchants lived due to Hoi An being a port, centre of spice trading, etc.  Some of the buildings were over 100-years old.  The old buildings have now been turned into cafes, souvenir shops, and tailors. If you like to shop this is the place, with leather shoes and clothes that can be made-to-order at reasonable prices (compared to the west).

We visited the old merchant houses and museums... both needed some dusting, and the Chinese community houses which I liked. Other than that, the charm of the town was just to walk around, enjoy the atmosphere, and take a break in the cafes with lovely cakes and coffee!

Fortunately we had good weather for the full moon lantern festival where they turn off all the electrical lights in the old town, and all you can see are the beautiful Hoi An lamps. For the full moon festival, the people light small paper lanterns and float them down the river.  It is said that you float your wish down the river and hope that the candle stays lit for your wish to come true.  If the candle blows out, then your wish will not come true and you have to try again for the next full moon.  :)  I just tried to take photos using the tripod... not too successful, so we didn't float a lamp down the river, but it was beautiful.

The highlight of Hoi An and Vietnam so far for me was the cooking class.  It was the best meal ever! We booked with Gioan cooking class and opted for some market experience as well.  Vina took us around the market and showed us different herbs and vegetables (that you don't see at home). Did you know there is a herb/leaf that smells and tastes like fish?!!!!  I didn't...  Not my favourite!  And no wonder I haven't been enjoying the fresh spring rolls very much here because I think they put these fishy leaves in... or the mint and some other herb combination makes it taste fishy.  We also saw big white melon like eggplant, and learned how to choose good pineapple and lemongrass.  Vina also made us carry all her groceries...  "Lovely"!  Next was the cooking, our cooking instructor was Hanh, who taught us how to cook lemongrass chili shrimp, Hoi An fried rice, and claypot aubergine.  It was delicious!!!  I hope I (or Pat) can replicate it back in Vancouver...

The other days in Hoi An were spent by the pool, spa, and in our room as it rained a good chunk of time.  If I were just vacationing in Vietnam, I think I would've bought a trunkful of clothes, shoes, and other trinkets...  but because our backpacks are already so heavy, we didn't buy anything. Although I wanted a pair of earrings but it was too thick for my ears.  The lady tried to force them through and now they're a little infected... aside from that, we really haven't been that sick (knock on wood). Pat's had stomach problems here and there (not that he's complained much though... I think he has worms since he says it's pretty normal... not that you wanted to know Pat's bowel habits!), but I've been fine.  We are eating too well that we've noticed a little more stomach in a picture of us lately (Pat is in denial).  Hmmm... maybe we should cut down on our cakes, pastries, and Vietnamese coffee???!!!

We've added some photos to the Vietnam folder... see the link in the post below.