Hoi An

This morning I was able to sleep in till 8 AM. Unfortunately, Brad was up at about 5 AM once again. After we got ready, we went down for the hotel breakfast as usual. It was not as deluxe as what we’ve been experiencing, but the fresh fruit is such a treat. We have to try a different colour of dragon fruit (this one was red on the inside), and a different type of lychee, which was spiky instead of smooth on the outside.

Following breakfast, we decided to try and beat the already oppressive heat of the day and head into the old quarter. In the old quarter you cannot ride a scooter between certain hours which is quite pleasant. You also need a ticket to enter the old quarter, and every time you visit one of the attractions, your ticket is clipped. There are also a lot of stalls selling a variety of products, including fake designer bags, and lots of clothing shops.

Our first stop was a temple, which was neat because it had huge circular coils of incense burning in the middle of the coils. People had written messages or hopes and wishes for their family for the year, and as the incense burns it sends those wishes into the world. We have found that as we are touring Southeast Asia, many of the attractions that we’re seeing do not have a lot of information especially in English so sometimes we’re unsure of what we’re actually looking at. Nonetheless, we visited a few more attractions in the old corner. When was a house where seven generations of the family have lived in. They own the famous Confucius cop, which you can only fill 80% full; if you fill it more than 80% full, it leaks out this hole in the bottom. The message is that you should not be greedy because if you’re greedy, then you can lose everything. In this house we also got to see the flood lines from various years. One year the whole first floor of the house flooded and they have this pulley system to pull all the furniture up into the second floor. It has flooded more in the past 20 years than ever before in history.

We also went to local folklore Museum where we got to see how silk is made and harvested as well as some calligraphy. One thing that is a bit unfortunate about Vietnam is that everyone is constantly trying to sell you something. So every time we go into the museum or shop we constantly feel like we are being hassled to purchase something. Our guide told us that the Vietnamese do not beg for money instead everybody will try and sell you a product or sell you a service in order to make money. It’s clear that the Vietnamese are very hard-working people, and this is just a big difference between North America and Asia.

Around 11 we decided was getting pretty hot so we went back to our hotel to cool down and make sure we were stocked up on water before our afternoon adventure. We met our group again at 12:30 and we’re off in an electric car which is like a little mini bus taxi to go to Oodles of Noodles, which is one of our G for Good adventure stops. The tour company that we are with sponsors, this initiative, the trains young Vietnamese people in the hospitality industry. It gives them English lessons as well as meals, vaccinations, and housing while they are in the program. We got to see how rice noodles are made, and then got to make our own rice noodles! I’m hopeful that my video of Brad making his rice noodle will upload so you can see how this is done. Afterwards, we used our rice noodle patties to create a snack with a dry rice patty, as well as our fresh one that we are dipped in sauces. The group then prepared us a traditional “my quang” noodle dish soup, which was delicious.

Following lunch, we went back to the hotel, but Brad and I had to go back to the tailor in order to have our fittings done. I had two fittings in a very short period of time, and Brad had his belt shortened. Once they are done the final changes, they are going to ship our order over to our hotel. I am excited to see my final dress!

Brad and I headed back to hotel so we could enjoy the outdoor pool and some quiet time before heading back into the old quarter. Tonight we have a dinner reservation at Morning Glory, which we are looking forward to! We are hopeful that we can try some traditional Hoi An dishes, and some more interesting Vietnamese food!Baca selengkapnya