So long Hoi An.............

The Japanese Bridge just after sunrise

Happy Halloween!  It is celebrated over here as well, but not nearly as much as in the US.  There have been some decorations in restaurants and shops.  This morning the hotel breakfast buffet had small cupcakes decorated for the occasion.
We'll be flying from here later today to Saigon.  As a wrap up, here are a few more pictures from around the Ancient City section.  From scooting around on the back of a Vespa, cooking up a couple of Vietnamese dishes (I added a video to the previous blog that's pretty funny), spending a relaxing day at the beach or simply roaming the streets, Hoi An has so much to offer!

The market area this morning just after 6:00 am

Cooking up a good time in Hoi An........

Chef Van (front row to the left of me) and her students at the end of the day (that's why it's a little messy)

It was "back to school" for us today and the classroom has never been as much fun or as filling.  We, along with seven other travelers (two from Austria, three from Brazil, one from Germany and one from Australia) were the students of Chef Van who runs the Green Bamboo Cooking School.

Green Bamboo Cooking School
Start to finish it was an exceptional experience.  First up, all nine of us had to select the dish we were going to prepare.  Beth chose Five Spice Beef Stir Fry and I chose Honey and Garlic Shrimp.  The dishes ran the gambit.  In addition to ours, there were two vegetarian, three squid, one pork and one chicken dish.  After selecting our dishes we were taken to the local market to get the ingredients that would be required.  It was about 9:00 when we got to the market and it was still bustling with activity.  The fish and meat section opens around 4:00 am.  The vegetable and spice area comes to life around 6:00 am.  Chef Van carefully selected the ingredients and gave us a little education on them, especially the herbs and vegetables. She shared with us that most Vietnamese eat a small breakfast out and then go to the market daily to purchase food for the noon and evening meal.  This cycle is repeated daily so all the food is as fresh as possible.

At the market...….we were all given the stylish cone hats to wear.  They're very common everywhere we have been so far.  At one point this morning in the market I started following the wrong group of hats!

Once we had everything we needed,  we made a quick stop for a Vietnamese coffee before heading to her cooking school.  The school can accommodate up to twelve students per day.  While I'm not 100% sure, it seemed to be on the bottom floor of her home.  It was clean, modern and loaded with all types of pots, pans, knives, cutting boards and other necessary supplies.

Vietnamese coffee.  It's quite good and contains a little sweetened condensed milk. A little bit packs a punch!

Every participant prepared their dish under the watchful eye of our expert instructor. All the dishes required various tasks such as cutting vegetables, chopping herbs, peeling and butterflying shrimp, cutting and cubing the beef ( there is a very specific technique to assure tenderness), etc.  In terms of difficulty to prepare, it looked to me like the squid was the most difficult.  Thankfully through all the cutting, peeling, slicing and dicing there were no injuries reported.

Totally focused on the task at hand...…...pulling the head off shrimp and butterflying them

The start of something very tasty!

Everyone worked hard and had a good time

Beth's Five Spice Beef Stir Fry was one of the first dishes to be prepared.  The taste was exceptional and the skill she showed flipping everything up and out of the pan was a sight to behold.  Chef Van was beaming with pride as Beth sent flames shooting 2-3 feet in the air on her second attempt.  Just the way she had been instructed.  Everyone loved the stir fry and gave Beth a very nice round of applause for her effort.

FIRE!  Just like Chef Van had instructed.  Check out the smile on both of their faces

Stir frying the vegetables...……….the masterpiece is almost ready.

After a couple of more dishes it was time for my Honey and Garlic Shrimp.  The shrimp cooked very quickly and were set aside while I prepared the sauce.  When Chef Van sampled my sauce she quickly got a very peculiar look on her face.  It was a look of "something's not right".   As the herbs and spices were going around I guess I dished in something that isn't normally included.  She recovered quickly and assured me that it would be alright and to "carry on".  As it turned out I guess whatever extra I put in was acceptable.  Everyone complimented the dish and if I had any clue what my "secret ingredient" was I'd bottle and market it.

She's trying to figure out my secret ingredient.

Honey and Garlic Shrimp...……..plus a secret ingredient

 The food fest continued until all nine of us had made our chosen dish.  We started the day as complete strangers from all parts of the world.  When the day was over we had bonded over nine different dishes.  We parted as Master Chefs with full bellies!

A beachy kind of day...........

Howdy from Hoi An!

Today was originally scheduled to be Vietnamese cooking class day.  There was a slight change in the schedule so the cooking class is now on for tomorrow.  We moved our beach day to today.
As I had previously mentioned, Hoi An is a coastal town in Central Vietnam.  Our hotel (Hoi An Silk) is a few miles inland near the city center and historic ancient city.  Getting to the beach was as simple as taking the shuttle the hotel operates on a daily basis.
With towels, hats and sunscreen in the backpack we took off on the earliest shuttle which was 9:40 am.  The shuttle runs directly to the beach and offers two different options, a "public beach" and a "private beach".  We had nothing else planned for the day so we opted to try them both.
First up was An Bang Beach, which is the public beach.  We were dropped off a couple of hundred yards from the water, making it about as easy as possible.  The street leading to the beach as well as the shore along the beach had a number of different shops and restaurants including several "tailor shops" where you chose the fabric and they would make you a bikini.  Had we only known, we wouldn't have packed our suits!
The body of water that Hoi An is located on is the East Vietnamese Sea.  At least that's what it's called in Vietnam.  If you are across the way in China the same body of water is called the South China Sea.  Whatever you want to call it, it's part of the Pacific Ocean.  The warm water had some fairly large waves which kept most people on shore, but there were a few hearty souls out in the surf.  The sand wasn't "Anna Maria Island White".  It was a little darker in color, more like what you find on the east coast of Florida   It was firm and we enjoyed walking for about 50 minutes along the shore.  The only negative about this beach is that sadly there was quite a bit of trash along the shoreline.

An Bang Beach...…..the public beach

We then caught the bus to the private beach which was called the Silk Beach Club.  It was only a mile or so from the first beach.  Walking the beach here is a little harder right now due to a beach restoration project that's going on but it did look much cleaner.  There were plenty of lounge chairs as well as a few cabanas near the shoreline and a restaurant.  It also had a large swimming pool that we enjoyed for an hour or so in the afternoon.  It was so much that we made a full day of it, taking the last shuttle (4:35 pm) back to town.  We're rested and relaxed now and will be ready to cook tomorrow!

Our home for the day.  Beth told me I fell asleep for a while...…...I can't remember

The pool had a swim up bar and tables

Showing off my pedicure and still sending an occasional picture like this to a few of my good buddies back at Huguley

We took this selfie to send to our friends Ed and Judy Laue who are in Sydney, Australia.  They had just sent us a picture with the Sydney Harbor Bridge in the background.

Scooting around Hoi An

Ready to hit the road!

The second of our two wheeled adventures in two days had a little more horsepower than biking around La Chau.  Today we explored some of the rural villages around Hoi An on the back of Vespa's (Italian motor scooters).  We may not be the sharpest pencils in the box but we're at least smart enough to know to leave the driving to someone else.  Our travel agent booked our adventure through a company called Vespa Adventures.  They're a company that is owned by a lady from Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) and her husband who is from South Carolina.  Their reviews were outstanding and we quickly found out that it was a reputation that was well deserved.

We were met right on time in our hotel lobby by our tour guide/driver, who went by the name of Ben (we liked him instantly).  He was accompanied by a second driver who was also a mechanic (just in case) who's name was Hoa (pronounced How).  Ben, who spoke excellent English gave us a quick briefing on what we would be doing and where we were going.  We were given our helmets and  ponchos (it was raining a little at first).  Beth hopped on the back of Ben's Vespa while I saddled up with Hoa.  Off we went to explore some of the rural villages around Hoi An.

In front of the one of the local village temples with our guide (Ben)

By the time we got to our first stop, a local temple, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.  This was a little surprise to us since the weather forecast showed showers for most of the morning.  Ben laughed when we told him about the forecast and assured us that they're wrong way more than they're right when it comes to predicting the weather.

The Traveling Idiots plus Ben (front) and Hoa

Ben orchestrated this panoramic shot.  This bridge was about 300 yards long.  It was built by farmers after the main bridge was damaged in a flood.  Talk about taking matters into your own hands instead of waiting on the government to fix it.

The temple was quite nice and we had a chance to say hello to a nice gentlean who is the chief of the village which means he is also the caretaker.  Ben shared with us a bit of information about names in Vietnam.  The most common family names are Nguyen, Tran, Le and Pham.  Just these four names account for around 60% of all family names.  As you could imagine, this could create some confusion when it comes to marrying since there is a good chance the bride and groom would already have the same family name.  Not to worry, the temples often provide a sort of "ancestory.com" as Ben put it.  These records show family trees so the prospective bride and groom can assure they are at a minimum of four families removed before getting serious.  We also learned from Ben that if the person has the name Thi in it that it's pretty much guaranteed that the person is a female. 

The villages version of ancestory.com.  It's kept on the wall at the temple

As we made our way around, we also stopped at the house of two sisters who weave sleeping mats.  Working as a team they can usually make three mats a day.  These mats are taken to market to be sold or people simply stop by the house and purchase them directly.  The cost per mat is around $6 US dollars.  Beth and I took turns attempting to thread the bamboo fiber through the loom.  We could do it but at the rate we were moving we would have slowed them down from three mats per day to about a half a mat per day.

The lady on the left would pass the long stick with one piece of fiber attached.  Her sister would pull the loom down.  These steps would be repeated using the different colors of dyed fibers over and over and over and over.  It takes about three hours to make one mat.

We also stopped at another house where we had an opportunity to first watch rice noodles being made and then were given a chance to make them ourselves.  The rice concoction starts out as a rice and water paste that is poured on a hot surface similar to a crepe maker.  A second layer is added, then it cooks for a minute or two before being removed.  At that point it looks somewhat like a thin, undercooked tortilla.  It's run through a manual machine that cuts the still wet and gooey rice flour into noodles.  We've had them quite a bit and they're very tasty.

She was the expert

Rice crackers and sugar cane juice with Ben

We also enjoyed stopping at a local coffee shop.  The young man that owns the shop roasts his own coffee, not only for the shop but for retail sale as well.  The traditional Vietnamese coffee is very strong (similar to espresso).  Condensed milk is added to provide a little sweetness.

We also stopped at a boat yard where large wooden fishing boats were being made.  There were two boats being built at the present time.  Once completed they will be launched and around 10 to 12 fisherman will often spend up to five weeks at a time out in the ocean waters fishing.  Ben shared with us that he has been bringing people to the boatyard for four years and that he has never seen a blueprint.  The boats which looked to be around 125-150 feet in length are built by skilled men who bend and piece the wood together.  They then stuff bamboo fiber into the cracks, which are covered with resin, to make sure it's waterproof and seaworthy.

These fishing boats are built completely by hand with no blue prints!

There were a few other stops along the way. Just as fun as the stops was simply seeing the amazing sites of the villages and surrounding areas on the back of the Vespa's.  It was made even more fun by Ben's sense of humor and storytelling.  He had a quick wit about him that he had developed by touring groups (especially Aussies) from all over the world around this incredible coastal area.

From the top of the tallest bridge in central Vietnam

After a little rest at the hotel we roamed around the ancient city again for a couple of hours.  We found a place to eat our first night here that fit our frequently used criteria of inexpensive, local (everything here is local) and good.  The place specializes in Banh Mi which is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette with meat, vegetables and spices.  This particular shop was made famous a few years back by Anthony Bourdain who featured it on his show.  They make a wickedly good sandwich for a really nice price.  Two sandwiches and two drinks cost around $4 US dollars!

Time to eat!

Hue to Hoi An

 Say hello to Long, our local cycling guide!

We left Hue by car yesterday (Saturday) morning and headed south towards Hoi An.  About 30 minutes outside of Hue we made our first stop and by far the longest stop of the day.  We stopped in the small village of La Chu.  We had three activities scheduled for our visit.  A bicycling tour around and through the village, lunch and a combination mineral foot bath and massage.  Our driver twisted and turned down tiny one lane roads before coming to a stop at an intersection.  From there we walked about 100 yards down a path to a small outdoor restaurant.  There were four bikes parked outside that had a "tourist bike" look to them (multi-speed and a big basket on the front).  Our guide, who was very nice but whose name we never learned (she told us but we just didn't pick it up) introduced us to our local biking guide.  His name was Long, he was all of eleven years of age, in the sixth grade and smiled from the time we met him until we said goodbye.

He let me shoot his handmade slingshot.  I was very surprised when I hit the target.  Long had a big bump over his eye where a rock he was shooting bounced back and hit him in the head.  It reminded me of "The Christmas Story" and the line "you'll shoot your eye out kid"

We headed out on the bikes with Long leading the way and our unnamed but friendly guide pulling up the rear.  We made several stops along the five mile route.  First at a local temple and then at a fish farming pond.  At the fish pond our guide (not Long) told us the fish were red snapper.  Now I'm no expert on local fish and they may very well have been red snapper but they sure looked like large gold fish to me.  Either red snapper has a different meaning in Vietnam or it was a brilliant marketing move!
The scenery was interesting the whole way but without question the most interesting stop was our next one.  We stopped at a house where the family made paper votives throughout the year that are sold for burning at the time of the monthly full moon and especially at the lunar new year which occurs in February.  If you're like me and not real "high tone" and don't know what a paper votive is, it's an object made in the likeness of a real object.  They are burned so the smoke will carry these items to deceased relatives who have transitioned to the afterlife.  They looked like everything from houses, boots, hats, suits and cell phones.  It was quite interesting to learn about this cultural tradition that is a combination of Buddhism, Confucius and Taoism.

The fish pond was full of fish, I'm just not sure they were red snapper

A few pictures of some of the handmade paper votives

We then stopped at another house where a group of ladies were making a rice flour dumpling that was steamed in banana leaves.  The filling on top of the rice flour was a mixture of shrimp, pork, vegetables and spices.  There were two different types.  I tried both of them.  They didn't taste bad (other than the shrimp shells were not removed making them a bit crunchy).  It's been more than 24 hours since eating them and I'm still standing so I think I'm in the clear (at least on that little venture into the land of unknown food).

They had quite an assembly line going. 

We don't tend to venture too far off the safe path when we eat.  This was a little off the path!

We finished up the tour by stopping at the local village market.  This market is held everyday from 6:00 am until noon.  There were all types of fruits and vegetables, dry goods and meats (some identifiable and some not).  If you do this biking tour I would highly recommend the market stop but you may want to consider skipping the meat section of the market!

The local market and our nice guide whose name we never learned!

Although the stops were fun, the highlight of the tour was our local guide, Long.  He watched over us with tender loving care from start to finish, and of course smiling the whole time!  He was also quite a celebrity in his village.  Everyone seemed to know him.  He was constantly waving at everyone we passed from the very young to the very old.  We got the celebrity treatment as well, with people going out of their way to smile, wave and in their broken English greet us with a big hello.  I'm predicting a bright future as a village leader for Long!
Long's mother was the owner of the restaurant.  It didn't take but a few minutes to see where Long got his smile.  She smiled the whole time she was preparing and serving us a delicious and as usual, multicourse lunch.  Oh yeah, between the bike ride and lunch there was that little matter of soaking our feet in warm water with multiple herbs followed by another foot and lower leg massage.

It wasn't quite the Tour de' Vietnam but we still enjoyed a foot soaking and massage after the ride

Lunch is served!

There is always rice!  You're always guaranteed to have a "rice day"

From La Chu village we made our way on to Hoi An.  Making a couple of stops for photos and passing through the beach area of Da Nang, including China Beach which was famous as a place during the war for US troops to try to escape the stress of combat.

Hoi An is a coastal town in central Vietnam that has a population of around 120,000 people.  We'll be staying at the Hoi An Silk Hotel for four nights, our longest consecutive stay at one place this trip.  Our hotel is about four kilometers from the beach but is located near the main attraction of the city, the "ancient city" which is made up of old, well preserved buildings with narrow streets decorated by lanterns which are lit at night.  The center piece of the ancient city is a canal that runs through it.  With the buildings, boats, floating lanterns, night market, shops and restaurants we quickly agreed that it's a combination of Disney's EPCOT, the San Antonio Riverwalk and Venice all rolled into one.  We explored a little bit last night and look forward to seeing more of it in the coming days.