June 19th - Hoi An

We are almost caught up to the present. Today is our third day in Hoi An, the beautiful riverside town where we have been staying, shopping, and relaxing. Here is the run down for our stay here so far.


Day 1 in Hoi An: We arrived in Hoi An in the late morning after a bus ride south from Hue. We strapped on our packs and decided to splurge on a hotel - The Vin Hung I was a whopping $15 dollars a night! The air-conditioning actually worked, and like true Americans we cranked it so much that we had to sleep under two blankets at night. Our room had Chinese antiques, including a canopy bed. The price included breakfast and the use of the pool at the nearby, lavish Vinh Hung Resort. And, how's this for party trivia, Michael Caine stayed at our hotel while filming the Quiet American. We didn't want to break the bank, though; his room was $45 a night.

We had lunch at a local cafe and tried cao lau, a local noodle dish. It can only be considered cao lau if the noodles were prepared using the water fetched from one specific well in Hoi An. I guess, like New York bagels, its all about the water.

After lunch, we surveyed the countless tailor shops in town. Hoi An is known for its custom made clothing and gourmet food. Many of the gastronomic and fashion trends in Vietnam originate in Hoi An. In a town that's barely eight blocks square, there are over two hundred tailor shops.

That night, we headed to the best restaurant in town, Cafe Des Amis and were personally served by Mr. Kim. While showing us how to properly eat each dish, he told us that he had been the personal chef to the General of the South Vietnamese Army. At his menu, you can order vegetarian, meat, or seafood, but there is no menu. Mr. Kim just keeps bringing plates of delicious food to the table.

Day 2 in Hoi An: The next day, we decided on two tailor shops and every inch of us was measured. We each designed a few pieces, barely had time for lunch, and the clothes were ready to try on by the afternoon.


Late in the afternoon, we took a cooking class at one of the local cafes. Our instructor, Bup, taught us how to make fresh vegetarian spring rolls, fish grilled in a banana leaf, and calamari salad. We will begin taking reservations at Jillian and Ari's Vietnamese restaurant upon our return. We also tried the legendary Hoi An wontons, but were not privy to recipe because it is supposedly known by only one family in Hoi An. If they told us, they would have to kill us. Miraculously, the dish can be found in nearly every restaurant here. They must multiply like bunnies.



Day 3 in Hoi An: We collected all of our designs, including sneakers that proudly say ARI on the side, soaked up a little more air conditioning, and explored An Hoi just on the other side of the river. When the hot sun became too much, we retreated to the resort for some poolside lounging. We met up with some other travellers for dinner, and promptly returned to the air conditioning.

While we were in Hanoi, at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, we saw a television crew filming a young girl. The girl was clad in traditional Vietnamese garb and was lip-syncing to what some people might call music. While flipping through the channels last night, we saw a show that was nothing but these little music videos. It was very weird.


Day 4 in Hoi An: That just about brings us up to date. We began today with a walking tour of Hoi An's cultural sites (we had to do something worthwhile before we left town.) The museums were weak, but housed in cool old Chinese style buildings. The highlight was the craft workshop, where we saw people making silk lanterns, carving wooden and stone sculptures, embroidering wall hangings, and sewing. It was a glorified sweat shop and museum gift shop rolled into one, but at least they smiled for our pictures.



After a glass of fresh sugar cane juice, it was back to the pool for us. We are headed to Nha Trang tonight on another overnight bus. Nha Trang is known for its beautiful beaches. We'll let you know how it is...

Lots of love,
Jillian and Ari