The only negative of Hoi An was leaving...

Hoi An was the epitome of a beautiful, quaint, charming, romantic little old city. The "Old City" area is off limits to any motor vehicles, so everyone is walking or riding a pedal bike, which gives it a far more relaxed feel than the hustle and bustle elsewhere in Vietnam. The streets are lined with scattered restaurants between the million of tailor shops displaying dresses, coats, pants, shorts, skirts, tops, suits, shoes...you name it, they make it. I was only there for 2 days, but now I see exactly why everyone told me to plan on at least 4 days there - once you arrive it's too captivating to leave!

I arrived on a night bus from Hue at around 7am Saturday morning and explored the streets for a few hours until my room was ready for check in. I decided to get an "Old City Sightseeing Tour Ticket" and plan my own walking tour so I could wander the streets at my own pace and see the things that interested me. The ticket got my admissions into 1 old house, 1 museum, 1 assembly hall, the handicrafts workshop, and a traditional performance. I have to say I wasn't that impressed by the house, museum, or assembly hall, but it made me realize my lack of appreciation for things that carry a great deal of historical significance merely in there existance....to me they all just looked like big old buildings, but I know I shouldn't be quite so cynical. The handicrafts workshop was incredible...3 stories of people working on embroidery, lantern making, carvings, etc. Every time I see it, I'm still so shocked at the amount of labor and time that goes into the making of each hand made item! The music performance was wonderful and included several scenes of dancing, tai chi type movement, and theater.

In the afternoon, after a wonderful lunch on the riverfront and a visit to Reaching Out, a fair trade shop for disabled workers, I was too exhausted to keep walking around and forced myself to go take a quick nap. I've found it very hard to nap, sleep in late, or go to bed early while traveling....I hate to think I might be missing something! Once the sun set, the entire town was lit by lanterns, which was particularly elegant along the riverside. I wanted to eat on the river, so I found a great place that had a set menu (for $5) that included all of the Hoi An specialties....Cau Lau (noodle and pork dish), Vegetable spring rolls, grilled fish (literally the whole fish grilled with head, skin, and bones!), Fried Wontons, and Iced Flan for dessert).

The next day, I had signed myself up for a cooking class at Red Bridge School through Hai Cafe, as I'd been told it was a Hoi An "must do." Turned out to be one of the best things of the whole trip!! It was just me and two ladies from Australia who were very pleasant company, and we began with a tour of the local veggie, fruit, herb, fish, and meat markets to learn about the ingredients we'd be using. We took a boat ride down the river to the cooking school, and proceeded to make the tastiest food under the direction of our hilarious instructor/chef. We made seafood salad in a pineapple, fresh spring rolls, ban xeo (vietnamese pancake with shrimp), and eggplant in a claypot. We also learned to make rice paper from grains of rice, which involves strapping a piece of cotton cloth to the top of a pot of boiling water and pouring a milky paste on to the cotton before lifting if off with a bamboo stick...very odd but pretty easy actually.

I decided when I first got here that I wasn't going to get into the tailor-made stuff even though the streets are covered with shops and I thought it was a cool idea to have stuff made just for you... but too expensive and not necessary I decided. On my way to cooking class (on a bike I had rented for the day for $1),I saw a cute coat in one of the stores. So I stopped in "just to look" and I now have a brand new winter coat and semi-formal dress made just for me! haha. If you're thinking "Lindsey, you live in Texas and you didn't even finish your application to Boston College," don't mention it...you'll only make me sound and feel stupid :) Even though I probably got pressured into the "tailor" scene, it was a lot of fun, I love the things I got, they were pretty cheap, and really...when's the next time I'll ever had anything made for me?

Meanwhile, while I was waiting for one of the fittings, I thought - hmmm, i have a bike and no where to go. So I asked a girl in a hotel what I could do with a bike and about 2 or 3 hours....she gave me a map and told me how to ride to the beach. So I did! But when I got there I realized I didn't have a swimsuit or towel with me and I was sunburned and didn't feel like being by a beach. So I walked around for all of 2 minutes, got back on my bike, and rode the hour back home. At dinner that night at a street food market place, I met some girls from Austria and one from Switzerland, and spend the evening at "Salsa Club" with them, although we never heard a single Salsa song!!!!

Next Stop: Hue City