Our charming hotel in Hoi An with meandering ponds and bridges welcomed us with a swimming pool, a comfort as the days are getting progressively hotter. Built into the OAT trips is a round table discussion of any topics the group wants to bring up, even controversial ones. Our guide Sinh deftly fielded questions about Vietnam war biracial children, communist repression, lingering sentiments about the war, corruption, etc.
The evening was a treasure. We arrived at The Silk Village and immediately donned chef hats and aprons. Seated at two long parallel tables facing each other, at which the instructor, part comic and all chef, gave us jobs to do at our seats like mixing and rolling rice paper rolls. I volunteered to be one of the cooks.
Our guide Sinh told us he had a special lady to drop in on. Curious about his so-called girlfriend, when it came time to meet her, we were not disappointed. She was a young woman of 92, living in the wood and palm constructed home she inhabited most of her life. Her bed, kitchen, washing and dining area were in one room.
Hoi an is a delightful place, a Vietnamese Nantucket and Sturbridge Village. A tourist destination for westerners and Vietnamese, it has an old town of ancient homes, narrow merchant's streets and a covered Japanese bridge. Could this be a Disney re-creation? Wisely, those ubiquitous motor scooters are banned during most hours from the town so strolling and shopping are worry free.
This is a town of tailors, and some of us took the recommendation and had clothes drawn, measured and made.
A short ferry ride across the river brought us to a small village and its weekday market, a contrast to the throngs of its neighbor Hoi An. Here, like at street markets throughout Vietnam, beef, chicken and pork sit outside on wooden slabs waiting for customers. Without refrigeration. A stop at an apothecary for Tiger Balm, and quick peek into an artisan 's shop to watch him make inlaid mother of pearl boxes completed our short stroll there. The ferry to and from not only carried passengers, but a whole front deck of motorcycles.
Fresh off the boat, before dawn
Who wouldn't want to smell thousands of fish in the dark and cold given the chance? Many of us did,to great delight. Sinh hired a few taxis and we arrived to see the fisherman delivering their catches, to a highly organized chaos of runners, sellers, agents, negotiators, and bookkeepers, almost all women, conducting business before legions of waiting motor scooters fanned out in the area to insure the restaurants were ready with fresh offerings for the day.
Cyclo tour and boat cruise
A most pleasant cyclo tour of the neighborhoods near our hotel on the outskirts of Hoi An took us past new upscale family compounds as well as traditional wooden one room dwellings along the river. There is obvious upward mobility enjoyed by some, but far more live in basic circumstances. We visited with one fishing family perched on the shore.
They had most of the food they needed from their ample garden and the river and a simple but functional kitchen in which to prepare it. The wife, to earn extra money, was sewing-assembling Palm leaves to be sold in the market for building roofs.
Our guide Sinh told us he had a special lady to drop in on. Curious about his so-called girlfriend, when it came time to meet her, we were not disappointed. She was a young woman of 92, living in the wood and palm constructed home she inhabited most of her life. Her bed, kitchen, washing and dining area were in one room.
Her children and grandchildren live next door in a modern, multilevel structure, which she found no use for. Generously sharing her betel nuts with those willing to try them spawned I-dare-yous, laughs and red tongues. The cyclo ride ended at the Thu Bon River where we boarded a boat for a sunset ride. On the way back to the city, Sinh spotted some fishermen he knew throwing their nets out.
They came up to our boat and entreated any of us to try this casting. Some of the group tried, but not very successfully. By the time we got back, it was dark and we bought good wish floating paper lanterns to set free. Mixed with ours were those set out by wedding couples decked out in traditional attire, parading up and down the shore in small illuminated boats.
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