The Third Phase: Vietnam Redux, Part Two

After our day in the Mekong Delta we all flew from Sai Gon to Hội An on the east coast of Vietnam.

Redux of Intrepid Tour route.

Hội An is a UNESCO site known for its well-preserved ancient town, cut through with canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shophouses and temples to colorful French colonial buildings, and the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda. Today it is also known for its custom tailoring. You can get a made-to-order suit or dress in 24 hours and take it with you.

Our hotel was just outside the historic/tourist district, but because of the various ages and conditions TV arranged a tuk-tuk into town. One of our first stops was to have lunch. TV took us to a Banh Mi restaurant. Banh Mi is a fusion of French and Vietnamese cultures. Vietnam modified the famous French Baguette to a smaller version, stuffed it with pork or chicken, fresh and pickled vegetables, and soy, Maggi or chili sauce. The claim to fame at our restaurant was that celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain ate it here for his Parts Unknown travel/food series.

Banh Mi with Pork

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Hội An historic district is pretty small, just two main streets and the river. We visited an obligatory temple with their bulgy eyed spirits, the historic bridge over the river, a tailor shop where a suit could be custom-made of a style from a magazine or their own collection for about $500. In the afternoon a couple of us signed up for a cooking class to make Spring Rolls, Chicken Pho, Mango Salad, BBQ Sea Bass, with Sticky rice.

Map of Hoi An. Our hotel is about 1/2 mile north.

Temple

One of two spirits guarding the entry

Main street of Historic District

Famous eighteenth century Japanese bridge over Hoai River

Hoai River

Tailor shop explaining how to make a custom suit.

Robin, Crystal and instructor with tray of spring rolls

Boats and lanterns floating on Hoai River.

Our first morning after arriving and touring Robin and I left the hotel to walk the neighborhood and find the local market near our hotel. Here the market is not only in a "market building" but spills out onto the side streets. Unlike larger tourist cities whose markets are an attraction, this one seemed only for the locals.

Street Market

Neighborhood around market with hardly any tourists

After rejoining our group for breakfast at the hotel, TV arranged a bike tour of the country side through the rice fields for a few of us. Hội An is a city of just over 100,000, but the built-up area just stops and the rice fields begin. However, we could see the development pressure. On the city edges were new houses and apartment buildings, and along the bike trail were build boards of more development to come. It is a vanishing time for the farmers.

Local farmer who didn't like us taking his photo

Family vegetable garden with hand watering.

At the end of our bike tour we stopped in a small homestead that was the town's main supplier of rice noodles. The woman demonstrated how to ladle the rice slurry onto a fine mesh over a pot of steaming water fired by rice husks (everything is used). After less than a minute she used a dowel to slip under the thin rice pancake to lift it up and unroll it on a mesh lattice to dry. After several hours she would stack the dried rice sheets and slice them into noodles of a consistent width. She was so experienced that she could look at you while talking and chopping the noodles and they would not vary in width.