HOI' AN'

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HOI’ AN’

The drive from Da Nang lasted about half an hour. After checking in we met for dinner at one of the restaurants at our hotel (Anantara). The hotel is very central to the town but about 5klm from ‘China Beach’. We will visit there in a few days. Once again we were served a huge meal. Discretion overcame valour and again a lot of food was left ‘for the cook’. Bed time again, and, boy were we ready!



Wednesday 26^th February

Well, we love the food, and today we are going to find out how to select the ingredients and learn how to prepare a meal for ourselves. At 8.45am the lined us up and away we went to the Hoi An market. We wended our way through the vegetable and fish sections looking at the large array of vegetables and fish. After a myriad of photo opportunities we headed for the river to board our vessel and head for the Red Bridge Restaurant.



On arrival the group was split into two groups and moved to separate locations. We got the joker chef. What a character! He accurately recited his visits to South Yarra, South Bank, St Kilda and the beautiful Yarra! During the whole session he told jokes that had every one laughing. So, with just a little training, we were each given a ‘kitchen’ to prepare the dish he just showed us. First off was a Prawn Rice Paper roll and the sauce to accompany it. Then, of course, we had to eat them! Fortunately everyone passed on this dish.



The next project was a little more challenging! We had to turn a tomato into a rose and create an interesting garnish with a strip of cucumber. There were many laughs and giggles but eventually all turned out well (sort of!).



To ensure that there was a nutritious main course, we were then asked to prepare an Aubergine Crockpot. That needed to turn out well because it was to be the main course for our lunch. No-one went hungry so it must have been ok. Lunch done, and a few drinks under our belts, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for a little modelling.



APT had arranged for Hoi An’s finest tailor to make every one a shirt or a blouse to take home. Naturally that meant that we needed to be measured up and select the fabric we preferred out of a pretty good range of fabrics. You know what it is like for some people to make a decision about anything! So it was mayhem in the Tailor’s shop until measurements were completed and fabrics chosen. Tomorrow we will all visit for a fitting of our chosen garments. Just imagine!



The day finished with a bus drive to the Nam Long Restaurant, which overlooks the De Vong River, and we were ushered out into a superb garden setting to enjoy dinner surrounded by lanterns and stars. The food was great and everyone really enjoyed the relaxed outdoor venue surrounded by large palm trees.

Thursday 27^th February

It would be easy to assume that we are enjoying everything we do here. It is probably true. Today’s program allowed everyone to choose one of five options and then go off in different directions with our local guides. Boy did we make a fine choice! We decided to do the Guided Eco Tour. We were taken by bus to a local village and were walked through the intensely cultivated vegetable and herb gardens. We were given detailed descriptions as to how they prepare the ground, plant the vegetables and care for them until maturity. One interesting thing they did was to scrape back the soil (about 6”) and line the trench with seaweed grown in brackish water nearby (washed of course). The soil was then raked back over it to plant the seedlings that had been grown to transplant. In some instances they plant the seeds and then thin out later. There is a co-operative approach by the families to help each other during the growing and harvesting season.



From there we went to a boat repair and maintenance yard where our guide’s father was working. We saw them doing some of that work and also watched as they moved the vessels up and across the rail based system that made moving the boats in and out of the water.



Have you ever sailed in a Coracle? We have! They are the circular boats made from woven reeds and are very difficult to row without going in circles. Two by two we were ferried by coracle to a larger boat to take us out to watch the local fisherman/wife and his son/daughter in law throwing nets out and retrieving them. We the went out to join them in small groups. Everyone was invited to bring in the net. Rhonda caught two fish (each about 5cm long) and I managed a big fat zero! Afterwards we went onto a sandy shore and were invited to try our skills at throwing a net. Results? Well it was a mixed bag really. Most blokes did ok but there were a lot of people who may have gone hungry!



That done, we were then loaded onto our coracles again and taken on a trip through the water palms that were once used by the Viet Cong as a hiding place during daylight hours. They would then slip into town at night to get food and ammunition. To cross the water they used hollow bamboo protruding from the water to breathe as they crossed underneath the water. Their daytime haven would have been very uncomfortable as it was located in a wet environment subject to tides. All in all we had a great adventure on this tour.



Back to the tailor’s! It was bedlam. My shirt was going well but Rhonda had some issues with her garment. We were finally despatched with the commitment that the items would be delivered to our hotel that night.



Dinner time! “You must go to Morning Glory Restaurant when you are in Hoi An”. That theme coming from respected friends. So we had booked and tonight was the night. After negotiating our way through the market and the throngs on the street we were settled into our seats. Rhonda looked up and there was a group from Mt Eliza! After a bit of a chat we settled in for our meal. We discovered that we had been enjoying such fantastic Vietnamese cuisine that our meals were rated as ‘nice’. We had a pleasant few hours and then headed home to our hotel. The tailored items had arrived and, you guessed it, Rhonda’s was not right. Oh well, it just goes to show that you get nothing for nothing. Mine was good and they didn’t cost us anything so all was not lost.

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