Friendly Faces in Hoi An

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Café 43

It may seem strange to you that in our short time we have away from home we are returning to some of the same places we were just a few months ago. First, our decision to go back to Dong Ha was driven by our promise to the teachers that we would return to Le Quy Don. Then, we returned to Hoi An for two reasons. One, because two of our friends, Jackie and Scott, planned on meeting us in Vietnam in May but were unable to and had to cancel last minute. Jackie and Scott were only in Vietnam for 10 days and we thought Hoi An was a required stop for them. The second reason was Café 43. On our first day in Hoi An, we slept late, had some breakfast, and went to Café 43 to await the arrival of Scott and Jackie. We were thrilled to have some friends joining us, especially after China and two weeks of teaching and ensuring that we did not use English words that were hard to comprehend. It was nice to be able to speak without simplifying things as much.

Hoi An is a must see on a Vietnam itinerary. It is loaded with fun tailor shops for handmade clothing and an historical “Hoi An Ancient Town” to show what Vietnam once looked like. Hoi An also has some fantastic food specialties that you just don’t see anywhere else in Vietnam. Café 43 was our favorite restaurant last time we were in Hoi An. Just down the street from our hotel, it was western focused, but a very friendly family ran restaurant - Tuan, Cuc, and their little dog. We are not sure what the dog’s name was. As soon as we stepped into the patio of the restaurant, Tuan stopped and looked at us, and smiled his famous friendly smile. It was good to see him. It was also good to have $.15 draft beer, fried pork wontons, cau lau (pork with noodles), fresh spring rolls, and we learned that Tuan makes a pretty mean order of French fries. There was one disappointment to our return to Café 43.

During our last visit, we met our Dutch friends Ap and Stein, who also dined at Café 43 each of their nights in Hoi An. We became friends at the café, and spent some time together at the beach. On their last night, we all made our mark on Café 43. In the menus, Tuan has blank pages for comments from people all over the world. Ap and Eric each wrote one. On our return, we saw Ap’s letter to Café 43 in one of the menus, but no matter how many menus we went through, we never saw ours. Eric was disappointed and when we left again I asked if he wanted to write another note, but he said once was enough.

Tuan’s dog was a tiny little Chihuahua, with absolutely no meat on its bones. During our last visit, we saw Tuan dote over this little dog. This time, he had a pierced ear with a little rhinestone star shaped earring and a few bells around its neck. Two Aussie men we saw at the Cafe called the dog “Stud” and said it was a stud for a stud. Stud had much more confidence than last time. I think he was still a puppy last time although you could not tell by his size. Before, Stud shook every time Tuan picked him up and was usually on a leash tied to the fence to prevent his escape. Now, he was happy to stay in his little area without his leash, and had bells on his collar to keep him from going too far. He provided a bit of entertainment at the café.

On our last day, we had lunch at Café 43. After a few minutes we heard Stud start to yelp a high pitched little dog scream. He yelped a few more times and we noticed he was rubbing his eye, which was swollen and started to close up. The poor little guy. We alerted Tuan to the situation and he tried to place an icy bottle of water on Stud’s eye, but the dog wanted to have nothing to do with it. It was painful to watch him, like it is with any animal in pain because they cannot communicate what is wrong - did he get stung by a bee? Did he touch a chili pepper and put his finger in his eye (I’ve done that; it hurts)? Tuan promised he would go to the “pharmacy” to get him something and by that evening Stud was doing much better. Tuan was not, though. He was sad to see us leave, but we told him we would return.

No More Madame Pho

The other reason we wanted to return to Hoi An was to have the best pho in the entire country. Down the road from the hotel, directly across from Café 43, we had the best pho ever at a woman’s store. We did not learn her name because she did not speak English, but we named her Madame Pho - a well deserved title for a woman who was a magician with beef and noodles. When we arrived at Café 43 the first night the pho shop was all closed up. We never saw it completely closed during our last visit. But, it was late, so maybe it was closed for the night. When we woke in the morning and walked by once again it was boarded up shut and actually had a “house for rent” sign outside. We asked Tuan and he told us she moved to Nha Trang. We were devastated; absolutely devastated. We would not be able to introduce Jackie and Scott to Madame Pho.

But, we were recommended another pho shop, which was good but not as good as Madame Pho. Jackie and Scott seemed to enjoy it - their first pho in Vietnam. Scott went a little overboard on the chili peppers and hot sauce though, because his eyes were watering and I thought he would cry. It was also their first “traditional” outdoor Vietnamese restaurant, with rickety metal tables and plastic chairs that look about ready to collapse as you sit on them. Scott cracked some jokes about the quality of the establishment, but seemed pretty happy to slurp his spicy soup in the end.

The New Mrs. Hai

There are approximately 300 tailor shops in Hoi An. Last time I had a few dresses and a shirt made. I had in my mind the exact kind of shirt I wanted last time, but somehow let Eric and the girl at the store talk me out of it. This time, I would do no such thing. We did not have a specific place in mind for our shopping. I stopped at each store that had the top design I was looking for and then just looked for the right silk material, a bright yellow with some bright design. I wanted a shirt I would never buy for myself in the US. I hit gold at a little shop on Le Loi with two very friendly sisters who ran the shop. In the end, Eric and I each bought a pair of linen pants for the trip, and Eric bought three of his typical Asian inspired shirts for the trip. Scott bought one similar shirt. The funniest, though, was Jackie, who could not decide what she wanted. Then she started staring at one of the sisters who was wearing a light weight white, sleeveless top. Jackie pointed to her and said “can you make me that?” The sister said it was a gift brought back from Europe, but where there is a will there is a way. After some consultation the sisters pulled out some similar fabric and agreed to make Jackie a replica. As I sat there staring at the top, I decided I wanted one too. I have been looking for a fun shirt that said “M.P.” and this was it. Plus, I thought it would look good with my new linen pants.

But, the most interesting part of our trip to the tailor shop involved our good friend, Mr. Hai from back in Dong Ha. During our first trip to Dong Ha, we promised Mr. Hai we would find him a girlfriend, but we failed. We tried during our second trip, but he is right, all of the girls we spoke to have a boyfriend, or sometimes multiple boyfriends. The two sisters at the tailor shop were both quite attractive, and one was unmarried. We asked if she would be interested in meeting our friend, and we even had pictures of Mr. Hai on our camera. She said he was handsome, and looked like he had a kind heart. She was not even scared off when we told her he lived in Dong Ha. We sold him too - telling her he has his own house, a computer, a nice television, and he is a teacher with a good salary. She was excited, so we took her email and her picture, and we told her we would introduce them via email. We are Vietnamese matchmakers now.

Sunset at the Beach

We also hit the beach for some relaxation. The beach was only about 7 kilometers from Hoi An, on a straight shot down the main road. We hopped in a taxi one evening and sat under umbrellas drinking beer. I went for a dip in the bath water they call the sea. And, around sunset, we moved to a little table and chairs to watch the sunset. Although we were facing east and the sun set behind us the sky was still beautiful, highlighting the small islands in the distance. The beach was lit up with candles and lanterns as the locals came out for an evening meal on the water. Scott haggled with a woman on the beach to buy some souvenirs and we drank beers. It was beautiful. I think because the beach area near Hoi An, similar to Dong Ha, is not overloaded with large resorts, it is a wonderfully relaxing experience. There are lounge chairs and umbrellas, and wide swath of beach and swaying palm trees. The water was clean too, which is not the case at every beach in Southeast Asia. This was a perfect evening.

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Photos

Jackie and Scott Arrive
Finally . . .

Lanterns at Night
Hoi An is known for lanterns.

Eric at Cafe 43
Enjoying drip coffee of course

Tuan Takes a Break
He is usually running around all night, but I finally caught him taking a break.

Me and the Stud
Tuan's dog at Cafe 43

New Clothing
My new white shirt from the tailor. Wonder how long it will remain clean.

Eric Being 12
Enjoying a happy hour at sunset at the beach near Hoi An.