Cooking and comfy seats - Hue to Hoi An

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After getting up so early for the DMZ tour we decided to try to maintain the momentum and, as such, agreed to go on our cooking course this morning starting at 8am. After waking up early and having a quick breakfast, we were picked up by two young ladies from the restaurant. One was to be our chef/teacher and the other was learning with us so that she could start teaching the course. Both girls were fairly young (or appeared to be) but as a race the Vietnamese maintain youthful looks long after we would, so maybe we were wrong. They were also very talkative.

We were taxied to the Dong Ba market across the river and commenced our shopping. Whilst we didn’t do any bartering for the ingredients, or even shopping for that matter, but watching our teacher was an experience in itself. We picked up our mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, fresh rice noodles, pork, beef and shrimps and after asking were told the shopping cost only 170-180,000 dong (about £6.00). Our shopping list was far from extensive in comparison to the variety of goods on offer. Our teacher explained that the market opens at 3am and is very busy then. It stays open until 7pm and is also busy in the afternoons, the morning being the quietest period. Being the city's biggest market, many people come to purchase from the stalls before heading to the more outlying markets and reselling the goods. We headed back to the restaurant in another taxi with our heads in a whirlwind after the sensory overload the market had supplied.

We sat down to learn our dishes and in doing so took part in the first cooking we have done since leaving on our travels. It is something that neither of us had realised quite how much we missed until this point; the ability to cook for yourself being something you take for granted until it is not there.

We learnt to cook Vietnamese pancakes, both fresh and fried spring rolls and beef noodle soup. All very tasty dishes and a thoroughly enjoyable morning. We left feeling satisfied on more than one level, especially as the course was a freebie from the hotel for staying with them for the duration that we had!

Whilst we had been cooking the sun had been beating down and it was a very hot day by the time we left the restaurant. We adjourned to our room and the aircon which now feels cold despite being set on a truly shudderingly chilly 27 0 C, after all mad dogs and Englishmen etc, and we certainly didn’t need to venture anywhere for lunch after our self cooked feast.

We eventually decided that we should head out to see a little more of Hue before we departed the following morning, and after referring to the trusty Lonely Planet ventured out at about 2:30 to go and visit a Pagoda. Off we went taking with us nothing more than money, cameras, and a map. After crossing the bridge over the Perfume river and stopping to marvel once again at the boat design of the local vessels which sit so low in the water the look like they are close to being submarines rather than boats, we discovered our map didn’t show the Pagoda. We had a decent idea where it was but not on which side of the canal it was, so we went for the near side. After walking what in actual fact was only about a quarter of a mile, but what seemed much further due to a combination of the heat and the constant need to move around the various obstacles on the pavements - such as bikes, mopeds, piles of dirt/earth for roadworks, stalls, trees etc we spotted the Pagoda. It was of course on the other side of the canal!

We luckily spotted another bridge coming up just as we were about to turn around and go back the way we had come. After crossing the bridge we arrived at the Pagoda which was possibly the least interesting or impressive thing we have seen. All in all a waste of our time. Oh well, you win some you lose some. We returned to the hotel via a short stop at the supermarket, in part for a cold drink and in part for the aircon, and a stop at a bar for an early evening snack. Given the size of our brunch this was enough for us for the day and we then retired for an early evening in the hotel.

We had a few beers and used the internet before retiring early in order to rise early so we could get our bus and also to maintain the good habits we appear to be getting into. We have both really enjoyed our time in Hue, a lovely city with enough going on to keep you interested without being so busy that you feel overwhelmed like in Hanoi. The step down in pace has also helped us and we plan on maintaining this slower pace whilst we have the ability, as once we get out of Vietnam the visa restrictions will mean faster movement which we know to be tiring.

Awaking at 7 in time to pack and get breakfast prior to our 8am bus still feels difficult despite the habit we are getting into. We were running a little later than we had planned resulting in bolting down our breakfast at 7:50 in order to get to the restaurant (our pick up point) for 8. We should have learnt by now that timing isn’t at the forefront of the bus operators’ minds here. Our rushed breakfast seemed a total waste when we still hadn’t been picked up at gone 8:30! The coach arrived and although we weren’t able to sit together as our stop was the last pick up, we were one in front of the other, and the coach was comfortable.

In fact the whole journey was pretty decent - the inevitable lunch stop arrived at 10:15 (who wants lunch at 10:15?) but other than that it was a hassle free journey, including some smooth driving and minimal beeping.
Getting off the coach in Hoi An, we got our bags and after checking our location walked to the hostel. It seems pretty decent, not as good as the one we had left, and definitely more expensive, but you are paying for being in a tourist location, and having a pool.

We dumped the bags and went to explore the ‘old town’ where all of the main sights are. Lou wasn’t sure about the hostel, and as such only slowly warmed to the town as we walked around. You get a fair amount of hassle to come into shops to buy a t-shirt, or some clothes, or other gift, but a ’no thanks’ and walking on by works pretty well.

We stopped for lunch on the riverbank and watched other people get hassled for a boat trip, while we ate. We crossed one of the many bridges in town to look at An Hoi island, before returning to the main part of town and then heading for Cam Nam island via a second bridge, to locate a bookshop/exchange which is literally walking into somebody’s house. One room full of books had a small screen partitioning off the main bedroom, and a second had the guestbed in the corner.

After a stop in a riverside bar for a cold one, and a chat with the American owners, we headed back to the hostel. We returned with a plan to shop for clothes the day after, and merely to wander more in the evening when getting our dinner. On arrival at the hostel the pool was calling and whilst a very modest size, immersing oneself in water properly was a tonic.

A shower and change later and it was off into town again. Having been refreshed by the dip, Lou’s shopping instincts were starting to surface and as such our stroll into town involved dipping into quite a few shops, even though she did manage to avoid any clothes shopping.

We have, since coming away, been discussing the possibility of replacing some items with cheaper versions for the duration of our travels, given that the originals are safely stored in the UK. So ring shopping, which is arguably more Lou’s forte than clothes anyway, commenced. She tried on several but amazingly couldn’t decide and we left all the shops empty handed. By night Hoi An is truly beautiful, lit up by lanterns everywhere. Especially by the river and on the bridges, which we crossed on the way to our dinner destination. Dinner was a bit disappointing to tell the truth but it didn’t matter as we were starting to enjoy this town. On our walk home we spotted a great looking patisserie but decided to wait for another day to sample its delights.

Life has slowed down and so have we. The blogs are therefore becoming a bit slower also. We make no apologies for this as this is a major part of our reason for being here.

YYBerries = X
Toilets are still Western.
Delhi Belly, hmm think we may have succumbed to that one, at least one of us anyway.

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Photos

Land of the Giants
Or more accurately the small table and chairs that are standard here.

Our newest hostel
Complete with swan towel arrangement