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Published: August 6th 2007
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Basket 'o' Fish
Some of the morning's catch at the local market Just added a quick blurb about a photographer I met in Nha Trang to the "Sand in my shorts" entry, which I had neglected to do previously. I'd encourage you to check back, or at the very least check out his website at longthanhart.com
Moving on....
Having spent the night in a space the size of a small bathroom with 8 Vietnamese people on a train (given 2 of them were infants, but they more than made up for their lack of size with additional volume), I arrived in Hoi An bright and early just in time to catch the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals at a local internet cafe. While I felt a little sheepish putting off my foray into this fantastic town, part of which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, for a hockey game, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, so I settle down in front of a computer for the next 3 hours. Unfortunately around mid-way through the first period the video streaming from cbc.ca becomes unbearably choppy, so for the most part I've been relegated to listening to games 1 and 2 on nhl.com radio. As most of you
in Canada certainly know, the results so far have not been good, but there is still lots of hockey left to play.
Having checked into my hotel I set out to explore the town, and let me just set the stage by saying that the "Old Town" part of Hoi An, which encompasses a few square kilometers along the river's edge, is as close as you can get to visiting Vietnam as it might have been 100 years ago. Buildings covered in peeling yellow paint and flowering vines line narrow streets down which women of the older generation, always wearing their iconic hats, still cart goods to the market using a yolk and two balancing baskets. This is of course off-set to some degree by the ever-present moto taxi drivers asking "Where you go?", or just about anything else that will get you to stop so they can convince you that wherever you are going, a ride with them is the best way to get there.
The major industry in town these days is cloth production (silk, in particular) and tailoring. "Cloth Shops", as they are often called, are everywhere and you can have just about any type
Inside the Cloth Shop
Hard at work fitting a fellow traveller of clothing you can think of made for a bargain. The ladies who work in these shops (and they do work.... typically 12 hours a day, 7 days a week with 3 days off per year around the Tet holiday) are amazing and can copy just about any design straight our of a magazine. Thinking I would be silly to pass up such an opportunity, one of my first tasks was to have myself measured for a custom suit and shirt. After a little haggling, I was set with the difficult task of choosing an appropriate fabric. I ended up going for khaki with a fine brown pinstripe.... very Miami Vice, if I do say so myself. Although I probably won't wear it much, it should be perfect for summer weddings and you simply can't go wrong for the price, which happened to be $50 USD. I had shopped around first and found places that will make suits as cheap at $30, but decided to pay a little more based on this place's reputation for quality. Three demure young ladies set to work buzzing around me in order to measure (almost) every aspect of my body. I was told to
come back the following afternoon for alterations, which I did, but not before attending a Vietnames cooking class the next morning.
The next day began meeting at quaint little cafe for a drink before heading out on foot to visit the local market to learn about typical Vietnamese produce. Like any other market I've been to on this trip it was full of energy and bustling with life. From fish and other fresh caught seafood to drygoods, fresh fruits, herbs and of course, tourist T-shirts, you could get pretty much whatever you needed. Many of the sellers had their teeth and inner lips dyed red or black, which our cooking class guide explained was due to their betel-nut chewing habit. By chewing the fruit and leaves of this particular plant you get a little high (apparently) and yours lips turn a bright red, which is generally considered attractive. The downside is, that after a while you become addicted and your teeth turn a very, very ugly black. Sort of like smoking, or, as the Vietnamese would say "Same same.... but different".
After the trip to the market and a short boat ride down the river we arrived at
The Next Generation
Most likely destined to become seamstresses, but who knows the purpose built cooking school and got to try our hand at making rice paper, fresh rolls, warm squid salad and a local specialty; a pancake-type dish called Ben Xiu. While my versions may not have looked as nice as the demo versions the chef made, they still tasted great and better yet, we were given a set of recipes to try at home.
Much of the rest of my time in Hoi An was spent wandering the streets taking photos and visiting a few museums/old houses. At night the main streets are alight with glowing Chinese laterns, the production of which is another local industry. Quite beautiful, especially on the eve of a full moon when the people celebrate Buddha's birthday and motos are banned from the centre of town. Of course I went back to the tailors to try on my new suit and have some final alterations made. All in all the entire process took little more than 24 hours... quite amazing really and pretty snazzy too!
I capped off my stay in Hoi An with possibly the best meal I've had to date. For the most part I've stayed away from eating full-on meals
Cooking Class
My handy work after Garnishing 101 from street vendors since I'm not crazy about eating meat that's been sitting out in the sun all day on a few ice cubes. That being said I decided to take the plunge on the recomendation of the nice girl who worked the desk at my hotel (that is, when she's not working in her family's tailoring shop). Settling into a child size red plastic stool on a nearby corner I tried two more local specialties; Cao Lao and Mi Quan. Both dishes are based on the thick rice noodles characteristic of Central Vietnam, and contain a combination of pork, chilies, broth, various herbs and a few crouton type things. Meal cost about $1 and was simply delicious. Hopefully my GI tract won't let me down. So far, so good....
Next stop, the ancient capital of Hue.
Mike
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Shane
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Photos
Dude! You are a crazy photographer! These pics are amazing! Enjoy the trip and keep the blog up to date...we are all living vicariously.