More Happenings in Hoi An

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Day 14
After a great night sleep in a very comfortable bed I was ready for the day ahead. 9 of the 14 gorup members left at 8am to go on a tour of My Son temples but the remaining five of us stuck around to get our fittings in and see the local beach of Hoi An.
The first stop on the fittings was for Ninna (the Danish one) and her leopord-print-like silk dress fit like a glove so we moved on to the fun place where Judou got a dress and I had a blazer. Both items looked stunning on us - well my blazer was a great fit and Judou looked stunning in her dress, we didn't bother trying each others items on. While the minor details were being touched up on Judou's dress, John fell for a winter jacket and ordered one (ready later that night they promised) and I decided to order a light linen shirt for the rest of my travels in hot weather. It really is so tempting and fun to have clothing tailor-made, I highly recommend it.
The next bit was the most worrisome to me...the suits. I just was nervous how it would turn out. I slipped the pants on easily engough and they made my ass look great so I was eager for the jacket. Once it was on, I knew I had made the right decision. The girls and John all strongly approved of it too. Only a few minor alterations had to be made so it would be ready to go in a couple of hours! Who knew where I was going to put all this stuff though to get it home. I figured I would worry about that later.
With us all feeling pleased with our clothing, we rented bicycles in an attempt to ride to the local beach. We only had to make one turn through a scary intersection and that was our very first part of the journey. We quickly took care of this though and were on our way. It was actually alot less scary than I first thought it would be and we managed to get the hang of merging and listening for car honks quickly. Unfortunately we ended up at the touristy beach (not the one for locals). Ah well, we plopped ourselves down for a wee bit of time - John, Claire and I had to head back after an hour for more fittings and I had the cooking class. Due to my miscalculation on the ride home, we got slightly off route and were late getting back so scrambled around to our various errands.
The cooking class was great fun. It was just the three of us and the instructor, Ms Ly. She took us through the market and pointed out different fruits (some I had previously eaten without even knowing) and told us how the market works (in a nutshell). She was very funny and her English made it a more enjoyable experience. Back at the restaurant, we made deep-friend spring rolls, sweet and sour sauce for pork wontons, friend squid, and mackerl BBQ'ed in banana leaf. Again, the small group and Ms Ly's humour made this a highlight of my trip. After making all the food, we got to eat it! A meal fit for kings. Really,we could barely distinguish it from the food we ate at the same restaurant the night before. Just as we were chowing down, Niina and Tuomas (the Finish couple) walked by so we pulled them in and had them sample the food, just in case we were being bias. But they also couldn't tell the difference! I now have the reciepes and will probably attempt some once back in Canada. But I may need some helpers.
Post dinner, it was time for cake and drinks to ring in John's birthday. It was at a nice little bar/cafe and the whole group was there, which made for a nice start to the evening. Most of us continued on with drinks at a hip bar around the corner that was packed with young backpackers. We headed home around midnight though and thought we were too sober for the beach party with buses not returning to town until 2:30am. Plus we had a 3-hour bus ride starting the next day at 9am through the windy mountain roads of Vietnam, en route to Hue.
Oddly engough, another GAP tour group was the same bar as us and we had heard they were less fun than us but yet they continued on with the beach party and apparently go out drinking most nights. Our gorup is not lilke that but we really get along for the most part.

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Photos

Tailor-made pants
Yaly Couture

Getting attended to
Although I'm not smiling, I am very happy at this moment

The new suit
I wonder for what occasion I will first get to wear my new suit. The cost was only $125 USD. Bargain if you ask me. Great quality of work too and great fabric.

Bike ride
Claire and John on the bike ride home from the beach (this may be the intersection where I got us lost)

Cooking class
Michelle, Ms Ly, and Tina at our cooking class.

The final products
Although you can't see the food very well you should be able to tell from our proud faces that it turned out super well.

The boys
Tuomas, John and I out for drinks for John's birthday. The rest of the group was there too.

Comments

[Mom]

Hi You look great, love mom :)

[jenn]

Friend Spring Rolls
I'm glad your spring rolls and squid were friendly! Love reading your blog and seeing your pictures :)

[Dex]

High fashion!
Hoi An's next top model?