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Published: November 12th 2009
Before I begin, I must relay a message from Hungry. He was very disappointed that over 100 people read his blog and he didn't get ONE comment from anyone that they liked it or thought it was funny. If you liked Hungry's blog and would like him to write more in the future, please leave a comment in his blog (Big World, Little Hungry) for him!! It will cheer him up. After all, he's as much a part of this trip as we are!
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So!! Yesterday morning we checked out of our hostel in Hanoi and headed straight back for the tapas restaurant for another round of tapas (smoked ham, tortilla, and an array of cheeses), then back to Fanny's for more gelato before grabbing a taxi to the Hanoi airport. Tiny little terminal, really, with only ten gates and virtually no security (we'd rearranged all our 3-ounce-and-smaller liquids, but turns out there's no regulation on liquids here!)...but we boarded a lovely modern airbus (with an Aussie pilot!) and in an hour's time touched down about 400 miles south, in Da Nang. Stepped outside and saw the most brilliant sunbeams I've ever laid eyes on! Effortlessly hailed a taxi and
rode 45 minutes south to the little riverside town of Hoi An (not to be confused with Hanoi, the capital!)...getting around Vietnam is a total no-brainer compared to China - ha!!
We had just a little hiccup upon arrival at a hotel that had been recommended by a couple we met on Cat Ba Island (she was Aussie, but it took a little coaxing to get the guy to admit where he was from - turned out to be Iran, which we of course have no problems with, but I think because we're American he was hesitant). The power was out on the entire block (what is UP with us and power outages on this trip??), so we were shuttled over to a neighboring hotel very much like the Bates Motel from "Psycho" - peeling walls, cobwebs on the ceiling, holes in the drapes - you get the picture. Luckily it was only for one night (any longer and we'd've found different accommodation), and this morning the taxi showed up right on time to bring us back to our now-with-power original hotel. Cute little spot, for $10 a night, and it even has a swimming pool (the first we've
seen the entire trip)!
Last night though, since we didn't want to sit in Hotel a la Bates (as we took to calling it - in reality it was "Binh Minh," but Bates sounds SO much cooler), we headed out into the old quarter. First stop was dinner, as we'd eaten nothing since the tapas back in Hanoi. We stopped at the first cafe we came to, loaded with (who else?) Europeans, and tried the famous local specialty called "White Rose." It is essentially a rice dumpling stuffed with sweet shrimp and topped with little croutons - and it is FABULOUS!! Jeremy also ordered shrimp and noodle soup, and we shared an order of shrimp spring rolls wrapped in rice paper and stuffed with basil, mint, and cucumbers - SO good, and all for under $4. I love Vietnam.
After dinner we kept heading for the river and began passing what this town is famous for - custom-clothing shops. Hundreds of them line both sides of the street, filled with the most gorgeous suits, dresses, jackets, and shoes you've ever seen. I'm not a big shopper, but I'm the first to admit that I'd easily drain my savings
account on a whole new wardrobe here! We perused a couple shops before finding a tiny family-run one called "Lana," where we got lost in conversation with the owner, Duyen (pronounced "zu-WEE-in")...the sweetest little woman you'd ever meet, and by little I mean LITTLE - she's about 4'6" in high heels!! She and her two daughters run the shop, and she took us through all her fabrics, pulled out dozens of catalogs, and showed many of her custom creations - all gorgeous stuff! We were sold, and promised to return in the morning to order some goodies.
At last we made it to the river, and WOW is it a sight!! Ancient little shops, millions of glowing red lanterns, brightly painted fishing boats, and delicious scents drifting from all the cafe's lining the streets. Our stroll didn't last long, as (if you can believe it) I'm coming down with a cold yet again, this time with an added cough. We've had the worst luck with our health on this trip - just as one of us gets better, the other comes down with something. I think we've had about three days where neither of us have been plagued with
one thing or another. At least it's been nothing too serious (aside from Jeremy's food poisoning - poor guy WAS pretty sick for a day or two there). Kind of a pain, but hey, what can you do? The heat and humidity are just brutal here (hotter than Florida in August, if you can imagine), and there is no air-conditioning anywhere except your hotel room (and even then, it takes a while to cool down)...so everywhere you go, you're just drowning in your own sweat and chugging water like you're in the Sahara. The heat is doing a real number on my sore throat too - ugh. And this is November!! I can't even imagine how hot this place is in the summertime...
So this morning we transferred back to our much-nicer hotel, ordered some omelets for breakfast, and headed straight for Lana. There we spent the entire morning with Duyen and her daughters, pouring through magazines and catalogs and searching the shelves for the perfect fabrics. Jeremy wanted to get a few suits, as he has such a tough time finding anything back home to fit his thin frame. I had in mind a traditional silk oriental dress,
the kind I usually never see back in the states (or if I did, it would be way out of my budget!). Well, two hours later, Duyen had sketched up two suits, two pairs of trousers, and a funky custom-designed jacket (for Jeremy), and a silk dress, two silk tops, one silk skirt, and a pair of shorts (for me)...and we are getting all of this, made by-hand and custom-fitted to our bodies, for less than the cost of one nice suit from a department store back home. It's forcing us to stay an extra day (what a tragedy, right?), so we can return for a fitting tomorrow and hopefully have everything ready to go by Saturday evening...we're so excited!! Of course we'll post lots of pictures when we receive our goodies.
Lunch today was more White Rose, joined with another local specialty "Cao Lau." It is rice noodles cooked in water from the Ba Le Well here in town, simmered with anise and basil and topped with croutons and sliced pork. Very good, although the anise isn't one of my favorite herbs. The town looks quite different in the daytime - the buildings show their age and some
look like they might keel over at any moment, but that's part of the charm. You get the distinct feeling that this town looks exactly the same as it did 200 years ago - except for maybe the motor bikes! We figured since we're going to be sending boxes of clothes home, we might as well go for broke and purchased a lacquer-wine holder and a beautiful chopstick set, as well as some much needed tank tops and short-sleeved shirts (did I mention how hot it is here??)...we really haven't bought any souvenirs the entire trip, so we figured it's time!
So here we are, hanging in Hoi An for a few days while we await a whole new Asian wardrobe. Tomorrow we will probably hit the beach for a bit, and Saturday we plan to go tour the ruins of "My Son," an ancient temple complex. It will be a pretty chill couple of days...we'll post our next blog soon! Until then...don't forget to comment on Hungry's blog if you liked it!!
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Lauren
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I love Sherpa's future husband
And I loved Hungry's blog..... My computer was acting up so I wasn't able to write anything........ I love you Humgry!!!!