Hue to Hoi An - Saturday

Our last night in Hue we caught the shuttle into town and spent an hour or so shopping before all meeting at another of Kylee’s choices of restaurant – this time one specialising in European and Vietnamese food – the owner is an Frenchman married to a Vietnamese woman. I went for a very simple meal, fried vegetables with garlic and steamed rice. Just what I needed really – no meat. And this meal again washed down with a local beer and finished off with Bananas in batter with ice-cream.


Hue is much quieter than Hanoi, although the vendors are as persistent as everywhere else. I decided Ii wanted to bring home a ceramic tea set, but couldn’t work out how I was going to carry it for the rest of the holiday – might look for one in Saigon. Bought a wrap – there are just so many to choose from and the colours are just superb. This one lilac with a little light embroidery on it. But I want to save the bulk of my clothes shopping till I get to Hoi An. Took some photos of some styles I might like to get made and again the fabrics and styles are amazing.

We caught the shuttle back to the hotel and got set for the early start today.

Up at the crack of dawn, posted my blogs, checked out what was happening in the news at home and had my bags packed all ready for the bellboy to collect before heading over to the restaurant for one last breakfast here. Again my little girl was waiting for me, and showed me to my seat. She removed all the cutlery and crockery from my table and returned with fresh ones – much to the amazement of my travelling companions. She then asked if I wanted the same as yesterday, but I thought I might try one of the omelettes this morning. She escorted me over to the chef – instructed him to wash the frying pan and he then cracked a couple of eggs into the bowl and started adding the ham and tomato. She asked him something – growled at him and made him put the mix aside – she took another bowl out to the kitchen, washed it, dried it and brought it back to him and got him to start all over again. She watched him like a hawk as he made my omelette, then she went out to the kitchen and brought a fresh plate and cutlery and carried it to the table for me. She asked me if I wanted toast and butter, and told me to please be seated and she would bring it for me. My companions laughed and told me not to strain myself buttering my toast. She then went off to get my fruit for me – mango, pineapple and passion fruit and some other citrus fruit, a little like an orange but very light in colour , sweet but not like an orange. Had a funny name which I cannot remember.

I had a photo taken with this delightful young lady who told me she was 25 years old, the oldest of five children and had been working at the Pilgrimage for 1 year. She is single and lives at home to help support her parents and younger siblings. I wished that I could pack her in my suitcase and take her home with me. She was just so lovely.

And so to the bus for the trip to Hoi An. Through rice growing areas, up and over a couple of passes, travelling along the coast. A stop at a market to see where the local women do their shopping. It was almost enough to put you off meat and fish for life I reckon – all out in the open in the heat. We wondered if the local restaurants buy the food from the same markets, none of us dared to ask as we have lots more meals to eat yet

We stopped at the top of the pass to take photos, visit the bunkers (used by the French and then by the Americans) and then down to Da Nang where we stopped to buy a picnic lunch – bread rolls filled with cheese, bacon, and an assortment of green bits and a stick of cucumber. We took our lunch with us and stopped at China Beach to eat it – we actually sat in the bus, because if we had sat on the beach we would have been expected to hire deck chairs. The beach is beautiful and we had a paddle in the water which was beautiful and warm. After our short stop, we travelled along the coast road which is being developed with huge big holiday and apartment complexes. Our guide Van told us that if we come back in five years time, we will not recognise the place. She also said that it was very different now to the China Beach area enjoyed by the soldiers during the American War. On one side of the road was the remains of the American Base, and on the other side these huge complexes – such a contrast. One more stop along the way, this time at the marble factory. Marble Mountain was one of the important landmarks (and I think battle sites) of the American War – I will have to look it up later and see what it was all about, as I don’t remember that name from my history reading. The marble statues were magnificent, and not hellishly expensive and I succumbed! I bought and am having shipped home a beautiful Lady Budha. She will bring me peace and harmony and happiness and I think prosperity as well – well I hope she will!

We arrived at Hoi An mid-afternoon and Van took us on an orientation walking tour of the old city. What a beautiful place. So quiet, so much cleaner and tidier than both Hue and Hanoi – and the shopping. We visited a couple of beautiful silk places – one even had the silk worms working for us to see the whole process from worm to garment. We saw another place full of absolutely exquisite silk embroidery – the girls sitting all day embroidering from a small picture and producing these amazing pieces of art. It takes a girl up to three months to make one piece. A couple of Chinese temples, a Japanese Bridge and then we were introduced to two very fine tailors who will make our clothes for us and a shoe maker who will make our shoes – and yes they will even make big sizes like mine. Oh what a busy afternoon I am going to have tomorrow. Where to start??????

Handbags, coats, suits, ties, you name it you can have it made here, and the prices sound pretty good.

And finally this weary bunch of women were delivered to the Hoi An Riverside Resort and Spa. Another lovely hotel. How nice it was to walk into our airconditioned room and have a lovely shower and a wee rest and a read, before heading down for dinner.

Time for a cocktail first – my choice tonight a Sweet Angel. Fresh processed pineapple juice, a banana, coconut cream and a dash of a secret ingredient (looked like a sugar syrup to me) all whizzed together in a blender with lots of ice. Very yummy, very creamy.

Dinner – another huge selection with a course of beef, pork and rice, some vegetables and then an unusual dessert – they called it Pumpkin Soup but it was in fact a mousse of some sort – probably had a pumpkin base. None of us could actually identify the other flavours in it, it was rather nice. The others of course had had a much different menu, and theirs looked as interesting as ours with lots of seafood, or dishes using fish sauce.

Another busy day ahead of us tomorrow – seven of us are going to My Son (pronounced something like Mishon) – a half day tour, and the others will go off and do their own thing, and we will all meet up at 5.00pm for the cooking class. And as it is now 11.03 it is probably time I posted this and got myself some sleep.