Hoi An - ancient town tour

On the Wednesday, after breakfast, we checked out of the lovely Green Haven Resort Hotel, put our luggage in the minibus, and embarked on the next part of the guided tour - a walking tour of Hoi An, Ancient Town.  This started at the silk factory/workshop and we observed the silkworms munching the mulberry leaves, and the pupal sacs being boiled to release the silk strands (and kill the developing silkworm larvae inside), and the silk strands being spun and woven, and it dawned on us that aside from being educational, here was where the tourists are encouraged to hand over the cash - ker-ching!

silkworms munching mulberry leaves... yum yum

silkworm pupal sacs are either yellow or white, these are yellow...

weaving the silk yarn

in the workshop

 They had a bespoke tailor area where you could be 'made to measure' in 24hours, and they also produced hand sewn silk 'paintings', which varied in size and content.  Some of the designs were quite traditional scenes, others were photo-quality portraiture in black and white (and all shades of grey inbetween), amazing really.  These were painstakingly sewn by hand, and could take up to 3 months to produce 1 item.  The quality of workmanship (workwomanship?) was superb, but we didn't purchase as none of the designs would have worked in our house.

get made to measure here

get your lantern here...

get your wood carving here...

get your wood inlay here (actually we got one of these)

We meandered the streets of Hoi An, in the increasing warmth of the morning - it didn't take long for the heat to soar past 30 degrees... and it was only 10.30am.  Crikey.  Luckily, the next stop on the tour was the Ancient House.

We learned that this house was over 300 years old, had Japanese and Chinese architectural influences/designs and had been built to cope with the regular flooding in the area by ensuring the structural supports were on raised stonework to prevent rotting.  The professional guide also told us that the same family had been in the house for 8 generations, and still lived there.   There was more opportunity to buy various silk fabric items, hand embroidered tablecloths and other trinkets.

The Japanese Bridge had been built by the Japanese and had a private chapel on the side.  At either end of the bridge were protective animals (a monkey and a dog) who were prepared to listen to your secrets or wishes for a fee.  The bridge had been boarded at either end to prevent wear and tear from motorbikes - conservation is important the world over.

view from the Japanese Bridge, Hoi An

Tom telling the Japanese Bridge Dog about his wishes.... (a PS4, perhaps?)

Pagoda

We then came to the Pagoda.  Which was as you imagine the cliches of the 'orient' or S.E. Asia to be, with the addition of a lot of hot white tourists wearing the typical Vietnamese 'conica' hats - they do give you a great shade protection on your face and the back of your neck.

amazing colour combinations... and massive incense coils!

Leaving the Pagoda we walked along the streets of the ancient town, and the Vietnamese wires got me again...

Tourists on the streets of Hoi An

Locals on the streets of  Hoi An

Leaving Hoi An

We had lunch al-fresco, by the river in a smart restaurant, and then our minibus collected us and took us to the airport for our flight to Hanoi.

Arriving in Hanoi after another short (1hr 30min) flight at around 5pm that evening we noticed a distinct drop in temperature.  Hanoi being in the north of the country has 4 seasons, and the spring temperature we arrived to was 19 degrees centigrade.  A very welcome change from the sweltering heat of Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An!

Another guide, another driver, and yet another restaurant set meal and we were taken to our hotel.  We went to bed early as the next day was our visit to Bac Giang province to meet our sponsored child.

More about that next time.

Kat.

Hoi An - The cookery lesson!

 The next time you plan to visit another country and have an adventure, such as the one we had, I would highly recommend you consider including a Cookery Lesson in the itinerary.  A friend had suggested it to my husband when the trip was mooted, and a jolly good idea it turned out to be.

After the tour of the food markets in Hoi An town, we were taken on a 20 minute boat ride up the Hoi An River to the Red Bridge Cookery School.  This was treat in itself, as the river breeze was a welcome relief from the heat of the afternoon.  Water bottles were dispensed from the cool box on board and off we went.

Our boat, like many tourist boats, had a roof which gave some very welcome shade.  The river had some interesting sights itself...

can't make out what it is s/he's got on his boat...

our Captain asked Tom if he'd like a go.... what fun when you're 9 years old!

umm, off to market?

this is where the teenagers hang out, something's caught their eyes

Once we'd left the main part of the town behind, the river became more river-like, and a little further on we turned left up a tributary or some branch of the system.  This part of the waterways was more tranquil, and obviously a good spot to do a little fishing...

Whilst the river trip was enjoyable, before long we'd arrived at

Red Bridge Cookery School Hoi An

Our guide, Tan, excused herself whilst we were given welcome drinks.  A short while later she appeared, having changed into her chef whites, and the lesson proper was about to begin.

First of all we were taken on a tour of the school's herb garden.  Tan told us about the herbs, which foods they would flavour, and picked us leaves from this and that for us to smell.  She then took us to the school-house / cookery room.

 This being a tropical country, the need for walls is negligible....  and actually very practical!

 Tan had several assistants, who helped with the food preparation and the equipment preparation as well, and even better than when I was at school (with Mrs Pickering at Notre Dame, umm around 1979/1980) the assistants also did the washing up.

We were in the fortunate position of having a 'private' cookery lesson, in that our party of 8 was large enough.  Tan said some of the regular lessons could have up to 20 participants.  Note the mirror above the demonstration area - for the larger classes to see what's happening.

Taking photographs wasn't easy during the lesson - there was so much to pay attention to, and I like my cooking and wanted to learn.  The first thing we made was rice paper rolls - we made the rice paper for the wraps ourselves, the filling was ready prepared.  What we made, we ate...

 There are some vegetables ready for prep on the table in front of the children - I wish I'd bought one of those gadgets - they were used to julienne the carrots - seemed to do it really easily.

Shrimp salad in pineapple boat - ingredients/flavourings

Whilst our Vietnamese Egg-Plant in Clay Pot was cooking, Tan showed us how to do vegetable decorations, she talked us through this tomato rose with cucumber fan, and said we should do the same....

Tan - professional chef

Me  (Cookery O-Level 'A' grade 1981)

Phoebe

'E' - had to hold her rose together

Simon - apparently he has hidden talents in the vegetable carving department!

Tom was a little out of his depth in the lessons.  The stoves were too hot, the knives either too sharp or not sharp enough, and as for knife/carving skills, I'd be happy if he used them properly at the table, never mind let loose in the kitchen....

We were then invited to eat the meal we'd cooked in the restaurant area before taking the boat back to Hoi An.  Tom was determined to fit in a quick swim before we left...

It was past 6.30pm by the time we left, and starting to go dark, as it always did in the tropics...

On the return journey we spotted people fishing - we think they were catching shrimp/prawns by hand.  It looked timeless, and certainly a good way to cool down at the end of a hot day..

in front of the Red Bridge Restaurant

 On the return journey down to Hoi An, around 6.30pm

It only takes 20 minutes for the sun to set...

How much electricity were they using?

Back in Hoi An, hot and tired, we headed back to the hotel so the children could cool down in the pool.  Hoi An is somewhat touristy, and we didn't feel the need to divert the children into spending money on trinkets and such like.  Although we did stop and let them get henna tattoos - which faded too quickly having then gone in the pool immediately after.  You live and learn... or maybe you don't.

So we arrived back to our Green Heaven, after an amazing day in Hoi An.  Tomorrow we tour Hoi An ancient town before flying North to Hanoi for the next part of the trip.

Night y'all.  Kat

Vietnam - Hoi An markets

Tuesday 7th April and we packed and said goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City.  We flew to Danang, and transferred to Hoi An - an ancient trading town and Unesco World Heritage Site, listed since 1999:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/948.

We stayed at the lovely 'Green Heaven Resort' hotel, and it was lovely.  Unfortunately for us our itinerary only had us staying one night here, which was a shame, it would have been ideal to stay another night.

our two children enjoyed having the pick of three beds in their room!

the lovely pool - which the children enjoyed that evening and I enjoyed the next morning at 7.15am!

We dropped our bags in our rooms, freshened up, and then met our new guide - Phong.  He took us to the cookery school where we'd signed up for a private cookery class.  The Red Bridge Cookery School  http://www.visithoian.com/redbridge/  runs classes year round, but if you're travelling independently you'll join a class of up to 20 participants.  We were a group of 8, which made for an indulgent and very enjoyable experience.

signs to catch the independent traveller - laundry and motorbikes!

crossing over to Hoi An - ancient town

Our guide and tutor was called Tan.  She met us in their cafe in Hoi An town and proceeded to conduct us on a tour of the food markets.  However, this was mid-afternoon by now, and the hum of the markets had died down somewhat in the heat of the day.  The markets are at their busiest and freshest at 4am-5am, so that may be something to consider if you're tempted to go yourself...

ancient town roof tiles, and wires!

the start of the food halls....

the first hall was full of independent stalls which you could sit and eat at, or take away, this one does Vietnamese omelettes...

our food hygiene inspectors would probably close the place down...

We passed the fruit and vegetable and sundries market stalls next...

it took me a while to work out that this noodle stall-holder was having a siesta

Tan, showing us some coconuts

Tan took us to the meat market, which having no refrigeration was past its best.  The animals are slaughtered at 3am, butchered and ready for sale at 4am.  By the time we got there the prices had come down, but the meat smelled quite high....

inside the meat halls

I'd love know how old this meat hall lady was

nicely displayed veg stall - very colourful and no prices

how many eggs?

The smell in the fish market wasn't much better than the meat halls.  At least the cool tile surfaces were put to good use here - the stallholders were mostly napping at this time of the day.

prawns and stallholder with some money - she doesn't look too thrilled by it

of course you ride your scooter IN the market hall

I counted 5 stallholders having a nap...

yes, durian fruit (pooey smell), dragon fruit (red spikey cricket ball sized ones near the lady, yum, white inside with lots of black dots for seeds, Phoebe didn't think they were real, was certain they were Photoshopped!) and can't remember the small red spikey ones at the front - a bit like lychee

We got to the boat to take us up river to the cookery school at around 3pm.  It had been another intense sensory experience thus far, with LOTS to see, lots to smell, different sounds, and the hot hot hot weather - about 34 centigrade.  The boat ride was a welcome interlude before the cookery lesson began.

Will continue with that next time - as work tomorrow, and I'm creaky from spending Bank Holiday Monday in the garden  :)

Kat.