14/05/2023 From Nha Trang to Hoi An
Getting creative
After the first two bus trips in Vietnam that were rather uncomfortable, we decided to get a bit more creative with our means of transportation. That is why we cycled from Da Lat to Nha Trang. This time we took the train to our next destination Hoi An.
A train ride to Hoi An
When I traveled around Vietnam in 2015, Hoi an was my favorite place in Vietnam. So I was quite excited to be back. What I wasn’t excited about was getting up at 3 a.m. for our 4 a.m. train ride. For once, we arrived early at the station (I guess you are on auto pilot if you have to get up in the middle of the night). However, our train was an hour late!
We had booked two beds in a four bedroom cabin inside the train. I do like those cabins I must admit. After the conductor had changed our bed sheets, we climbed into our bunk bed, tucked ourselves in to get as little cold air from the AC as possible and then went back to sleep.
Ten hours later we arrived in Da Nang, where we took a taxi for the last 40 minutes to our final destination Hoi An.
What to expect
Hoi An
By the time we got to Hoi An it was already late afternoon. So we rented a scooter and drove to the beach for an early dinner.
Go to the beach
I didn’t tell Blake upfront about my “plan”, when I took him to a vegan restaurant deliberately. There are always healthy and very tasty options on a vegan menu (I’m talking buddha bowls). But as soon as Blake finds out there is no meat on the menu, he resists going.
This time I took his own statement to heart: “Better ask for forgiveness than for permission”. The food was amazing and the views over the ocean in the front row of the beach were stunning – even Blake had to admit that.
Walk around the old town
Next we drove to Hoi An’s old town. The old town is beautiful with its colourful houses, bright lanterns a river running through the middle of town.
Visit the night market
We walked over the night market that had a lot of souvenirs and food stands to offer.
The bars along the river were all packed with backpackers and Blake remembered “the good old times” when he partied here with other 20-year-olds.
15/05/2023 Hoi An
Go on your own coffee tour
Hoi An is pretty intense when it comes to coffee. You can try salt coffee, egg coffee, coconut coffee, coffee inside ice cubes with hot milk or charcoal coffee. And we tried them all!
We went to three different cafés:
They were all unique and cute in their own way.
Do a free walking tour
Buzzed from too much caffeine we were ready for a walking tour. On the tour we went to different markets, bridges, temples, houses and ended in a little theater where we watched a Vietnamese performance. My highlight was definitely the AC inside the theatre as it was again almost 40°C with very high humidity outside!
Try some white rose dumplings
For dinner we went to “Miss Ly Café” to try the famous white rose that Hoi An is known for.
Bánh bao bánh vạc (also called white rose dumplings) are a regional specialty of Vietnamese cuisine peculiar to Hội An. The rice paper is translucent and wrapped to resemble a flower shape (the origin of the name “white rose”). Said to be made with water from a certain well in Hội An, this dumpling is not found anywhere else. The filling is prepared with a mix of shrimp, mushrooms, bean sprouts and spring onions. The dough is made by mixing rice flour with water and pounding the mixture in a mortar. The preparation of the dough is a family secret.”
wikipedia.org
Take a romantic boat trip
Afterwards we walked over the night market once again and bought some colourful lanterns as souvenirs. Now we have absolutely no idea how they would fit into our backpacks, but in that moment it had made sense.
In the end we took a boat ride over the river surrounded by more lanterns, which was really nice (and also really touristy, but we did not care).
Try a craft beer
To finish the night we had a drink away from the busy tourist street close to the water. Instead, we chose a bar that served craft beers and tasty cocktails in a quiet bar in a side street. We both had to chuckle because on our last Vietnam trip eight years ago, you would have definitely found us in one of the busy backpacker bars. Blake does not want to admit it, but times might have changed a little bit, even for him…
16/05/2023 Hoi An
I was really really excited for today’s activity and that usually means one thing: food!
Join a cooking class
Today we were joining a Vietnamese cooking class that a girl who we had met on the canyoning trip in Da Lat had recommended to us.
It is a family-run business and the woman named Huynh (my age) learned speaking English from tourists in order to pursue a better life for herself and her family.
An authentic start at the local market
In the morning we all went to the dry market to buy some veggies, tofu and fruits for today’s cooking event. Huynh also showed us some vegetables that we had never seen before. Furthermore, she explained to us what Vietnamese people use the different ingredients for (lots of it is also used as medicine).
Next, we went to the wet market next to the dry market, which included a lot of bloody fish heads, whole chickens, parts of pigs and a lot of other dead animals that even Blake wouldn’t eat (which says a lot). Let’s just say it was “interesting”.
Let’s catch some fish
After buying the groceries from the local market, we went on a little fishing tour and sat down in some small round fisherman baskets. With a self-built net that the fisherman was holding up with his toe, we caught a few tiny fish. Furthermore, we caught some crabs with another fishing line. Luckily, we released everything we had caught into the water again afterwards.
So-much-food!
Once we arrived at the cooking class which is also where Huynh and her family live, we used an old traditional grinder to make rice milk, which we used for the Vietnamese pancakes later.
In the next few hours we also learned how to make:
- spring rolls and rice paper rolls
- the sauce for a fish which we grilled on an old stone grill wrapped in banana leaves
- a mango-papaya-banana flower salad with shrimps
- Vietnamese pancakes
- a swan out of a tomato as a decoration
My favourite dessert
And after eating all of this, we got surprised by my absolute favourite dessert: mango sticky rice!
This time the sticky rice was purple and wrapped inside a fried banana and it was all covered in coconut milk and tasted like heaven! Not that we needed to eat that after all those other delicious dishes. But this is obviously not the point here 😉.
Such an authentic (and tasty) experience
This was definitely such an amazing experience and for me, it was the tastiest, freshest and healthiest food (minus the dessert) that we have had in Vietnam so far. If you are going to Hoi An and you would like to do a cooking class while you’re there, feel free to ask me for her details!
Get some clothes tailored
Who thought it would be a good idea to get our clothes tailored and measurements taken AFTER a cooking class and after eating four courses?! I do not remember. But after we rolled out of the cooking class, we rolled right into one of the many tailor shops in the old town.
The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ancient Town of Hoi An is filled with tailors, a tradition resulting from its past as a trading port on the silk route. Tailor shops here are so plentiful that it can get overwhelming trying to choose one that fits your taste.”
theculturetrip.com
To be honest the amount of styles, colours and designs were a bit overwhelming for me. So after scrolling through pinterest of an iPad from the shop for half an hour, we ended up leaving the shop with no new clothes for us. It wasn’t meant to be (or maybe I just wasn’t prepared enough – very unlikely for a German planner like me).
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