Anyone for Morning Glory??

Thursday 22nd.

Now we're cooking! We are again up early to be at Morning Glory Restaurant for our market tour and cooking class. Didn’t catch the guide’s name but he took us to the local market in town, not the one Ngoc took us to the other day. Showed us all sorts of fruit and veg, spices in their raw form which was interesting to see, then we walked through the wet market. Saw skinned frogs, and Brenda’s right, once something has been seen, it can’t be ‘unseen’. It’s raining again today and it looks as though it might be going to set in. Well, it is the start of the wet season in these parts. There is a lady in the group with us who will come to be know to us as 'Hoi An lady', a woman from Melbourne visiting Vietnam with her family and when we see her kids, I realise how much I have seen them around town. They were at Mermaid Restaurant the same time as us and it turns out they are staying at the Hoi An Historic with us too.

"Hoi An lady" with Carolyn and I at the cooking class.

Once the tour was complete, we walked back to Morning Glory and upstairs to meet the delightful Miss Loi who will be our teacher for the morning. She is a real sweetie. The set up for the class is really good and if we can’t see what she is doing there is an overhead mirror. She demonstrates, then we cook, cabbage soup which sounded very ordinary but tasted lovely. This dish is used as a guide by the man’s mother to check to see if the prospective daughter-in-law is capable of looking after her son. Little bundles of shrimp mousse wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves really set this dish apart from what we imagine the soup will be like.

don't talk with your mouth full

We eat everything we cook and there are 5 dishes all up, summer rolls, char-grilled chicken, green mango salad, banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancakes) which are my favourite.  Again, worth the money. I try to find the Hoi An chilli sauce when the class is finished but no luck. We pick up the last of our tailoring and say our goodbyes to Na, Kim and Anh. I buy some metal julienne shredders from Anh and she is very happy that I finally buy something from her. We have had so much fun talking to these girls, especially Kim who acted as Trevor’s minder on the first day we went to the Cloth Market for tailoring. He told her his name was Joe, so we all have to remember that is his ‘name’. 

The thing that Anke and I have both noticed today is the mood of the stall holders. Our theory is that they are very subdued because the rain is setting in. They aren’t all calling out to us and their main concern for the day is keeping dry. Even the ones in proper shops aren’t calling to us as loudly or as often.

Gorgeous Hoi An. Love this place!

Even though it was raining it is still hot and I was determined to go for a swim. The water in the pool was actually cool due to the lack of sunshine heating it up. Lovely! Bob and Anke had jumped on the hotel’s shuttle bus out to the Hoi An Beach Resort, our sister hotel in Hoi An. They said the beach was very long and the surf was rough, again due to the weather here. Trevor and I got together with the princesses for a sundowner and to chat about dinner tonight and Saigon tomorrow. The princesses decided they were too, too tired to go back out so were going to have room service (again…). When Bob and Anke got back from the beach we made plans to go find ‘Chips and Fish’ over on the Islet, taking some night shots along the way.  It’s over the footbridge across the river near the Japanese Bridge, then turn left and walk to the end. A big sign says “Hoi An Eating and Drinking area”. Chips and Fish is on the other corner. We all found something that appealed so in we went. B & A had chips and fish and we had Cau Lau with pork, a big bowl for 25,000 each. Hopefully we got some pretty night pics. Looks like it when I looked at them on the laptop screen. OK, I looked and it seems like we got some good ones.

the eyes on the boats are to keep the crocs away and they work

No need to get up early tomorrow, we are off to Saigon, pick up at 11am, so all we have to do is eat breakfast and pack. If it’s not raining I might go and try to find the well where they get the water to make the Cao Lau noodles.

Photography tour

Wednesday 21st: We are not used to getting up at 4.45am, it’s still dark! But as the day unfolds, we realise that it is SO worth it!! Etienne is a French ex-pat who has a wife and 6 month old boy and has established a business for himself after deciding this is where he wants to live.  He is a photographer who realised he spent a lot of time giving photography advice to tourists in Hoi An, so that’s how he found his niche. He had $600 or $800 left in the bank, he set $80 aside for living expenses for a month and spent the rest on a website and flyers for his business which he stood on the street and handed out. Now he runs a sunrise and sunset tour 3 times a week and does a bit of other photography work on the side.

the sun is barely up!

So he picks us up at 4.45 and we pick up a few more on the way to the river to catch the local ferry across to the other side. We stand on the open deck with nothing to hold onto and brace with feet apart for the bumping into the dock when we arrive. All survive unscathed. Before the ferry (term used loosely) departed we had a glimpse of sunrise through the clouds. There had been a thunderstorm during the night and it was still sprinkling rain and was overcast which helped keep the heat down. Etienne explained a lot about different settings on our cameras and different things to experiment with, lighting and composition. It didn’t matter what level of experience we had or what sort of camera we had, we were all treated the same.

We went to the fishing village to watch the fishing boats come in after their night of fishing. Stand back! Don’t get in the way of the fish women who come to the dock to buy the fish. Etienne says you can fight with anyone, anytime, no worries, but never fight with the fish women!! Etienne has built up a good relationship with a lot of the villagers and they don’t mind us taking pictures of them. He pays some of the very poorest, and refuses to give money to a bloke who he says will only go buy rice wine and get blind. He gives money to the little old lady who waits around for someone to drop a fish on the ground and not notice – that’s her food for the day…….. very confronting and very sad to think this is how people live.

my favourite lady

It’s quite light now and we are getting a bit hungry so we head to the equivalent of a café for coffee. On the way, there is a ‘sandwich’ stand, and Etienne asks if we want one. Everyone does so he orders 10, some with chilli, some without. They are a fresh, crunchy baguette, stuffed with assorted meats, and goodness knows what else! Delicious!! Coffee is a different story. So was the Lipton tea…. I should have stuck with the lemon juice.

smelly.... now we know where fish sauce comes from

There are puddles everywhere from the rain and it’s an interesting walk along the dirt road to the  place where they make fish sauce, dodging motorbikes and pushbikes while keeping on dry ground. The smell at the fish sauce was overpowering, it was certainly the place you could find by following your nose, but after while you get used to it. It’s an interesting process, probably more information than we needed, and Carolyn says she will never eat it again! Still more photo opportunities here too. After the fish sauce we visited the cake lady. She makes hundreds of little cakes each morning. She used to get up at 3am when she had a wood stove, but now with modern technology, she gets up at 5am! She has a big pic of the Sydney Opera House on her wall. Apparently they love it over here! Who knew??

Going round in a loop we arrive back at the riverside for a few more pics before heading back for the return ferry. There’s a lot more crowded onto this one, so we don’t have as much room as we Aussies like. There are pushbikes waiting for us when we get back to ride into town, 5k away, which is quite a nice ride along the river till we hit the main road, then it got scary, even though it was still early in the day. No photos here – both hands held the handlebars in a death grip! Once we arrived back to the studio, Trevor and I went for a walk over to the Islet but then remembered we needed to be back at the tailors for picking up clothes, so we headed back to base. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur because we are so tired from our early start. I think it was lunch at Mermaid Restaurant, where they should be giving us frequent flyer points, then at some later time Brenda and I were there having a ggggiin sling. And we were back there with the whole gang for dinner. The waitress, Im, asked me what I would like to drink and I said ‘you tell me’ and she replied ‘gggiin sling’, which cracked the lot of us up.

It’s been raining on and off most of the day but regardless, the ‘Honeymooners’ and the ‘Princesses’ go for a walk round town before heading back and Trevor and I head home. I’m really tired.

Forgot to mention, the Swiss guys from Halong are at same hotel in Hoi An, they got the earlier flight from Hanoi because they didn't hang around on the boat eating lunch like we did. Must remember to tell the real Tina about that.

I went back to try on my shorts and they were terrible with no hope of redemption. Na will have to make another pair from scratch. She takes my measurements again and has a few snappy words with her offsider. Someone has made a mistake.........

Tuesday: No work, no food!!

Brenda has sold us into farm labour at the Tra Que Herb Village. Don't let the name fool you, growing herbs is hard work! The hoe was big and heavy, the sort you'd see working the street in Kings Cross... oh, no... sorry.... not that sort of hoe!! Back to the story. We were picked up from our hotel at 8.30am and taken to the local market - a world away from the tourist trap which is the Central Market in Hoi An. Ngoc, our guide, showed us lots of different fruit and veg and also took us through the wet market, not too bad early in the morning, but might get a bit wiffy later in the day.
A 4km drive saw us at the herb village where we had a short tour of the things they grow, how they are grown, and what they are good for. Then it was down to work.

dig, dig, dig

hard work

so glad I wore closed in shoes!

seaweed for fertiliser

Tina standing around looking beautiful......

Hoeing, carrying seaweed for fertiliser, digging it in, and generally preparing the bed for planting. Then we transplanted some small lemon basil plants, and Tina helped.

Next 'station' was the foot soaking and massage which was enjoyed by all. We found ourselves on the other end of the camera when a large group of tourists came through and started taking our photos. We all put our hands out and said 'one dolllaaaarrrr'!!

we became the attraction

Even Tina got a massage!

Watch the cook, be the cook, eat the food! Delicious!!

After that we headed inside to the cooking demo and lunch. The food was terrific and we didn't need much for dinner later on. We all agreed that this tour was well worth doing. Ngoc returned us to our hotel a bit after 1pm.
We just had a bit of time to freshen up before going to the cloth market for our fittings with Na, the tailor. The clothes she has made for us seem to be very good, so I ordered some more, which I need to go have fitted tomorrow. The women at the market are such good fun and we always have a good time talking to them and sharing a joke. Kim, who makes shoes is copying a handbag for me. It's a back-pack style, you'll know which one it is, and it's design amused her no end. I'm sure anyone visiting Hoi An in the next few days will see shops selling them for a good price.
A couple of Gin tonics and it was time for dinner. Carolyn and Brenda decided to stay in as they were a bit weary so Bob, Anke, Trevor and I headed off to the Mermaid Restaurant where we ate the other day. Bob was craving pizza and he was a happy boy after sharing one with Trevor and then a banana pancake for dessert. Anke and I had salads which was all we needed after our big lunch.
Some of us have a very early start tomorrow. Pick up at 4.45am to go on a sunrise photography tour to a fishing village.

We love Hoi An.

Our flight left Hanoi at 21.30 last night, so it was a very late arrival to The Hoi An Historic Hotel. Reception staff were very pleased to see us because it meant it was bedtime for them once we were sorted! We didn't see much of it last night but this morning we could see it properly and it is amazing! The pool looks very inviting.

Very slow start this morning, and first job on the agenda for Brenda was to go to Morning Glory (yes, that's right) Restaurant to pay a deposit for our market tour and cooking class. We headed down to town to see the tailors. We were coralled by a motorbike hawker to go "look my shop, 1 minute..."  Well, that was it. They had the fabrics I wanted (eventually) so I ordered a shirt and pants. Brenda turned up, probably coralled by the same hawker and ordered 2 shirts, a pair of pants and a pair of shorts. Fitting tomorrow and should be ready either later tomorrow or Wednesday. If she does a good job I might get another top. Shop 52 in the cloth market and her name was Wa (pronounced Na). While we were checking out the tailoring a very nice lady stood around giving us all shoulder massages. We should have realised what was going on...... once the deals were done, she pipes up "you come my shop, massage for you". How much?? $5 20 minute. ......Ok, let's go. It was lovely and might even go back and see her tomorrow.

We find out later that Anke found herself a tailor too and ordered some clothes. She went to Phuong at Thinh Lien shop at 8 Nguyen Thai Hoc St. We paid Phuong a visit as Anke had seen some fabric there that she thought Carolyn would like. I had another shirt made, Carolyn got shirt and pants and Brenda got something as well. She was a lovely lady and treated us a bit better than Na did. Na was a bit dismissive of us once she had us on the hook. 

It's actually very sad to see how few tourists there are here now. It's more noticeable here than it was in Hanoi, although the hawkers there told us numbers were down.

a very quiet Hoi An

Lunch at the Mermaid Restaurant opposite the Cloth Market and dinner at Streets Restaurant which trains up the poor local kids into hospitality jobs.

We spent some time talking to the women in the Hoi An market. Stand outs were Anh, a souvenir seller at shop 5, and Kim, a shoe maker at Phu Thien, shop 12.

            Streets Restaurant in Le Loi St

Hello Halong!

8am pick up from Maison d’Hanoi  for our road trip to Halong Bay on Saturday 17th. Our guide for this part of the tour is Joe, a lovely man who has made us laugh quite a lot. We will leave in 5 and a half minutes. He has been a very helpful and informative bloke. Note to self for next time: don't go to Halong Bay on the weekend - the traffic is heaps worse than during the week on the road out of town. Mr How is our driver and we ask Joe if he is a safe driver and Joe says 'I will tell you tomorrow when we get back to Hanoi'! And lunch will be in 35 and a half minutes.  Our boat belongs to the Bai Tho Group and is Halong Sails 89, at first glance seems safe, and as it turns out is. We take a tender out to our boat and are served the most amazing seafood lunch once we have cleared the main docking area and find a nice quiet patch. Joe tells us it is 5 and a half stars.

Our cruise companions include a couple of guys from Switzerland, 2 girls from Japan, a lady from France and another couple, not sure from where.

After lunch we go by tender to the Surprising Cave, Sung Sot Cave. Joe tells us about 600 and a half steps, some up some down, but mostly round and round. Carolyn and Brenda count the steps and tally 722! Joe says he will adjust his talk for next time. It is amazing that such caves exist out here, they made us all think of Jenolan caves. It was a fair haul up to the cave entry, but once inside it was a little bit up and down, but as Joe said mostly round and round. Would have loved to take the tripod in there with us, but didn’t realise we would have any use for it out here and have left it back in Hanoi. Just have to hope for the best. Back to the main boat for a short cruise to Titop Island where there will be 45 and a half minutes for "schwimming" and if anyone wants they can climb to the top and see the view. Well, much as I’d love a schwim, I HAVE to go to the top for the view. It was less steps, but straight up with a few landings on the way (in the heat) le puff, le pant………. It was SO worth the effort. Almost 180 degree view across the eastern side of the bay, not so good to the west as the sun was low in the sky, so very glarey. Once we got our breath back and took some great photos, we reluctantly headed back down, with just enough time for me to jump in the water and cool off.

Lots of scenery in Halong Bay

Worth climbing Titop for this!

By the time we got back to the Halong Sails, the sun was setting and while Joe said there was time for showers etc before dinner because dinner was in 35 and a half minutes, Trevor and I weren’t going to miss the sunset, so we headed up onto the roof deck and saw a very lovely sunset, and just when we thought it was finished, there were rays beaming across the sky in an amazing blue and gold. There was time before  dinner to adjourn to the top deck and take up positions on the sun lounges to watch the stars and chat about the journey so far. Dinner was 7.15pm and again, a seafood lover’s paradise. We were worried about Anke and her allergic reaction to seafood but she survived unscathed. A bunch of very tired travellers by now, so some had an early night, and we came back downstairs to check out what we hoped were some good photos from the day.  

Amazing.......

The plan was to get up for sunrise but it had been raining and was overcast, so we rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. No such luck, the boat was waking up and the crew had their jobs to do. When we did see the sun it didn’t compare to the sunset, so we’re glad to have stayed in bed! Breakfast scheduled for 7.15 but was ready a little earlier. Bacon, egg, toast, juice, tea/coffee, banana and some laughing cow cheese. Filled us up. No sooner finished than Joe tells us we have to go to see an open cave. It’s where the roof of the cave system collapses into the middle, leaving a ring of karst formation around the outside and a bay in the middle. In Thailand they call them a ‘hong’, don’t know what the name is for them in Vietnam. Once again back to the boat to pack up and be out of our cabin by 9.30, so the cleaning can commence for the next cruise. Early lunch today is the plan and back to Bai Chay wharf for disembarkation around midday. The lovely girl who has been our waitress is also the jewellery sales rep and when we come back to the main room, she is (again) showing her goods to Brenda, Carolyn and Anke in the hope that they’ve changed their mind from last night. I don’t think they have………… she goes away disappointed.

Lunch is another delightful meal, not so much seafood this time which worked out well. We were off the boat by 1200 and back on the road again. The trip back seemed a bit quicker, as it always does, despite 2 stops for 'happy house' and inspection of crafts with the opportunity to buy, of course. Joe has been an absolutely brilliant guide and if/when we come back we will be checking to see if he is available. Plus he gives a really good massage!

We’ve all decided that booking a twin room is definitely the way to go, as so far Brenda and Carolyn have scored bigger rooms than the doubles we others have had.

Found ourselves at the REAL 'Kangaroo Cafe' and had something to eat while we wait for our 7pm transfer to the airport for the flight to Danang for Hoi An.

Tina takes over

Hello everyone! Tina Tour Guide here, with my report from Hanoi, in the lovely north of Vietnam. Today I decided to get this group moving so first thing this morning, we hailed 2 taxis for a short ride to the Hanoi History Museum, as the group were foot weary after yesterday's wanderings in town. We tried to tell Bob the taxi he was going to get into was the 'wrong' sort, not Mai Lin or VinaSun, but the guy quoted him $5 US for the trip, so he was happy. The Mai Lin taxi we got in ticked up 30,000VND for the same trip, but we didn't tell Bob. I always enjoy this Museum and I think the group enjoyed it as well. As expected Anke found the jewellery displays, lucky there is CCTV protecting the treasures! When we finished there, we took a very short walk to the Hanoi Opera House and admired the architecture of this building and those nearby.

While sitting in the shade on the steps, a very shrewd business man (cyclo driver) offered us his services for one hour ride round the Old Quarter, which we didn't really need because that's where we walked our feet off yesterday. Bob commenced negotiations for a ride to see Uncle Ho's mausoleum, but the cyclo driver told us it was closed after 11am. So maybe we go to One Pillar Pagoda and the nearby gardens then over to Dong Xuan Market? How long? How much? One and a half hours $15USD per person/cyclo. !!!! Are you kidding me??!! That's double what the cyclo's out the front of our hotel wanted! Bob gave up in despair and Carolyn stepped in. Smiling and cajoling, she soon had him down to our price. He made some calls and out of nowhere more cyclos arrived and off we went. At a very leisurely pace, you see so much more and get closer to the everyday life of the locals.

Cyclo time

Once we arrived at the markets, we decided it would be too hard to stay together, so off we all went on our separate adventures. T & T weren't very interested in the markets so I suggested we follow a bit more of the Lonely Planet walking tour. So after finding a bar for a cold beer, we were off. It seemed much hotter today, no cooling rain shower, and after about an hour or so, we'd all had enough and headed home. We found a bit of interesting street food to sample. What looked like potato fries clumped together, battered and fried. Very tasty and only 15,000VND, so not even $1.

After we got back, we headed up to the roof as Bob had told us there was a bit of a view to be had. The lift only goes to the 10th floor, so we had 3 more to walk up. It's a different perspective and Brenda and Carolyn joined us up there too. Oh! Good news! Carolyn is ok after her brush with the motorbike yesterday and it looks like Brenda's bag has been found and should be delivered here by 8pm. Happy all round.

Hanoi rooftops

Off to Halong Bay tomorrow for an overnight boat trip.

First full day in Hanoi.

Tried to sleep in a bit today after such a long day yesterday, but it didn't really work. I'll sleep when I get home! Anke and Bob were up with the birds and walked down to the lake for an early coffee and watched the locals doing Tai Chi and playing badminton. Sounded so nice we have all decided to do it tomorrow. Brenda managed to buy a few bits and pieces to keep her going till her bag turns up (hopefully).

Ticket office for the water puppets didn't open till 1.15pm, so glad we didn't rush over there as early as we'd been told we had to. Got our tickets for the 5pm show, 1st class, 100,000VND pp.

Found a nice looking place to eat lunch, in Hang Be St called Lucky Restaurant, opposite Aubergine Restaurant. We'll be lucky if we're not sick later, the chicken was a bit pink around the bone, but it was lovely, and cheap! Had a feeling the weather was changing because the lady across the street kept looking up at the sky and within 5 minutes it was pouring. Very interesting to watch the plastic ponchos come out, even ones with a clear section over the handlebars of the motorbike so they can keep an eye on the speedo.

Our perch for lunch

The rain lasted a good half hour, just long enough for a leisurely lunch. It was getting late and we decided we had to fit something else in before the water puppets. History Museum was the plan but as we walked there we realised we wouldn't have time before the show so headed back, seriously browsing the shops along the way. We just had time for a coffee and we chose a place called the Whole Earth Restaurant. Carolyn and I headed towards it and as we were about 2 steps away from the far kerb a motor bike cut in between us and the kerb, just missing me but bumping Carolyn!! I still don't understand why the bloody idiot didn't go behind us! She was so lucky it was very low speed and wasn't knocked over, but it was the Coaster bus coming the other way that scared me. Carolyn spun around and could have ended up in any direction, but she was able to save herself, she's lucky she's fit. We were all stunned and realised how much worse it could have been. The guy on the motorbike asked was she ok and apologised, then took off. The people in the Whole Earth saw it all happen and also came over to make sure she was ok. Her arm was very sore after the water puppets, and I think she'll be a lot more sore generally tomorrow.

The water puppet show was very good, better than the one Trevor and I saw in Saigon a few years ago. The weather was holding so we headed off for a lap of the lake. Always so much going on here! Getting late by now and a little dark, so headed back to base to make plans for dinner. Bob and Anke decided they weren't hungry, so stayed in, not sure what Brenda and Carolyn did, and Trevor and I found the Gecko Restaurant just across the street from our hotel, so headed upstairs for some spring rolls and beer. So many stairs!! Up and up and up. Had the camera and tripod with us, so went back to the lake for some night shots, ended up doing another lap of the lake before heading 'home' to call it a night.

Lovely Hoan Kiem lake by night

Another day of drama. Hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful.