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Today was quite possibly my favorite day so far. After a lovely breakfast on the bank of the Bon river, we met our guide Le. The best way to get around Hoi An is definitely by bike, as cars are not permitted in the narrow streets of the city center.
Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is such an eclectic mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese culture. Our first stop was a Chinese Assembly hall. Afterwards we saw a traditional Vietnamese performance with music, dancing, and singing(we will upload videos). Also in the performance was an interpretative dance that told the story of one of Vietnam's most famous myths(still not sure what it meant-but there were definitely dragons involved haha).
We visited the museum of national history and culture where we saw many artifacts from the ancient city along with photographs of many of Hoi An's famous sites before moving on to the private home of Diep Dong Nguyen.
Our lunch today was my favorite so far(besides our lunch at Jumbo in Hong Kong). All of our meals are so large with 4 to 5 courses, a big difference from the grab-and-go lunch that Molly and I are used to having at home. As many of you know I am not the most adventurous eater, but this trip has definitely helped me to expand my "food horizons". I think the best dishes from today were the egg soup, papaya and noodle salad with rice crackers, and a pork cutlet that we put in lettuce and then wrapped with rice paper before dipping into a sweet peanut sauce. Every once and a while we can find this great Vietnamese Tiger beer, we love it (still no comparison to my Sweetwater 420).
Le's sister is a dress maker, so he took us to her shop to take a look around. We were able to get on the internet and pick out ANY dress we liked and she could make it for us(don't worry, dad, we didn't go too crazy haha). After getting measured, we went upstairs to pick out our fabrics and will go back tomorrow for our first fitting. The whole experience made us feel like models/celebrities, it was so much fun!
Although our tour was over, Le offered to take us on a quick ride through the countryside to see how people live outside of the city center. The quick tour ended up being almost 25km, but it was well worth it. Le took us in the back of shops and into private homes to see how bread, noodles(they sell 4kg for 1 USD), and rice are made. Everyone was very welcoming and open to showing us the process(having a translator was essential!) We met this lovely 87 year old woman who took us into her outdoor kitchen and showed us how she made rice by first cooking it into a paste and then compressing the starch with large stones.
We continued on our bike ride over picturesque bridges and down dirt roads through lush rice fields. As it turns out, neither of us are that coordinated, so after a few "almost" crashes we started to pull over to take pictures. Late in the afternoon we had a short conversation with a woman that will be etched in my mind for as long as I live. As she sat weaving together large leaves to sell as roof covering, she excitedly told us that she could make 100 per day and make up to 8 USD. This really broke my heart and I had to walk away for a moment. Afterwards Molly and I were talking about how visiting here really puts things in perspective for us. Although we recognize that we are extremely blessed, the sentiment truly sinks in when you see it first hand.
After passing people herding ducks and riding water buffalo, we finally arrived at the fishing village. Colorful boats were tied to the pier with the fishermen chatting and cleaning the day's catch-what a sight! Le then took us to "the end of the world" where we looked out across the ocean. We asked a nearby man to take a picture of the three of us, but he very intentionally cut Le out of the photo to focus on Molly and I (as Le says "I think he had too much happy water")
One thing that has really surprised me is how nice all of the locals have been to us, everyone is constantly shouting "hello" to us(especially the children).
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