Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Today we had the morning to ourselves for a spot of retail therapy in the old town. Some of the others were considering getting our bikes early and cycling the 5 kms to the beach. Me? I had my heart set on a lie in with a leisurely breakfast, followed by a gentle mooch round the shops.
My lie in hopes died at about 8.30 along with the chambermaids cleaning the room next door. So up I got and trotted over to the restaurant for my brekkie. Some of the buffet items had run out, so I had a bit of fresh fruit and toast. The strawberry jam was almost set hard and the mixed fruit jam just ran off the knife, so I didn't really eat much at all
After the abortive breakfast I thought a trot around the shops was in order. I am really not very good at navigating my way around unknown towns, so I took the hotel's map and a pen and arrowed where I turned.
The market was in full flow, full of exotic looking fruit and vegetables. There were even some Durian fruit, which smell like a decomposing cadaver but apparently taste really nice. It makes you wonder who was the first brave soul to taste a fruit that smelled like a rotting corpse and why would they even consider it?
Moving on from there, I walked down a side street towards what was the main market. On the way there was an old lady with a few teeth grinning at me. I asked if I could take her photo and she nodded saying' One dollar!' I knew I didn't have any small notes and she knew she was being cheeky and was giggling like a schoolgirl. Then her friend came along and she told her that she was charging me a dollar and the two of them started cackling. I took her photo and then gave her a $5 bill and she nearly keeled over with excitement. Bless her!
I went into the main market where everything was for sale, not just food. The meat was so fresh it almost still had a pulse and the fish didn't have that awful fishy pong, it just smelled a bit like sea water. There were so many varieties, many that I hadn't seen before. I also spotted skinned frogs and enormous edible snails, none of which I fancied tasting.
From there I wandered around the streets and finally found a picture for my lounge which I had been hunting for. It seemed quite reasonable and she wrapped it all up so carefully that I have just popped it in my luggage as is.
I must have turned the wrong way out of the shops and was looking for the Japanese Pagoda bridge so I could get my bearings, when I heard my name. I turned round to see Celia, who proclaimed she was a bit lost and could we go back together and also look for some earrings for her Mum on the way. The shop assistant thought I was her Mum, so now Celia keeps calling me Mum all the time!
There is a tradition in Vietnam that if the first customer of the day actually buys something from you, then it will be a good day's trading. It pays to be first in the shop as they are anxious for a good day's takings, so they knock a fair bit off to ensure a sale!
There was no time or neccessity for lunch today as we were going cycling in the afternoon with an early dinner being prepared for us by a local family. So it seemed to be a natural progression to go and sit round the pool and consume a couple of beers and catch up on our reading, or in my case, this blog. I had got so far behind, I was almost forgetting what had happened and where we'd been.
1.45 pm and we were selecting our bikes. It's true what they say that you never forget how to ride a bike and after a couple of laps of the lily pond, I was ready to go. I did warn everyone that I was an accident waiting to happen and they just laughed. Little did they now how bad my track record was!
We set off along the roads mingling with other cyclists, mopeds, cars, and anything else that you could propel along the road. It is really a little bit like dicing with death when attempting to cross the road, especially whilst riding in such a wobbly fashion.
It wasn't long though until we were cycling along concreted paths in between the local people's allotments. Some of the sharp left and right turns were a bit tricky but I found if I accelerated around them I was more stable, just like driving a car around the racetrack! Half way down one of the paths there were a couple of cows and their calves, very sweet little babies. Martin and Rhonda stopped in front of me to take some photos and Celia, Chinn and I cycled on a bit further, then stopped as the remainder of our group had also stopped for a photo shoot as well..
I suddenly heard a shout and saw Lynette gliding gracefully into the dyke, camera raised up, like the Statue of Liberty's torch. She ended up with the water up to her neck. I never realised it was that deep!
Chinn was off running like Usain Bolt, shedding his flipflops with the first two strides. As I watched, one of the cows started to charge at him, he waved his arms and bopped it on the nose. He had to do this a couple of times to deter her, she was protecting her calf from what she perceived to be a threat.
Meanwhile Martin, Nam and Mirella were dragging poor Lynette out of the dyke. Mirella, a GP by profession, was the model of calm, as you would expect. Lynette was dripping from head to toe and smeared with smelly mud but bless her but she was determined to carry on.
It transpired that she had been taking a photo, she is the keenest photographer of us all, with a very expensive Nikon, hence the Statue of Liberty pose. The cow had taken exception to her, maybe because they had a similar hair colour, we ladies hate competition, then she charged her and butted her in the chest. This had upset Lynette's equilibrium and rather than fall head first and drink in God knows what with the dyke water, she opted to kind of half jump and half slide, feet first, into the water.
Chinn and Nam had their phones with them and they were wittering away in Vietnamese which sounds a bit like someone is gargling with lots of letter n's and g's especially and ' ow' ing a lot. So off we went again with our soggy Lynette in tow. A couple of turns later we all stopped again and Chinn took Lynette to knock on the door of one of the local people's houses. They had a full washing line and we had the impression that she was going to be taken in and given some fresh clothes, possibly off the washing line!
About 10 minutes later, out comes Lynette in her own freshly laundered clothes, showered and clean as a new pin. As luck would have it, this was the house where our laundry had been sent the day before! It was all still there waiting to be delivered to our hotel that evening.
They promised to launder her muddy ditch clothes and send them to our hotel next day. The house was occupied by the family who owned the laundry. The most elderly members of the family were Grandad, who was 93 and his young slip of a wife, who was 87 and completely toothless.
They came out to meet us, absolutely thrilled and showed us around their allotments. Grandad still did all his own planting and watering. He watered by using a watering can on either end of a long pole, carried across the shoulders, typical Chinese style. He took a shine to Celia as she managed to fill the cans and water his lettuces for him.
There was definitely love in his eyes, I think he wanted to marry her!! He looked every inch the elderly Chinese /Vietnamese gentleman, very slight, a little stooped and with a snowy white beard. They had been married 65 years.Without Lynette's David Attenborough moment we would never have met them. Kismet!!
Now all clean and dry, apart from her soggy shoes, we pressed on and soon arrived at our dinner date. The table was laid up and all food and drink was included in the cost of the trip ( $23). We started with some wonderful fresh fruit, the mango was unbelievable, nothing like the rubbish that our supermarkets sell. Also there were honey tangerines, watermelon, dragon fruit and Jack fruit.
The owner gave the fishy people some squid jerky, it smelled rank! Then it was noodles, pork and salad, with a chilli dipping sauce. I didn't eat very much as I was still respecting my delicate stomach. I think I have lost weight this holiday, probably more due to my gippy tummy than anything. We are given such huge portions of food, I very rarely eat all I have been given.
Dessert was quite disgusting! It was wrapped in banana leaves and tied up like a Christmas parcel. It was called Yin Yang cake, but not cake as we know it. One was white, signifying female, the other black, which was male. Both were a horrible lump of glutinous set jelly with coconut gunky stuff inside. I carefully wrapped mine up and did a Mr Bean with it, hiding it among the discarded banana leaves. I think I got away with it, as I was offered another one!
I'm sorry Lynette but I was secretly relieved that it wasn't me that fell in the dyke. I was all prepared for something to happen to me, as usual! I feel a little guilty that it wasn't me!
There was only about a 10 minute cycle ride left to the river bank where a boat was waiting to take us back to Hoi An. It had been a very dull, overcast day and as we chugged up the river, it was starting to spit with rain. We drew up to the back of Hoi An market, just as the market sellers were dismantling their stalls and the sun must have been setting, although we couldn't see it, because it was now really quite dark. Once again all the pretty little paper lanterns were lit, giving the town a real magical feel.
It was time now for all the others to go back for a fitting at the tailor shop. There was a bit of a mixed reception after the trying on. Some, like Paula were thrilled to bits, her trouser suit looked amazing and was a great fit. Mirella was less than thrilled and hers went back for some serious remaking. Martin's suit trousers were bugging him as they appeared to be a bit puckered at the back of one of the legs but Rhonda's dress looked amazing, just needing a couple of tweaks here and there. I am quite pleased I didn't bother. My body shape changes almost daily, so it would have been a waste of money really.
Yet another fitting tomorrow lunchtime. We leave the day after tomorrow in the morning, so they need to get it right by then . After the fittings we decided on a cuppa with a view of the river, before returning to the hotel. It felt as though it was really late, mostly due to the early dinner. It was actually only 7pm, so a few of us decided to frequent the bar for a nightcap. It was probably the earliest night I've had so far on this holiday, all tucked up in bed by 9.45pm. Anyway it was an earlier start in the morning, so I was happy to turn in early. My pillows are like rocks though, so sleep is a bit fitful.
- comments