We left at 715am and arrived at 500pm. We traveled from Cat Ba to Hoi An via Haiphong and Hanoi. The prolonged journey time was well worth the wait, as we were to discover the jewel that Hoi An is in Vietnam's crown.
Since I'm so far behind in my day by day entries, I'll just cover our time in Hoi An in one entry. Hands down, this was my favorite place to have seen in now, two visits to Vietnam. We experienced the nicest people and the best food during our two weeks in Vietnam.
Our first night was spent finding a place to stay and exploring the nightlife of the city. Hoi An is known for its cuisine and on the must eat list was Cao Lao and White Rose. Cao lao is a noodle dish with a special sauce, vegetables and rice paper chips. White rose reminded me of a shrimp siu mai with a sweet and tangy sauce drizzled over it. Our introduction to these Hoi An specialties proved great and then so did our new friends at the restaurant that we had this meal. The Vietnamese are very social, despite the typical language barrier. Our new friend "Bi" and her colleagues at the restaurant were great hosts. We enjoyed attempting to learn Vietnamese from them and I think they also got a kick out of chatting with us and sharing their local treats of dried watermelon seeds and corn in hot sauce.
Morning greeted us with sleeping in, sunshine and the best chocolate croissant I've ever had outside of Paris. This particular day we rented bikes and rode up and down the coast looking at the beach before finding a great recommended "locals" restaurant perched on the beach. Wow... another incredible meal! We feasted on fresh spring rolls with shrimp, clams stewed in lemon grass chili broth as well as steamed prawns in banana leaf. My Mom is right... food tastes extra good at the beach! We watched the afternoon fade away as the sun sank lower on the horizon as we luxuriated on the beach, beer in hand. The evening meal was had at "Cafe 43" a highly recommended dining option by guide books and travelers alike. We were actually a little leery, since we were trying to go for a more local and less touristy experience. We dined on their version of Cao Lao, Stuffed Squid with pork and chicken with chili and lemon grass. The squid was the star of the night. 30 Bia Hoi's later, we left with the feeling the place lived up to the hype. Friendly atmosphere, gracious hosts and cheap great food. Cafe 43 is a stop worth making.
The following day was a leisurely day. Well, more leisurely than all our other leisurely days. We slept in, had another nice breakfast by the pool and set out for the day around noon. This time, we traveled by foot and explored the old city of Hoi An. We dined on some good Ban My Thit (pork sandwiches). So good in fact, we had seconds. We wandered the market, had fun bargaining and continued to explore the old city. Cafe 43 was so good, we had dinner again on this night. But first, we stopped at a street restaurant for some Bun Thit (cold grilled pork noodle salad.) It seems as though we closed down Cafe 43 in the wee hours of the morning. I think the hint was the owner falling asleep in his PJs at a nearby table.
Road rash. That was the theme of the day. Another first for me on this trip was riding a moped. We intended on riding them out to My Son, to look at the ruins, but instead rode them up and down the beach, thanks to me. Why? Because in the first five minutes of riding the bike, I crashed it. In a busy intersection. With an audience. Yeah me! Okay... so I'm not a complete idiot. I was cut off by a dude on another moped who was making a left turn, from my right! So, there I went, crashing to the pavement for all to see. All I could think about was that there better not be a bus or truck behind me! Thank goodness, it was one of my buddies and I was not run over by an overloaded goods truck or a family on a moto. I did however, jump right back up, got out of the intersection and swallowed my pride. A witness in the cafe across the street came to my aid and helped me clean my wounds as we laughed and sipped on Cafe Fin. My knee down to the top of my foot was awash in road rash and minor gashes and scrapes. Thankfully, nothing worse. Though, as I write this, several days after the incident, I have some colorful bruising all over my leg! Oh well, it adds color. After a proper clean up and change of clothes, we set out, undaunted to explore the coast. We were also able to meet up with a buddy of mine who flies as a pilot at Vietnam Airlines who was in Danang for the day. We returned to our new favorite beach-side restaurant and had more great food. Not as great as the previous time, but cheap and good none the less.
That evening we dined at "Morning Glory" which is the restaurant owned by the same woman that owns the hotel we stayed at. It was our "splurge" meal for the trip, which included a bottle of wine and several dishes and it totaled $40 for three people. We feasted on shrimp mousse on sugar cane sticks, clay pot fish, spring rolls Hoi An style, fried tofu with chili jam, caramelized pork, Hoi An style Pho, duck breast and banana flower salad. Hands down, the best meal in Vietnam!
The next day found us leisurely waking to more breakfast by the pool, sorting out the details of our departure and the best Ban My ever! I think Anthony Bourdain dined at this food stall at the Hoi An market. It was incredible. Crunchy French bread, perfectly seasoned pork, fresh herbs, chili and pate make for an east meets west concoction that was out of this world! We bid adieu to Hoi An as we made our way to Danang where we boarded our train to Hue.
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