Yesterday we returned from the quaint town of Hoi An in central Vietnam. The old town is a World Heritage Site with streets of cafes and shops full of artwork and handicrafts. And tailors. Lots and lots of tailors! We definitely supported the local economy and bought our share of lacquerware, a quilted wall hanging, a t-shirt, refrigerator magnets and even a painting.
The cafes were delicious and cheap and the town just had a cool feel to it. Our favorite restaurant was Good Morning, Vietnam. They had excellent Italian food. Vietnamese food is delicious, but we can get it anytime we want. Getting good Italian food is not easy for us, so we ate there 3 times! Bring on the pasta, pizza and risotto!
We didn't need to have any clothes made, but the kids discovered that they could get shoes made. We're not talking patent leathers, we're talking whatever shoe is in fashion right now. Aidan was super excited about it all and had a tough time deciding what to have made. He finally chose a wicked pair of black and gray high-tops. Brenna designed a funky pair of slip-ons (like Vans) that are purple and green with peace signs embroidered on them! Aidan got his shoes less than 24 hours later, but they messed up Brenna's peace signs and actually made Mercedes-Benz signs instead! Waaah! They're going to deliver the shoes to Saigon within the next couple of days. We plan on returning to Hoi An during our winter break. I'm sure the kids will have a bunch of pictures of shoes to have made. The tailors also make jeans and whatever else you want, so I have a feeling that we'll hit a couple tailor shops as well!
When we first arrived, it downpoured for about 36 hours straight! We would wait for it to slow down and then run to the next shop. The water in the street was to our ankles at times. It was amazing how much water could fall from the sky! We still were able to walk around, but it wasn't very pleasant. We were much relieved when the weather changed on Monday and we hit the beach. (I didn't take too many pictures in the rain, but check out the one on the right.) The beach was nice, but the undertow was very strong. It was still a great day.
On Tuesday we booked a tour to My Son ruins with Hoi An Motorbike Adventures. Very fun! Mike drove a Russian Minsk motorbike with Aidan on the back and I drove a scooter with Brenna on the back. We drove down country roads and sometimes just paths, through villages and rice paddies. It was a fantastic way to see "real Vietnam". Waving kids ran to the side of the road, yelling, "Hello! Hello!" I'm sure they don't get many tourists back in those areas! The ruins were interesting and our ultimate destination, but the real thrill of the day was seeing another side of Vietnam.
On Wednesday we scootered and walked around the old town, played pool and ate at Good Morning Vietnam one last time. It was a fun trip, but it's always nice to get home, too.
Not in any order, although the townhouse is probably my #1 favorite thing:
