HOI AN & THE RED BRIDGE COOKING SCHOOL

MEKONG BLOG 03

Sunday March 10, 2019

Being a tourist is hard work. Exhausting, even. And far from envying us (like some people do), real friends feel SORRY for us – right? And they agree that, every now and then, we deserve a break – right?

Well, you’ll be pleased to know that we’ve finally got one! After being on the road nearly a week (phew!), we’ve spent the last three days enjoying one of the loveliest, prettiest, most tranquil places in all Vietnam – the charming old riverside town of Hoi An. And, for a bonus-reward, we’ve been staying in the gorgeous Palm Garden Resort – with trees and flowers to write home about, a pool to die for, and a white-sandy beach with palm-trees, rolling surf and sunshine!

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The day before yesterday, we made our way to Hanoi airport, flew south to Danang (one-time fishing village, now Vietnam’s 3rd-largest city), and got taxied to Hoi An – once a major Asian trading port, now a bustling tourist hotspot and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we wandered through the ancient town centre – greeting laidback locals in their colourful stalls, dodging flying motor-scooters, eyeballing an ancient Hokkien temple and a 400 year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, and learning how farmers raise wriggly silkworms for the textile industry.

Before the day was out, several Mad Midlifers had chosen dresses/jackets/shirts/whatever to be tailor-made overnight by Hoi An’s famous garment industry. Overnight? Yep, that’s what they do here!

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Yesterday morning we got to sleep in, walk the beach, splash in the pool, or do some more shop-shop-shopping in the Old Town. Then, after lunch, we were off with staff from the Red Bridge Cooking School for a quick tour of Hoi An’s Farmers’ Market … where we were introduced to vegetables, fruits, concoctions and aromas (some familiar, others strange and foreign) that were gonna form part of our dinner tonight.

Next, we boarded a water-taxi for a leisurely 25-minute glide along the Tu Bon River – arriving at the legendary outdoor school on the jungle-smothered riverbank, where a professional (hilarious) Vietnamese chef showed us how to prepare specialty Hoi An dishes (like fresh rice-paper … shrimp spring rolls … Vietnamese pancakes … seafood salad … plus a variety of sauces). Then we tried our hand (with much hooting and laughter, but without  much success) at food decoration on poor, unsuspecting cucumbers and tomatoes – and sat down as darkness fell to eat our own creations.

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Today, lucky us, we’ve had time to sleep in … relax over a posh breakfast … wander the lush tropical gardens … go sightseeing/pottering/meandering/shopping/whatever … and cool-off in the pool.

Has lovely Hoi An been a highlight? You’d better believe it! And one we won’t forget for a long, long time …

COMING UP: We grab a southbound flight to crowded, historic, dynamic Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by many locals) in what we used to call South Vietnam. So don’t change channels …

PEOPLE-NEWS: Two more Quacky Yellow Ducks have found new owners …

• SOMEONE NAMELESS wins our ‘Overzealous Lifeguard Award’ – for causing a splash in the pool the other night and getting herself ‘rescued’ by the super-eager lifeguard on duty.
• KEVIN got himself embarrassed and took home our ‘Lost in Translation Award’ – for his frequent use of the word “yummy” at the Cooking School yesterday. Turns out “yummy” in Vietnamese means “horny”.

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

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