Hoi An & the best lunch ever

In my experience, getting off the beaten track will 9 times out of 10 be a very rewarding experience. Today I had one such experience.

A bit fed up of all the tailor shops, motorbike touts and European tourists in hiking boots in Hoi An old town, I decided to go to the beach for a day. It's a pleasant 5km bike ride from old town to the coast, an endless stretch of white sand, palm trees and hardly any tourists. Bonus! I parked up under a tree, went for a good long swim, finished my book and had a nap.

It was about time for lunch, so I went to collect my bike from the parking lot, snuck past the guy with a whistle who was adamant I couldn't take my any bike further onto the beach road - despite there being LOTS of other people with bikes there - and rode a bit further along the coast. After about 500m the beach-side shacks and drink stands turn into resorts; 5-star monstrosities with what looks like very little patronage (probably the time of year). I turned off down a side street into a suburban alley/street full of local houses. I noticed a fresh seafood restaurant sign and decided to take a look...

I found a cute little family restaurant, right on the river, that has their own fishing boat and serves seafodd straight from the sea onto your plate. I had the BEST tiger prawns of my life, as well as a healthy plate of morning glory in garlic & oyster sauce - funny how you start to crave greens after too many pizzas & bowls of noodles.

Tiger prawns, Tiger beer... do you see what I did there? :P

Here are some pictures of Hoi An. It's a UNESCO world heritage site; it feels a bit like a min (micro) Kyoto at times because they've kept all the old traditional shop fronts, and you can actually go inside some of the houses to take a look. They all have Chinese furniture, paintings (4 seasons!) and traditional blessings around the doors. Most houses and shops have a central courtyard with rooms around it:

It was hosing down on my first day, we got hit by a typhoon. By hosing down, I mean torrential rain for over 12 hours, the streets were like rivers. It was actually quite fun to walk around in; with my shiny new raincoat from Saigon (a souped-up version of the plastic bag raincoat they all wear, designed to be worn on a motorbike and is big enough to cover you, a few sacks of rice plus your wife and 3 children) I was indestructible!

Riverfront restaurant lit up at night
Assembly Hall (I forget which one)
The ubiquitous cone hat

Silk in every colour imaginable

Cao lau, a local specialty. Thic rice noodles topped with fresh salad, slices of pork and rice crackers

A guy playing guitar under the light of a lantern, very atmospheric! I sat and listened to him play for a while.

Me with a billion coloured lanterns :)

I am so in love with these lanterns, I have spent the better part of most days photographing them. Of course I bought one, it's in the package going to Holland along with my tailor made suit, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes and a winter coat.

Off to explore the countryside with the Easy Riders tomorrow!

Bye for now

ML