Thanks to the hotel’s muzac, we have the Carpenter's song "Yesterday Once More" stuck in our heads so I thought I would share. You’re welcome. We are constantly listening to a collection of golden oldies including Barry Manilow, Captain and Tenneil and our very own Celine. Around town it’s not uncommon to hear Mexican music. Go figure.
We had only “planned” (I use the term planned loosely) 2 nights in Hoi An but we have decided to stay an extra couple of days. We have to move to the Cua Dai Hotel for the last night which is a bit sad. It's a very nice place but we will miss the staff at the Hai Au.
We were up very early this morning (jet lag remnants?). The breakfast included in the price of the hotel was excellent. We were able to see an early morning Buddhist service of some kind. The chanting, incense, bells, all just feet away from the ever-increasing and very noisy early morning traffic. At one point a rooster wandered into the ceremony.
We found a tailor nearby and ordered some clothes. They give you a big European mail order catalog to look through and you can choose whatever you want, then you choose the fabric from the large array onsite, then they measure you, take a deposit and off you go. I couldn't find any fabric I liked for a shirt that I wanted so the young girl working in the shop gave me a helmet, I hopped on the back of her motorbike and off we went to several other locations to try to find something I would be happy with. I never did but after all the effort on her part I just picked something and called it a day. Most of the clothes were ready in 24 hours with the balance being ready in 48. We were both happy with our choices (except for my desperation choice). Before leaving, we got the tailor to reinforce my (Carly’s) backpack's waist strap and to alter one of Greg’s shirts.
We finally made our way to the beach for lunch. It was a bit windy but so pretty. The hotel staff made us comfortable. They moved the heavy wooden lounge chairs around to suit us and we ordered a Vietnamese coffee (addicted!!) and enjoyed the view. A vendor came by and even after we politely said no, she sat herself down and we ended up having a really good conversation. And of course, we bought 4 good luck pendants from her in the end so everyone was happy.
We did a river dinner cruise which was really nice. 
At breakfast we ran into friends of friends - Donna and Ron from Kamloops. We knew they were in country, but we didn’t realize they were right under our noses, staying at the same hotel! We planned to meet up for dinner.
We walked to a restaurant called Son Hoi An for lunch which was about 6 km roundtrip. This restaurant is right on the river with beautiful views of the rice fields. There are fishermen, people working in the fields, geese, roosters, fish jumping – quite idyllic. Oh yes - and the food!!! Running out of superlatives. On our way back we saw a baby water buffalo wandering down the busy street. Everyone ignored him and we couldn't help but contrast that with what would happen in Canada if a calf was found walking down Victoria Street in Prince George! 
The locals think we are silly for walking such distances. We could rent bikes at our hotel for $1 / day, but I was too scared of the traffic and the roads aren't that great either. When I talked to Donna, she said that all you have to do is keep right and look like a dumbass and everyone will avoid you. I will try that next time. The dumbass part will be easy. 
We arranged to mail a package home because we didn't want to haul any unnecessary stuff around. Shopping isn’t nearly as much fun when you know you have to carry it on your back! We sent back most of the clothes that we had made as well as some of the stuff we brought that we quickly realized we didn't need. Yummy told us to go to the cafe and have a coffee and she would call the post office lady. We had no idea what to expect but 15 minutes later a lady arrived with a variety of boxes, tape, bubble wrap and a scale and we were in business. How efficient is that?
We met up with Donna and Ron and they took us to the Sleepy Gecko for drinks before dinner. It’s on the Cam Nam Islet, a little tricky to find but worth the effort. Go east on Tran Hung Dao toward Nhi Trung. Turn right at Nhi Trung. Go straight ahead to reach the restaurant. It’s a fun, crazy place and the Aussie expat owner has an interesting history. It seems he started travelling 30 years ago and has never really stopped. He married a Vietnamese woman and bought the bar but is still travelling lots. Anyway, the beer was cold, the wine was decent, and they serve a free shot of VN rum with every drink you order. There was a Jack Russell puppy wandering around the bar, chewing on shoes etc. He finally got tired and plunked himself down under our table on a little shelf and went sound asleep in a moment, as only puppies can. 
The four of us had dinner at the Lighthouse for yet another great meal. This place may be better during the day though because the view would be beautiful.
We made our way to the Cargo Club for dessert. It's a great place to have an espresso and watch the world go by. The 4 of us each ordered a separate dessert and shared. The dishes were all wonderful and beautiful to look at as well. I know this post is all about food and I apologize for that but I just can't help myself.
The next day we did a walking tour of the old town. You have to buy a permit which has 5 little coupons that you use to enter the ancient sites. Much of what we saw was a mystery - we had no idea what we were looking at. Lots of temples and the ancient Japanese bridge.
One of the stops was an ancient house that is still lived in. It is where the famous Hoi An "White Rose" dumplings are made. It is possible to buy these dumplings at many local restaurants, but they are all made in this house. The story goes that they can only be made here because they have to use specially filtered water from a well located in this house. The recipe is a secret known to only one family in Hoi An. Visiting this house feels a little odd because it's as if you are walking into someone's home. However, there was the ubiquitous kids’ tables and chairs, so Greg persuaded me to sit down and relax while he ordered dumplings and spring rolls. They were really good, and it was a very cool place. The house is at 533 Hai Ba Trung Street. It's a bit hard to find but worth the effort.
We also walked through the market - culture shock!!! The vendors were all yelling "Madame, Madame" and holding up various wares to try to entice me into buying. It was very crowded, hot and smelly and my goal was to get through it as quickly as I could. One lady was squatting in front of a cutting board, and I am positive that I saw a paw. I have since heard that they will leave the paw attached to prove that it is actually dog meat. You don't see a lot of dogs wandering around and virtually no cats. We did see some cat-size rats wandering around one night when we were on our way home fairly late. 
