Hoian is on the central east coast of Vietnam and was a welcome change of pace after being in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and Hanoi. It has the charm of a small European city, with beautiful buildings and cafes lining the streets. It is also on China beach where the US soliders used to come to relax when on leave during the war.
Our hotel was a cool little place that overlooked a rice paddy, where every breakfast you could sit peacefully and hear the sounds of birds, crickets, and most importantly, no motor scooters! We very much enjoyed our time here, walking around the city without the fear of getting hit by another scooter.
If you plan on ever visiting here, plan on buying some bags on your way out. Turns out the baggage shops are here for a reason, for every bag shop there are about 5 custom tailor shops on every street. With that being said, Margie and I bought three new bags to haul around all the new clothes (as we would find out later at the airport, about 50 lbs worth). Once they get you measured, you start picking fabrics and designs, then 24 hours later, custom made clothes for you for about 10% of what you would pay at home. Margie was in heaven getting clothes that actually fit her well, and I was happy knowing that what Margie saved on clothes just may have payed for our entire trip over here! With that, hopefully the Nordstrom monthly payments will decrease this coming year. . . Margie has a very suspect grin on her face as I'm writing this.
We also took an afternoon to take a Vietnamese cooking class, which was excellent. We learned how to make a ton of new foods that we loved over here, including spring rolls with homemade rice paper. Seemed easy at the class, we'll see how well it goes back in our own kitchen though. So. . . free invitation to anyone reading this to come over to our house and try some Vietnamese food. After all, I am Vietnamese!
Hoian is on the central east coast of Vietnam and was a welcome change of pace after being in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and Hanoi. It has the charm of a small European city, with beautiful buildings and cafes lining the streets. It is also on China beach where the US soliders used to come to relax when on leave during the war. 
Our hotel was a cool little place that overlooked a rice paddy, where every breakfast you could sit peacefully and hear the sounds of birds, crickets, and most importantly, no motor scooters! We very much enjoyed our time here, walking around the city without the fear of getting hit by another scooter. 
If you plan on ever visiting here, plan on buying some bags on your way out. Turns out the baggage shops are here for a reason, for every bag shop there are about 5 custom tailor shops on every street. With that being said, Margie and I bought three new bags to haul around all the new clothes (as we would find out later at the airport, about 50 lbs worth). Once they get you measured, you start picking fabrics and designs, then 24 hours later, custom made clothes for you for about 10% of what you would pay at home. Margie was in heaven getting clothes that actually fit her well, and I was happy knowing that what Margie saved on clothes just may have payed for our entire trip over here! With that, hopefully the Nordstrom monthly payments will decrease this coming year. . . Margie has a very suspect grin on her face as I'm writing this. 
We also took an afternoon to take a Vietnamese cooking class, which was excellent. We learned how to make a ton of new foods that we loved over here, including spring rolls with homemade rice paper. Seemed easy at the class, we'll see how well it goes back in our own kitchen though. So. . . free invitation to anyone reading this to come over to our house and try some Vietnamese food. After all, I am Vietnamese!
Love the updates!
ReplyDeleteKeep 'em coming....love hearing about your trip!! You guys look like you are having a blast!!
ReplyDeleteI'm coming over for dinner.
ReplyDelete