Hoi An: Fishing, Vegetables, and Tailors Galore
We landed in Da Nang an hour later and got on our tour bus to Hoi An. We hit the hotel and grabbed some room service and a few beers before heading to bed. We had a big day ahead of us.
The next morning it was off to the river to fish. First we got to see a professional fisherman cast his net, a really cool thing to see. Next, those of us that wanted to give it a go got our chance. We caught no fish. But none of us fell in, or caught another human, so I'll put it in the win column.
David trying his hand at captaining the boat.
The net cast by the real fisherman.
David giving it a shot.
John McIntre, a friend of my uncle's, casting his net.
Dylan's cast.
My turn.
Then it we got back in our boat and went a little further up the delta to a massive set of water coconut fields, to ride in some bamboo water baskets. Unfortunately I was a bit worried about my camera (turns out unnecessarily) so I didn't get any pictures from inside the boat. But I did snap one of the actual boats.
We caught tiny crabs and the woman on our boat made us rings and other things from the fronds of the water coconut. They don't use the trees for food, but instead use the fronds for thatching their roofs.
This woman was the one I rode with.
Then it was off to a vegetable farming village for a tour and lunch. Being from Wisconsin I've obviously seen large farms before, but never anything so well tended as these little gardens. So many fresh herbs and vegetables laid out in perfect little rows where one person can walk between them and water two rows at a time.
Lunch was probably the best we've had so far, with this papaya salad that was amazing on rice paper crackers, and about 6 other courses.
The farm.
The whole group sitting down for lunch (along with our guide in this region.)
Next we went on to Hoi An's old town district, with a quick stop at one of the many custom tailors that line the streets in the city. Most everyone got something, and I got a custom shirt and a new suit coat, which I can't wait to wear. They took our measurements around 2, had us come back at 6 for a fitting, and then had everything delivered to our hotel by 9. Amazing turn around.
In the old town we saw an old Japanese covered bridge, a chinese temple, and then back to the hotel for a rest before heading back into old town for some shopping and to see all of the lanterns in the town lit up.
The group in front of the Japanese covered bridge.
Coils of incense burning at the chinese temple. One coil like this can burn for weeks.
Some of the lanterns of Hoi An lit up at night.
All and all it was a busy day. My watch logged over 15,000 steps, more than any other day on the trip so far.
In a few hours we'll head up to Hue, stopping in the mountains on the way. Depending on the connection at the hotel, you'll get another post tonight or tomorrow.