Vietnam: Part 1

Next stop was Vietnam. In order for Sinead to actually get work done, we decided to spend a solid 3 weeks in Vietnam where the living was cheap, the internet top-notch, and the chill level was optimal.

Hoi An

Hoi An is a traditional village situated along a river on the central coast of Vietnam. It is charming and quaint in all the perfect ways (though it can get a little overwhelmingly touristy compared to places we usually go).

We stayed in a private rental in a fishing village by the sea - about a 10 minute drive or 30 minute bike ride outside the main ancient village - where we lived amongst the locals and got a more authentic experience. The place really felt like home since we had it to ourselves and had a whole yard and outdoor living area, as well as a friendly community.

We were surrounded by kind locals and were greeted daily by our neighbors who smiled and waved every time we walked by. We tried to communicate as best we could with gestures but given our zero Vietnamese speaking and their zero English speaking, it was comical and difficult. They gave us beer and chicken feet and made sure that the food delivery people were authorized and not coming to rob us. It was the cutest.

Platter of chicken feet that we couldn't refuse...

Speaking of cute, Vietnamese kids are undoubtedly the cutest kids of all the countries we have been to. Sinead, who doesn't particularly like children, was ready to snatch them away. Korean kids may dress more stylishly, but these Vietnamese kids were so adorable and smiley that you couldn't help but love them. I felt like too much of a creeper to take pictures of them, but here are a few we caught in the background of photos.

The main modes of transport were bikes and motor bikes. We biked lots around the little villages and herb gardens, exploring the river full of fishermen and water buffalo.

Hoi An is famous for its Full Moon Lantern Festival. We bought paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river as beautifully crafted silk hanging lanterns illuminated the streets and boats.

How can people this old squat like this??

Found out these lamps that are sold at Ikea are actually Vietnamese

Fall brings strong winds to the area, making the beaches less beautiful and much more dangerous to swim in than spring and summer. Nevertheless, Sinead took on the waves and we enjoyed hanging out on the beach the before the storm rolled in.

Traditional round fishing boats

Vietnamese food has now surpassed Japanese food as the tastiest food in the world for me - Sinead still thinks of them as equals. The fresh flavors of all the foods were insane. We found the best banh mis, spring rolls, wontons, and papaya salads. We learned that pho is just a breakfast food. Hoi An is a foodie haven with all sorts of its own specialty foods.

Banh mis were less than a dollar and great staple. Though they don't load them up like they do in the US .

Fried spring rolls with the special Hoi An texture.

Cute to-go bags of pho that we could prepare at home.

"Homemade" pho ;)

Wontons loaded with goodies

Hoi An style pancakes that you wrap into a spring roll

Cau Lau, another Hoi An specialty

White rose dumplings, another Hoi An specialty

The Banh Mi Queen! For real, the best in the country.

Vietnamese coffee loaded with condensed milk for me 

Sinead also learned that Vietnamese wine is not on par with the food. To quote her "It’s like you took cheap grape juice, forgot about it and left it out in the sun for a week, then actually drank it. It makes Bali wine taste high end. But I think I’m still going to drink it. Because in 5 days, I’m going to be 30 and I’m going to be too good for this. So here’s to being able to drink the shittiest wine because I’m still in my 20s."

Sinead turned 30 while we were in Hoi An. She's not big on celebrating birthdays ("why can't you just celebrate certain things whenever you feel the urge to celebrate it, not when the calendar tells you you're supposed to") but we still had grand plans of going fishing and pottery making to celebrate. Sadly, they were canceled due to a big typhoon (typhoon = hurricane = cyclone, the only difference is where you live in the world).

Still looking fabulous at age 30

Sinead decided to purchase the first poncho of her life in Hoi An, in order to be able to still walk around the village in the storm. What she's wearing here (poncho+hat+sandals) is what all the locals wear during the rainy season.

Typhoon Damrey hit causing flooding throughout the main village. We're talking water up to the ceiling flooding in some parts of the town.

This the water level line after the floods receded. This is 2 blocks inland from the river. The shop was back in action as if nothing had ever happened.

If you look closely there is a man chest deep in the water as rain continues to pour down.

Sinead blending with the locals

Sinead's twin selling fruit

 
The locals were calm and used to the flooding (though this was the worst they had had in 16 years). They moved everything they owned to higher ground and used the plentiful fishing boats to navigate the streets. We had to take a boat ride along the streets we had been walking through just the day before.

No one seemed too concerned about the flooding and were more upset that it was deterring tourists and hurting their economy that way. The houses are built out of all concrete so besides the buildup of mud, they weren't damaged. People were still showing up to work despite the chaos - except for the fishermen who just sat around all day drinking and playing cards.

Shuttling people to and from their 2nd story homes in the flood zone to the city so they could continue life as usual

Markets still open, just moved 3 blocks inland

Luckily where we were staying wasn't affected by the floods, just heavy rains and very high winds. Just a tree fell down in our yard.



A lot of the time in Hoi An was spent working from the AirBnB, so the rain and flooding didn't ruin our time there. Sinead's business continues to thrive while my travel agent skills and blog updating have waned.

Since Sinead woke up at 4 or 5am to take calls, it made it easy for me to get up and go to the local market before 7am (it opens at 5:30am as the village wakes up very early). This market is full of locals who get their meats, fruits, vegetables, and breakfast while socializing. The market is over and closed before 8 so you really have to be a morning person.

It was bustling and authentic and I loved sitting in the tiny stools (that were far to small for any human) and eating a bowl of jook or pho as people laughed at me warmly for not understanding anything they were saying. Sinead joined sometimes between calls when she could.

The night market scene was cool too but much more geared to tourists as it was in Hoi An central. There were food stalls offering donuts, mystery meats, various spring rolls, Vietnamese "pizza", and banana pancakes. My favorite were the "mango cakes" which were really peanut mochi and Sinead's favorite was the handmade coconut ice cream popsicles.

A nice little crab surprise beside the toilet in the shop behind the night market 

We shopped around town and got our knock-off North Face, Adidas, Nike, and Under Armor gear.

Hoi An's other claim to fame is their custom tailored clothes. They will make anything you want, all you have to do is find a picture of it online or sketch it out yourself.

We decided we should at least try to make some wedding outfits since it was so cheap. It took 4 fittings to get it just right but they did it in just 4 days despite the flooding (we had to wade through knee-high water to get to the tailor shop). Verdict is still out on wether we will use them for the actual wedding or not, but I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out and it was a fun experience!

Can't reveal the final product yet!

Wading through the flood waters to get to the tailor for a fitting

Can't reveal the final product yet!

When the weather finally started to clear up, we got to go to the pottery village and tested our hand at making ceramics using their old school techniques. They get the clay straight from the river and spin the wheel manually. Usually they use their foot (kicking like a scooter) to spin the wheel, but for the smaller things we were making, we just used our arms.

Mounds of clay pulled straight from the riverbed

Old school kiln - flooded from the typhoon

Teaching us their traditional ways

We ended the trip with a cooking class in a local family's home. They taught us how to make a whole Vietnamese meal including fried spring rolls with pork inside, stuffed barbecue fish, and fried noodles with shrimp and vegetables. It was the most cooking Sinead has ever done in her life.

APEC was starting in Da Nang city just 20 minutes north from where we were staying. Putin was apparently staying just down the road from us. We avoided that area. Tons of streets were closed and there was excessive traffic in the area that week.

Our flight to Hanoi was delayed because Trump was flying into town for APEC. We saw Air Force One pull in as all the flights in the airport were delayed for "air traffic control reasons." Thanks, Trump.