Hoi An...

The next part of our fall break travels entailed going to Hoi An, a quaint little town, filled with tourists who are there to get a few bags of clothes that are made especially for them! The streets are lined with shop after shop of beautiful jackets, dresses, suits and more.....where it is not hard to turn your head in want.

We arrived at out hotel, Hoanh Trinh and were greeted by a smile, hot tea and little biscuits! We had read good reviews of this hotel, but we were in for a delightful surprise! Whenever we came and went from the hotel we were said hello to (by name) or asked how our day was or greeted with a plate of fresh watermelon or a mango smoothie! They answered all our questions with a smile and gave us great recommendations. I have never had that excellent of service at a hotel in my life! The cost of the hotel was also something to smile about!

We took off our first night there in hopes of getting a few things made. After spending a significant amount of time at 1 shop, we then found out the price to make all these clothes we wanted. I think in the 2 years since I have been there, things have got more expensive with demand! Our good simple, Mennonite living conscious kicked in and we decided we could not pay that much. So....we decided to refuel before checking out more places. We stopped at this place called the Bale Well, where it had grilled pork that you wrapped with fresh veggies, herbs and a spring roll with rice paper. There was also an incredible sauce to dip in! They kept bringing us more and more. The ladies also enjoyed rolling them for us and then feeding them to us!

We kept on walking and found a store that was more in our price range. It's quite fun getting measured and picking from hundreds of materials to make something just for you!

The next day we rented motorbikes and cruised around. We stopped at the beach for a bit and drove and saw some of the countryside. I forget how cool the sound of the ocean waves crashing in on the shore was!

We spent our last full day there walking around the town, stopping at little shops (bartering for potential Christmas presents!) and at temples and historical places.

 We also found these tasty treats called hoanh thanh, a delectable treat of a wonton with diced shrimp, peppers, onions, pineapple and a superb sauce! We found ourselves going back for more! 

We also took a little boat ride (thanks to the restaurant lady who has a brother or cousin or something!), around the lake and saw some of the countryside and locals.  It was a nice couple days. Now off to Danang!