No, that’s not a typo of “Hanoi”, but another city entirely, Hoi An, about 400 miles south of Hanoi, and 15 miles south of Danang, on the body of water generally referred to as the South China Sea, but here they call it the Eastern Sea.
Hoi An is the place where people come in Vietnam to purchase custom-made suits, dresses, jackets and such, made of fine wool, silk or linen. None of the 4 of us plans to do so, but still it’s interesting to see. And there are lively markets, restaurants, galleries and shops here. The pressure on tourists to buy, buy, buy is much greater than anything we experienced in northern Vietnam, similar to Moroccan souks.
We wandered the town mid-day today, and thanks to some reading of a guide book by Lynn, found the best restaurant we’ve enjoyed yet in Vietnam (note to Mackenzie: we’ll send you an address and map). Ba-le Well is a small place on an alley, with a few tables and chairs IN the alley, and a fixed-price, fixed-menu. We didn’t know that fact, but immediately after our Tiger beers (our favorite in Vietnam) were delivered, plates of leafy greens and slices of cucumber, grilled satay pork, long slivers of carrots and shredded cabbage, peanut sauce, grilled chicken, rice pancakes and rice wraps were delivered.
The two delightful sisters who own this place saw the amused uncertainty on our faces and immediately came over to begin assembling our wraps for us, even dipping them in the sauce and feeding us our first bite. We previously learned how to say “One-Two-Three-Cheers” in Vietnamese just before taking our first swallow of beer, and as we began that routine, the two sisters joined in and laughed enthusiastically, perhaps AT us, but certainly WITH us.
The food was outstanding, the sisters came to visit us at the table frequently throughout the meal, and in the end brought us our final bill for 520,000 dong, or $24 U.S. for 4 lunches, 6 beers and one cup of coffee! If we were staying in Hoi An beyond tomorrow, we would certainly eat here again.
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