(Wednesday, June 19)
Of course we knew we wouldn’t *really* get a full night’s sleep. Manimal was in our bed by 11:30 and Hamish followed by 1:30. We all pushed through until about 3, improvement, but we added another hour of time change coming from HK to Vietnam, kind of cancelling that effect. We coaxed the kids into a little more rest with audio books, but all were wide awake officially at 5.
It was during this night that I began to wonder about the wisdom of our trip and to let worry creep in a little. Our place in Hot An was nice- it actually had a separate bedroom with twin beds for the kids, a nice bathroom with a great big bathtub, and of course, a/c- but it was a little underpowered and provided minimal actual air movement, so for at least the first few nights there we barely pulled up a sheet to cover ourselves. Waking in the middle of the night, in a place we arrived after dark, somewhere that wasn’t so developed, still hot despite the air conditioning being on full blast, my mind was just thinking all it would take is one little hiccup to push this into a bad place. Power outage, sickness, something like that. Thankfully, as usual my fears outweighed reality and things got better.
We found resort staff awake around 6 a.m., borrowed some Vietnamese Dong (we were so on top of things) from the owner, and he called us a taxi to take us to the old town (about 5 mins away). So, Hoi An Ancient town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a well-preserved Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th century. UNESCO says that Hoi An Ancient town contains 1,107 timber buildings arranged side-by-side in tight, unbroken rows along narrow pedestrian streets parallel to the Thu Bon river, and the town reflects both indigenous and foreign, mostly Chinese and Japanese, with later European, influences. During the Vietnam war, the city escaped almost all damage. So it’s a little window into the past. It's cute.
Arriving first thing in the morning, we were able to see lots of opening hustle as markets got going, and we could walk through calm streets.
(crabs)
After a little time of observing, we decided to take a taxi back for our included breakfast.
Passionfruit was a favorite from this leg of the trip:
There were also omelettes or eggs prepared as you like, plenty of toast, baguettes, tiny bananas, yogurt, muesli, pineapple, mango, watermelon, and crepes, in addition to noodle bowls and fried rice. We never really partook of the true Asian breakfast offerings though.
After this, it was pool time.
The place came with a nice small pool, shallow enough on one end that both littles could stand up, then venture a little deeper to practice swimming, and safely return. The pool was the best way to cool off in the middle of the day.
The goal this day was to push the nap much earlier so they'd be wakeable afterward. We put them down at 10. They were asleep by 10:30, and we woke them at 12:15. Still a slow wake but a world better than the day before.
We took a very hot walk to a lunch spot nearby and split pho and pizza. It came with a nice selection of books, and some great fans blowing on us.
Pho was an instant hit, and Hamish asked for it every meal for the remainder of Vietnam.
Complimentary dessert.
Instead of going back to the room, we called a cab and went to the tailor so I could order suits. Hoi An is known for their tailors.
The kids did gloriously, designing their own clothes while I chose fabrics and Alli bounced between advising me and listening to design details.
Manimal designed a suit with various protections from bad guys: rockets on the boots, diamond launchers, and a helmet. Hamish drew a floral dress with a Mandarin collar and plaid side panels.
Then she moved on to accessories (shoes and earrings) and Manimal drew Alli a dress and chose a silk to have it made from. He says she should wear it with red high heels. She will look beautiful.
Manimal recruited, as he does.
Once everything was chosen, ordered, and measured, we hopped in another cab and headed to our 4 p.m. cooking class. Vina, from Gioan Cooking School, took us through the market
and then took us back to her home to prepare a 4-course meal. She was an excellent instructor: cheerful and quick and extremely well prepared. She adored Manimal, and was so encouraging of both kids. They beat and chopped and sautéed and minced and mixed every step.
Side note- the children were exposed to their first Fanta here. We were allowed to go grab a drink from the cooler, all soft drinks and such, and the children chose to try Fanta. They asked for Fanta for the remainder of our trip.
We made fresh spring rolls, green mango salad, fish baked in banana leaf, and banana pancakes.
Vina will miss the Manimal.
The kids were slowing down dramatically by 6:30. They didn't eat too much even though they fully enjoyed making everything. The food was excellent, so many flavors!
We'd talked about a night swim after cooking class--trying to push the day longer. But Hamish asked for bed instead. Both stayed awake through the cab ride, and for the first time we had a normal bedtime routine and tucked both kids in by 7:30.
Alli and I opted for our first beers of the trip and almost--almost!--made it to 9 p.m.