Although I was a bit sluggish due to spending the night fighting the wrath of food poisoning, we still enjoyed the colonial city of Hoi An in central Vietnam. (Thankfully the 47 km bike tour we tried to book for this day the previous week was full! I ended up in no shape for that!) We started wandering through the Ancient Town and admired the historical architecture now full of merchants’ shops. These knock-offs are much better quality than those we have found in China. We tried our hand at (mostly successful) bargaining for items such as Under Armor polos for Jim and pashmina scarves for me. Whenever we needed a little boost, we stopped off for a Vietnamese coffee which is a shot of espresso poured (or dripped) over sweetened condensed milk. Unlike in Italy where there is a strict code of milk and time of day, we saw Vietnamese drinking this delicacy at all hours.
At night we dined on a quiet rooftop tucked off the beaten path (thank you to our homestay hostess for the amazing recommendation!), yet could still view the riverway illuminated by candles and lanterns. After enjoying Hoi An beefsteak with Froian fries (think gnocchi meets tater tots) and the best spring rolls I’ve ever had, we ventured to the river. There, we found people releasing floating lanterns into the river, along with their prayers and wishes.
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