This morning we headed to the Hoi An Airport for our flight to Nha Trang (Vietnam's ocean city - a beautiful resort town, with fantastic beaches). Our hotel was a 5 minute walk to the main public beach so the first thing we did once we unpacked in our hotel rooms was walk down, take off our shoes and enjoy the feel of the sand and the warmth of the water.

On the way back to the hotel we were in search of a beer - any beer - but incredibly there were no pubs near our hotel (well, there was one with German beers, but it was too expensive). When we asked the front desk receptionist at the hotel if there were any bars nearby, she pointed to a corner of the lobby with a small refrigerator containing soda, water & a few cans of Tiger beer. Then she sat us at the coffee table, added some stools, & we quickly depleted the entire stock of Tiger beer (about 75 cents each)!

 

"Bar" Open

 

 

"Bar" Closed

But before we checked into the hotel we visited Xom Gio Village for our OAT "day in the life" experience, which is included in every OAT tour - giving you a real feeling of what it's like to live in the country you're visiting. The first thing you noticed in this village was the sound of caged & uncaged roosters hooting & hollering (apparently the uncaged roosters - who had missing chunks of feathers & skin, were used for cock-fighting even though such entertainment is illegal in Vietnam). There were some We were treated to another fantastic, 6-course lunch by the chief, Tu Hong, and his wife and then we were able to enjoy chatting with them about their everyday life and the Vietnam War (the chief fought for South Vietnam with the Americans & was detained in a Viet Cong detention camp).

During lunch Sunny decided to sneak a chili pepper resembling a teeny carrot into Iris' soup bowl. She bit it in half & she had an immediate sinus-clearing reaction, followed by a copious amount of tears & crying that wouldn't stop. The chief, seeing what transpired, shook his head, removed the offending pepper, and supplied lots of tissues (of course with all of us cracking up).

 

The chief, his wife and our tour guide, Sunny

during the Q & A.

After our Q & A session, the chief led us through his village - enabling us to try our hand at their local industries of bamboo basket weaving & chopstick making. We were able to purchase a small basket and/or set of 10 chopsticks for a mere dollar. Seeing how hard those people worked made you really appreciate all you have.

 

 Bamboo is passed over a fire to soften it

for shaping.

 

 

 Bamboo stalks are sliced into sections.

 

 

Bamboo is sliced lengthwise into smaller slivers

for basket weaving.

 

 

 Cecilia learns to weave the bamboo into a basket.

 

 

 Many Vietnamese relax in simple hammocks.

 

 

 Making bamboo chopsticks.

 

 

Iris poses with her chopstick

(not quite the quality of the villagers) ha ha.

Dinner at Gia restaurant was another phenomenal, multi-course adventure. We tried another beer - Saigon special and regular Saigon (both pretty good, but Huda and Hanoi continue to be my favorites).

Before we crashed for the night, we went outside the lobby to photograph one of the many wedding parties that were using our hotel for their reception.  Apparently, the wedding itself is an intimate family affair, usually celebrated at the bride's home.  Then the wedding reception is held at a restaurant.  Brides usually rent their dresses instead of buying them, and the receptions seem to be very casual affairs as far as dress is concerned.