Central Vietnam - Hoi An, My Son, Danang

Old Lady Selling Banana Leaf Wrapped Treats - Hoi An, Vietnam

We found banana leaf wrapped treats throughout Southeast Asia. Most of the time they were filled with some pork and sticky rice mixture as a savory snack. Occasionally, they were filled with sticky rice, bananas, and coconut milk as a dessert. This woman was selling her bundles outside Hoi An's main market. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Cao Lau - Hoi An, Vietnam

Cao Lau is another dish that can only be made in Hoi An because the secret ingredient is water that comes from one special well in town. The dish is wonderful with thick rice noodles, roasted pork, fresh herbs, thin crispy croutons , all topped off with a rich soy sauce. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Mango and Sticky Rice - Hoi An, Vietnam

The Swedish women who were on the trek with us in Sapa recommended Mango Rooms restaurant in Hoi An where, surprise surprise, everything on the menu features mango. We decided to finish off our meal with a sophisticated version of mango and sticky rice. It was almost too pretty to eat....but we managed. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Fried Wantons - Hoi An, Vietnam

We had heard wantons were a specialty in Hoi An, but weren't expecting such a feast of shrimp, peppers and herbs on top of this dose. All Hoi An wantons are made by the same family as the White Rose dumplings. What a monopoly! Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Vietnamese Coffee - Danang, Vietnam

We poked around near our hotel in Danang on the hunt for Vietnamese coffee. Everyone we asked sent us to a fancy coffee house and restaurant where the price of Vietnamese coffee rivaled Starbucks. Instead, we found this little place across the street where two fantastic cafe suas (Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk) cost us $0.60. It was also amusing for Audrey to watch Dan try to fit into this teeny weeny chair (typical for Vietnam). Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Carnations - Danang, Vietnam

Carnations are plentiful in central and southern Vietnam, preceding Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Fishing on the Thu Bon River - Hoi An, Vietnam

Fishermen ply their trade on the Thu Bon River in Hoi An. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Two Dogs - Hoi An, Vietnam

In the annals of the bizarre and the canine... Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Japanese Covered Bridge - Hoi An, Vietnam

Built by the Japanese in the 16th century, the covered bridge connected the Chinese and Japanese parts of town. It also houses a small Buddhist pagoda. Hoi An was a major port town in the 16th and 17th century, making it a home to many Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, and French traders. You can see the Chinese influence today, from architecture to families descended from the original Chinese traders. Although ethnically Chinese, many of these people feel and call themselves Vietnamese. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Street Vendor - Hoi An, Vietnam

Award for best posture in Southeast Asia. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Poster - Hoi An, Vietnam

We were in Hoi An in early February, right after a big anniversary for the founding of the Communist Party in Vietnam. Hence, there were posters up everywhere with Ho Chi Minh's portrait. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Dog in a Dress - Hoi An, Vietnam

We were enjoying a croissant at a cafe across from this art shop when we saw this dog come out of the shop to strut her stuff in her new dress. It was a seemingly smart marketing move by the owners of this art shop - the dog attracted quite a crowd, but the crowd bought nothing. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Colorful Lanterns - Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is known for its hand made lanterns. This shop was a family affair, with the grandmother and grandson working together to cut the fabric and apply it with adhesive over the wooden structure. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Bicycle - Hoi An, Vietnam

Bicycle - Hoi An, Vietnam Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Hot Croissants - Hoi An, Vietnam

We arrived early at the bakery just before our morning cooking course and were rewarded with fresh croissants, hot from the oven. They melted in our mouths, we offered a private words of thanks for this bit of surviving French influence. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

England Fabric? - Hoi An, Vietnam

We had multiple tailors try and convince us that this fabric was authentic high quality wool from England. We tried to point out that if the fabric was truly from England, it would probably not say Engiand or Santa Barpara. Puzzled looks. Ironically, the fabric was of pretty decent quality. It was hard to tell if they were trying to deceive us or whether they truly believed this fabric came from England and the Chinese supplier deceived them. It's Vietnam; anything is possible. Read more about tailors in Hoi An.

Hoi An Building - Hoi An, Vietnam

An example of typical Hoi An architecture in the old town. One to two story buildings with a store front with living quarters in the back or on the second floor. These days, the store fronts are mostly full of souvenirs, tailor shops, restaurants or food shops. Read more about Hoi An, Vietnam.

Checking Fabric - Hoi An, Vietnam

Dan checks the color of the fabric in natural light. Mao, the tailor on the left, tries to convince him it's a good color for him. Everything always "looks good." We spent a lot of time in Mao's shop (called Ky Ky) choosing fabrics, getting fittings and refittings. He is a native of Hanoi, but liked Hoi An better and worked hard at a tailor shop to be able to save enough to open his own shop. The tailor shops are open 7 days a week, usually from 8 AM to 10 PM. They work hard...especially for picky customers like Dan : ) Read more about tailors in Hoi An.

Ladies of B'Lan - Hoi An, Vietnam

B'Lan is a bit difficult to find without an exact address since the front of the shop looks like an art shop and there is not a big sign up like most other tailor shops. They had some nice fabrics and Dan ordered two shirts here. When we came back for a fitting, we talked with one of the daughters for a long time about her family's business, food, the different regions in Vietnam and the continued effects of the Vietnam war (her father worked with the Americans and the kids are still black listed from certain jobs and studies). The next day returned to pick up the shirts and talked with the mother for a long time about life, culture, and the effect of progress on Vietnam and its people. We had asked her for a recommendation for a barber, hence she's holding up Dan's hair to show he needs a cut. Now, the hair cut was another adventure....it turned into a shave and ear cleaning. One for the videos... Read more about tailoring in Hoi An.

Colorful Fabrics - Hoi An, Vietnam

The selection of fabrics at tailor shops in Hoi An is vast. After choosing a style of clothing, the tailor takes you around to choose colors and the type of fabric, each often with only subtle differences. It can be overwhelming. Getting customized clothing made is hard work! Read more about tailors in Hoi An.

Cute Couple - Hoi An, Vietnam

We don't clean up too badly, do we? After the tailor experiment. we had to pack everything up and send it from the post office. Luckily, the post office is used to this and and they have a packing service. Unfortunately, it is part of the Vietnamese government system and is very bureaucratic. After filling out about 10 forms, we sent everything by ship to the United States. We'll see if it arrives in 3-4 months. Read more about tailoring in Hoi An.

Bride - Hoi An, Vietnam

Bride - Hoi An, Vietnam Read more about tailors in Hoi An.

Fresh Herbs and Vegetables - Hoi An, Vietnam

Piles of fresh mint, cilantro, spring onions, lettuce, morning glory, and many other greens welcome us at the market in Hoi An. The availability of fresh herbs in Vietnam is amazing - we used to search high and low in Prague for just a fraction of the selection you see here. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Pig Head in a Bag - Hoi An, Vietnam

Southeast Asian markets feature pig heads, ears, snouts, tails and just about every other bit and part of the animal. This particular pig head was recently shaved clean before being bagged for sale. Although markets can be fascinating and visually appealing, a turn into the meat section can harken back to dissection nightmares from freshman biology class. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.

Spring Rolls - Hoi An, Vietnam

During our cooking course in Hoi An, we learned how to make fresh rice paper in order to roll our own spring rolls. Dan did quite well with his papers; Audrey needed a few more tries... The result was the same for both, however - tasty and fresh spring rolls filled with shrimp, noodles and fresh herbs. Read about Hoi An's food specialties.