My Friday plans were to pick up some of my clothes, boots and shoes. Of course, as I was trying to be productive, it began raining. Since I was caught outside without an umbrella, I stopped in at Faifoo for some wonton soup. After dawdling over the soup long enough for the rain to stop, I dashed over to the shoe maker. (In case I forgot to mention it in an earlier post, I’d decided on Wednesday, I believe, to have some boots and flats made at the shoe maker that Yum Yum had recommended.) My hopes weren’t too high for the outcome of the boots, but they were a very pleasant surprise. They looked very much like the photo, the leather was soft and they fit perfectly. The flats, which were made of fabric with little leather details (although lined in leather), were a little large. They were adorable, though. While I was admiring both the boots and the flats, they talked me into having another pair of flats made. The finished ones were of a blue print on a white background with beige leather details. The fabric I picked out for the soon-to-be-made flats was a red floral print on a white background to have red leather details. Both pairs of flats would be finished the following day, but the boots were ready for me to take right then. Kimmie Tailor was close to the shoe maker, so I dashed over there to pick up my dress and blouse. Alterations there had consisted of shortening the dress, taking it in at the sides and making the opening for the head a little bigger. The blouse had been taken in a little bit, too, to be more fitted at the top, yet looser at the bottom.
After dropping off my boots and clothing at the hotel and picking up an umbrella, just in case, I thought maybe it was time to see if there were any actual souvenirs or shopping that I wanted to do. There were a couple of great photography shops. It took me quite awhile to decide on a photo, but settled on one of two women in ao dais. I looked at other things in town, but nothing really grabbed my attention. As I said, prices aren’t usually marked and they kept giving me ridiculous quotes.
Lunch was an excuse to take a short break from Vietnamese cuisine and try out that highly-rated (on TripAdvisor) Italian place known as “Good Morning, Vietnam.” When I walked up to the restaurant, there was an elderly Caucasian man standing outside. He looked me up and down in a somewhat derogatory manner. When he realized that I was trying to get a glimpse of the menu, he moved to the side. They seated me immediately inside as there were no other visible diners, although there may have possibly been someone upstairs. The elderly man came in, seated himself at a table in the corner/back with a younger man and they began conversing in Italian. My assumption was that the younger man was the chef/owner and that the older man was his father. I was thinking of ordering some type of pasta and possibly either pizza or something else. The waitress said something like “Oh no! You should order pasta with (whatever)…” What did she know? Maybe I hadn’t eaten in 2 days or am typically a big eater! Neither of those is true, but I don’t appreciate when people tell me or suggest what I should eat without my asking their opinion. I eventually settled on bruschetta with pesto and cheese, as well as risotto ai funghi and a Coke. The bruschetta came on big rounds of bread, not small ones as is typical at most Italian restaurants. The glob of melted cheese on it seemed to be processed (whether it was or not), but the pesto was alright. The risotto was definitely better, but was too heavy for me to finish. During my lunch, the waitress and another girl (a hostess, perhaps) stood around staring at me 95% of the time. Beings there wasn’t anyone else in the restaurant in the beginning, maybe that couldn’t be avoided. However, they could have been busying themselves with other work as opposed to watching my every bite. Eventually, another customer came in, an American man, who sat at the table next to mine. He was ordering bruschetta, but did NOT want one with pesto. There was some type of misunderstanding between the waitress and him, so the owner/chef came over to intervene. The customer apologized, then the chef/owner apologized because the waitress couldn’t understand. When they’d gotten his order straightened out, the chef/owner leaned over in my direction and said “Enjoy your meal!” Though appreciated, the sentiment came a little too late. I paid my bill, which was expensive for Vietnam, and left.
After lunch, I walked by the travel agency that D. and I had been in the day before when she was inquiring about Siem Reap and some island. I was semi-interested in taking an afternoon sunset photography tour the next day given by Hoi An Photo Tours. After making a phone call, the agency told me that there would be no afternoon sunset tours either Friday or Saturday; only the morning sunrise tour would be offered on Saturday. My reservations about taking the morning sunrise tour were being picked up at 4:45 a.m. and riding a bike back to Hoi An. The girl at the agency eventually put me on the phone with one of the tour operators, a Frenchman named Etienne. He said that if I was dead set against taking a bike ride back to Hoi An, a local could give me a motorbike ride back to Hoi An or a taxi could be called, but it would be an extra charge paid out of pocket. Neiither of those options would cost me more than $10, if that much, so I signed up for the tour, with the stipulation that I did NOT have to ride a bike back to Hoi An!
Later that afternoon I stopped off for a drink at Q Bar, a very nice bar that was playing “party” music. I sat outside, though, to people watch. While we’d been having $0.19 glasses of bia hoi the night before across the river, I was partaking of “expensive” LaRues at Q Bar for $2.50! While chilling outside, a drunken Aussie girl was dancing wildly in the street. A little Vietnamese boy that looked to be about 1 1/2 to 2 years old toddled up next to her and tried to emulate her dancing. She was so wrapped up in herself thst she didn’t even notice. It was so funny! Then one of her friends stomped out of the restaurant/bar, grabbed her and said “The tourists are NOT going to be coming here to watch YOU! Get inside!”
Dinner that night was to be at Hoi An Moon Restaurant. Beginning with my very first day in Hoi An, one of the waiters would stand outside and beg me to have lunch or dinner there. I would always say “Soon.” Preferring to be a person of my word, Friday would be the night. I was probably there around 8:30 p.m. in a dress even! It was not MY waiter that greeted me or seated me upstairs. “My” waiter was already upstairs chatting up a couple who were nearly done with their dinner. The restaurant is quite lovely inside, though it’s gotten mixed reviews as far as the food. I went with my by-now standard white rose dumplings and bun cha. By that time, “my” waiter came over to greet me and chat. His name is Hai and he’s super friendly and full of energy. He asked how my week had gone, when my departure would be and what my plans for the following day would be. When he heard that I was doing a photography tour in the morning, he said that I should have spoken to him first! He assured me that one of his friends could take me out in the countryside to their village to take photos for a much cheaper price. He convinced me to go with his friend on Saturday afternoon and we agreed on a price of $10 for an hour’s time. I paid Hai. He told me not to worry – that his friend would pick me up at the hotel at 1:00 p.m. If his friend didn’t show up for any reason, I could go back to the restaurant and he’d refund my money. Yeah, he was quite the salesman, but he put out great energy and seemed very honest. Besides, $10 wouldn’t kill me; Hanoi taxi drivers had ripped me off for that much! Before my food arrived, I walked around the restaurant to take a few pictures. Hai took one of me, too! The white rose dumplings were fine, but I wouldn’t rave about them. The bun cha, however, was excellent. Bun cha is grilled pork (patties or sausage) over vermicelli noodles with a heaping plate of fresh herbs and either broth or a dipping sauce. Super yum!
Thus, my Friday ended on a good note. Had it not been for the scheduled 4:45 a.m. pick-up on Saturday morning, I might have had a few drinks back at Faifoo, Q Bar, Green Mango or even The Meet Market!
Boots Made in Hoi An
Flats Made in Hoi An
The Picture that Hai took of Me
Bun Cha from Hoi An Moon Restaurant
Interior of Hoi An Moon Restaurant
Another View of Interior of Hoi An Moon Restaurant