Cooking at Red Bridge and Sleeper bus

Saturday, October 2, 2010 and Sunday, October 3, 2010
(written on the sleeper bus on the evening of October 2)

Excited to start the day today. Got ready and had breakfast before heading over to Kimmy’s for a fitting. Loved the new dress I picked out and the other ones were coming along. Still had some changes I wanted made, so I told them I’d come back at 4pm. Took so long that I didn’t have time to do my shoes. I rushed over to Hai Café, but it turned out we sat for a while before going to the market. Foul (I think that’s what her name was) showed us the market and pointed out local produce. More rain, so the umbrellas got in the way a bit. My group of six was me, Michelle, her daughter Jackie and brother David (who I’d been talking to at the welcome drink) and a couple (George and Laura); all from Australia.

Boarded the boat to the school which is a few kilometers from Hoi An. Beautiful setting but it rained the whole boat ride. Had a welcome drink before going to the demonstration area. The chef had a fabulous sense of humor. He first made a seafood salad served in a pineapple bowl. We didn’t get to make it ourselves, but we did try it at lunch. Next on tap was rice paper. You must leave rice in water for seven hours and then it becomes milky. Spread the milky substance over a cloth on heat and cover for a few minutes. A shrimp and vegetable mix went on the inside. Then we went to our stations and got to make the rice paper ourselves. Mine had a couple small holes, but when I wrapped the prawn mix inside and rolled it you couldn’t see them. Fresh spring roll - delicious.


Making rice paper

 

Next dish was a Hoi An pancake with seafood. After watching, it was back to the stations to prepare the dish. Put oil in the small pan, then poured in the batter which had the shrimp; topped with sprouts and scallions. Pour off oil. Turn over with spatula. Place pancake in rice paper with greens and wrap. Very tasty.

Last course was eggplant in a clay pot. Had to chop the garlic, lemongrass, eggplant and tomato. First put the garlic and tomatoes in, then the eggplant and some turmeric, sugar, salt and pepper. The chili and lemongrass were added later. We let that cook while we made some food decorations, one from cucumber one from tomato. Mine were so bad. The cucumber broke since I’d cut the slices too thick and I couldn’t manage to peel the skin off the tomato correctly to make a rose. Oh well.

My sad food art and eggplant in clay pot

When our clay pots were done, we took them to the table and were served rice. Next on the menu was the seafood salad with rice crackers and lastly a fish dish which we wrapped in rice paper (recipe not given). All the food was fantastic; wonderful day with fabulous people.

Got back to Hoi An by boat and arrived at 3pm. Went to get my shoes, which fit pretty well and look nice, then back to Kimmy’s. Red jacket looked great (I changed the pockets and added a lining), so did the new short-sleeved shirt (they took off the buttons on the sleeves). The black dress fit perfect but the two others still needed some small changes, and I sat there while they worked. In the end, everything turned out really well.

When I went to pay and ship, I found out that the only service to the US is the expensive airmail (which still takes 3-4 weeks) and was costly for 5.5 kgs. But what was I supposed to do? There was no way I could travel with three dresses, two jackets, two skirts, three shirts and a pair of shoes. All-in-all, the items were a lot less than they would have been in the States and fit perfectly to my body. I’m excited to wear everything when I get back.

By the time I finished at Kimmy’s, I had less than an hour at the hotel. Walked to Sinh Café to get my bus to Nha Trang. And that’s where I am right now, currently sitting on the left side of the bus on the top bunk in my little sleeper bed. I’m excited to be having this experience since it’s so different to what I’m used to. Glad I was able to get my writing done for today and just watched the latest episode of Glee. Should be an interesting journey since the toilet isn’t working (we just had a rest stop) but I plan on taking an Ambien and going to bed. It’s currently 8:45pm and we arrive in Nha Trang around 6am.


On the sleeper bus

(written on the bus on October 3)


Am now on the bus from Nha Trang to Dalat. The sleeper bus was easy. I watched Grey’s Anatomy after our rest stop then took an Ambien. It wasn’t the best night sleep but I didn’t really wake up until 5:30am when we arrived outside Nha Trang. There was a tranquil beauty driving along the beach at dawn before being crowded with tourists. I used the internet for a few minutes and then strolled along the beach for 30 minutes before coming back to get on the bus to Dalat, a seated, not sleeper bus. The road has been extremely curvy and not paved in parts, so it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride. There is also a hint of smelly feet in the air which is highly unpleasant.



I decided to go through the photos on my camera because I need to make some space and I have too many old ones. Looking back on the first six weeks of my trip brought back fabulous memories. I feel so blessed to have seen so many places, experience different cultures and taste a variety of foods. It’s times like these that strengthen my will to travel and continue to excite me for the future. I’m so delighted I’m here.

(written in Dalat)

Made it to Dalat.  Was looking for a hotel when I met an Israeli couple heading to the same place.  We decided to hop in a taxi; thank goodness because it was a lot further than I anticipated.  There was only one room available so I told them I’d find something else.  Peace Hotel (mentioned in Footprint) was around the corner and cost $6 a night, versus the $20 at the other place, so I settled in there and told Amir and Ruthie that I’d meet them for dinner.  Peace café, on the ground floor of the hotel, seemed a popular place to hang out and I met some girls and decided to join them for a walk around Dalat.

The city is very hilly and a lot bigger than the Lonely Planet map makes out.  After stopping in the central market, we strolled down to the lake and ended up walking the entire 7km perimeter.  Once it started raining, I was ready to go back to the hotel to relax.  Met up with Amir and Ruthie, as planned, and we enjoyed dinner at Chocolate.  Lovely evening but by the time we were done I needed to get to bed.