Last Day in Hoi An

Wednesday, January 2, 2008.

For our final day in Hoi An we decided to fortify ourselves with a gourmet breakfast (including pain au chocolat!) back at The Cargo Club before we started our exploration of the architectural gems the town had to offer. It was fitting to end our Hoi An adventure where it all began!

After cafeinating ourselves with strong Hoi An coffee, we went to the first fitting of Charles' wool coat. We realized during the fitting that some alterations needed to be made, so while we were waiting we did some power packing and power souvenir shopping before going back for the final fitting. The final fitting was successful so we proceeded to buy tickets to see some of the sights. (Because Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they sell tickets to see the interiors of some of the buildings in order to raise money for the on-going preservation projects.)

Our first stop was the "Japanese Bridge," and then we visited a house (the Phung Hung House) inhabited for many generations by the same merchant family that was known for their embroidery. Afterwards we crossed back over the bridge and visited the Museum of Trade Ceramics (where Charles found--much to his surprise--a series of Ho Chi Minh postcards) and a Chinese meeting hall with an amazing fountain in the center courtyard depicting a dragon emerging from water that looked like it was attacking a giant goldfish.

We ended our last few hours in this lovely town by taking photos and video of the market sellers, boats and buildings. Ended with lunch at Cafe Can, a local joint filled with a few French tourists including a couple with a young boy who was enjoying picking crabs out of a large water filled bucket in front of our table. Laura decided to have one more taste of Cao Lau (yes, not very imaginative decision but it was our last chance!), and Charles had a simple bowl of pho which was very tasty and warm--a nice antidote to the chilly, damp day.

We grudgingly decided to leave the cafe to head back to our hotel so that we could meet the van that was going to take us back to the Danang Airport. Of course we snapped as many photos as possible of the quaint village along the way! We were sad to leave one of the best stops on our trip!
(see next blog entry for the rest of this day's activities in Hanoi!)