We headed off at 8:30 for a short mini bus ride to our coracle boat trip. These are traditional round bamboo basket boats rooted in the history of Hoi An. During the colonial era, the French imposed taxes on fishing boats. These taxes could be avoided through the use of coracles, which had a different classification. They were traditionally used as fishing vessels and are now a major eco- tourism attraction in the area.
There were literally hundreds of the boats around. Tourists could learn how to throw out the fishing nets and experience the boat spinning. Donna opted for a speedier spinning experience which everybody enjoyed watching. 🤣 The first part of the boat experience had Gangnam Style music as the background, we then passed a group singing along to Ed Sheeran and eventually turned into a very peaceful channel of water coconuts where we were able to try crabbing. This was all rounded off with a lovely coconut drink straight out of the coconut in the nearby bar.
We went back to the centre and Thin took us to try Banh Mi at Banh Mi Phoung, visited and highly recommended by Anthony Bourdain.
This is one of Asia’s best examples of fusion cuisine as it is a French style baguette stuffed with fresh and flavourful Vietnamese ingredients. We were able to stroll down the road and eat it in a nearby café where Dave and Ben tried the famous weasel coffee. This coffee is digested, fermented and excreted by a civet (weasel-like mammal) before being made into a premium coffee. The process is said to reduce bitterness and produce a smooth, luxurious coffee. The rest of us thought we would stick with salt or coconut coffee, although we did have a taste!!
After a break from the midday sun, Jayne, Donna, Ronny and I met in reception and made our way to the Hang dung lantern making class at 3. We had a relaxing time selecting fabric and learning the lantern making technique amidst an array of colourful tassels, fabrics and finished lanterns. Fortunately, our lanterns could be folded for storage on the way home.
After this we joined Jo, Ramie, Dave and Ann for a cooking class at Xoai Xinh Green mango where we had dined yesterday. My namesake Su (Suong) took us on a walk around the market to get various ingredients for the evening, including some typical noodles. A few of us purchased some kitchen gadgets whilst in the market. Her colleague Pinky then showed us how to prepare the dishes below. She was incredibly well organised and we were very impressed with the experience.
The ‘balancing Act’ Green Mango Cooking Class includes the following Menu
1. Green mango shrimp salad
Vietnamese green mango salad marinated in zesty ginger tamarind dressing
2. Chicken coconut soup
Shredded chicken in a spicy lemongrass coconut sour broth
3. Deep fried Duck Spring rolls
Crispy duck rolls served with chili garlic fish sauce
4. BBQ pork in banana leaf
Chargrilled fresh turmeric marinated pork wrapped in banana leaf
5. Red sticky rice
Sticky rice, served with Raspberry vodka purple dragon fruit and coconut sauce
After sampling the (delicious! 
) fruits of our labours, Dave and I strolled along the river to soak up the atmosphere of the year’s first full moon. It was very busy, with various street performances. We saw a singer accompanied by some guitarists and groups of children performing martial arts displays.
Dave then released a lantern into the river. People release floating paper lanterns on the Hoai River in Hoi An to pray for peace, happiness, health, and good fortune, a tradition deeply rooted in local culture and Buddhist beliefs.
We then met some of the others in the Cargo Club where we thought it would be fun to try some durian ice cream and durian cake – luckily we also bought some mixed summer ice creams mango, passionfruit and lemon. These proved handy to mask the taste of the durian! It’s a shame that Dave didn’t have his camera at the ready to capture some of the reactions!!! Suffice it to say that we will not be rushing back to eat more durian. We could understand why it is still banned on public transport in some countries!
An amazing place to see and such fantastic photographs as always
Thanks!