Hoi An

After the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, the costal town of Hoi An was a nice change. We spent the first day relaxing on the beach after a hectic bike ride from our hotel along the highway alongside some rice paddies to the sea. Gemma and Alex decided the danger wasn't worth it and strapped their bikes on top of a cab for the rid back, but Laura, Zahra and I couldn't get enough of the heat and opted for a longer route home to see some more of the gorgeous countryside. Dinner that night at Morning a glory was the perfect way to end the day. 

The next day, we woke up early to meet Van, our guide/cooking school chef, to brave the local market. We had a day of Vietnamese cooking ahead of us at the Green Bamboo. The market was a lot of fun until we got to the meat and fish part where I had to excuse myself. I'm not particularly partial to seeing raw meat. After that, we had a coffee stop along the row of tailors that were luring us into their stores. Not to worry, we had plenty of time later to visit them. We then went to Van's cooking school for a day of food and fun. This really was a great day. Each person in the class selected a dish to cook and received instructions on how to prep and cook the dish. We grazed through all twelve dishes throughout the day ending on a delicious pho. I made a chicken curry with coconut milk that I can't wait to make again when I finally get back home (wherever that may be). 

After the class, Gemma and I had the bus drop us back off at the market so we could check out the tailors. We both ended up having a dress custom made (the same one, in fact). Hoi An is known as the capital of tailoring in Vietnam for a reason.  We're both very pleased with our purchases. We had a great dinner at Green Mango with the rest of the group later on, despite having sworn off food earlier in the day after eating a twelve course meal at the cooking school.