28.02 Day 44 Hoi An
Wednesday 28th February - Hoi An (Day 44)
Woken at Maison Khoi by the sound of roosters welcoming in the new day. Although there are plenty of tourists on the mainland on this small island, the back streets are definitely home to locals living their own lives. Walking to find breakfast, no sign of rain today, it’s noticeable not just the number of kids on scooters on their way to school but multiple kids on one scooter, and that many are battery powered. Which only seems to make you more cautious as they approach unseen silently.
I find a couple of chicken Banh Mis (confusingly Ga seems to be the word for chicken and train station) and a toasted sandwich, delivering back to the baby birds in the homestay before getting my own breakfast around the corner. Yesterday’s front of house was too generalised with two dishes on the menu, next door they only do My Quang for 20k vnd ($1.30).
Hiring bikes was an option and we’d noticed many bikes come with two saddles, the second above the rear wheel. For 20k vnd for the day they’re dropped at our homestay and with bottles of water, a couple of snacks we head off. The brakes are questionable, but with no gears and 30kg of child on the back we’re not exactly building up a head of steam on these flat roads. And no helmets in sight of course.
We cycle east away from the Old Town towards the coast 5km away, but veer off the road to cycle amongst the rice fields that litter the area. The intricacy of water channels and sluice gets to ensure just the right amount of water in each field is an engineering wonder. Whilst you can see houses on the horizon, the dark shade of green of the rice plants contrasts sharply against the morning blue sky.
Excitingly, we come across a water buffalo under the watchful eye of its owner. We stop just after under a canopy and the buffalo decides it wants to check us out so plods over, The old lady even asks if ‘baby’ Seb would like to get on it’s back, but Seb is having none of it. He does though take the rein and walk the gentle giant with large curved horns and wide feet along the track.
As a family who generally cycle a fair amount it’s really nice to get out and about exploring on two wheels. The kids of course enjoy not having to pedal. For a pit stop, and through luck rather than judgement (or planning) we break at Ban Nam Garden for refreshing drinks amongst a manicured shady front garden prepared by a friendly owner.
We cycle a looping route back into the main area of Hoi An, giving way at junctions a bit more reservedly than local custom would dictate. Lunch is at a roadside sandwich place I’d spied selling "Buggers" (or Burgers).
After a rest and schoolwork at Maison Khoi we cycle even more leisurely to An Hoi island through the Old Town to scope out some more accommodation. It’s only a 20 minute walk from our current base, but once we’ve settled somewhere it gives more opportunity to try local venues and that’s when we’ve had more successes, especially on the food front. Case in point, we end up at the same restaurant for dinner as last night, the kids wolfing down rice dishes whilst Kate and I go again at the DIY spring rolls.
After the bike ride, Kate had (finally) had her first massage - we must have been past thousands in Thailand and now Vietnam but it’s taken until now for her to take the plunge. Like Seb and his food, she’s already talking of returning tomorrow.