Hoi An

Flower candles

 

Lanterns during the Full Moon Festival

My Son- ancient Cham ruins

 

Cool architecture in the city

Hoi An riverside

Hoi An is about halfway up the coast of Vietnam. The old part of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were so lucky to show up on the 14th day of the lunar month (full moon.) The city has a festival every month on that day. All of the streetlights are turned off and the streets are lit with lanterns. A tradition is to go down to the river and float paper flowers with candles in them down the river along with wishes, hopes, thoughts, prayers... It was really beautiful.
We took a day trip to another World Heritage site down the river- My Son. Ancient ruins from the 5th- 12th century. The place was heavily bombed during the war. There are bomb craters scattered here and there. We brought a boat back up the river which was a nice change from the crazy mini bus rides.
Hoi An is known for a bunch of different special foods. My favorite is called Banh Xeo- a crispy rice cake with pork and shrimp in it. You fill it with a bean sprout and herb/lettuce mixture then wrap the whole thing in a rice paper. Dip it in a spicy sauce and eat it. So delicious! I think I ate it for every meal.
The first time I tried it was in the market. It was brought to me deconstructed and the lady who made it walked me through the process. At one point I made the mistake of using two rice papers instead of one. She just shook her head and grabbed the roll out of my hand (as I was taking a bite) and fixed it for me. I really need to take some Vietnamese cooking lessons.
I'm going to miss this food so much. I was getting a little skinny- my appetite was off for a while after being sick in Cambodia. I'm making up for it in Vietnam. Can't stop eating...

Bahn Xeo