Hoi An has a really neat system for touring the city. You can buy a ticket that has five tabs on it and walk around to see five different things. This streamlines the whole business rather than having to pay individually at every place. The funds raised go to restoring the old houses and keeping the sites in good repair. I can't remember the names of all the places we went, but I know that we saw two old houses, a temple, an assembly hall, and a family chapel. It was wonderful to experience all the architecture and the beautiful colors used to decorate. One of the houses was over 200 years old and the family is still living there. Apparently, Hoi An floods every year, so they take the furniture upstairs and wait it out. Having lived through one too many floods, I assumed that the wood would just rot away or the furniture would be damaged, but there was no rot and no mold and everything was just fine. One of the houses marked the lines to where the flood has risen. Just saying, I would be out of there so fast.
Other than the flooding, the buildings are amazing. such ornate decorating and structures. They are all built with an open courtyard to increase airflow and house many shrines to past family members. Everything was so beautiful.
Lunch today was street food. Both the things I ate were little fried pockets made with a sweet dough. The more square one was filled with a savory, spiced chicken and rice filler. The half-moon one was filled with a sweet black bean paste. Both were delicious, and I want to eat them again. Then we stepped into a cafe where I cooled down with a drink that was pineapple, orange, and lemon juice with grenadine.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant where we got some shrimps, some tofu, and a special Hoi An pancake, which is like an egg tortilla filled with bean sprouts, tofu and corn and probably some other stuff I didn't know was in there. You took some rice paper and put some lettuce and some of the pancake into the rice paper and rolled it up and then dipped it into a chili sauce. It was super delicious! After dinner, we switched venues, and I got a passion fruit lassie. I'm already lamenting the lack of passion fruit in the States upon my return.
On the way to mu passion fruit lassie, we saw an open shop where a group of little kids were singing with two men on guitar and keyboard. The sign outside the room said that they were learning folk songs. They were endlessly cute. Then we kept walking a little and happened upon an outdoor performance of traditional music and dances. The one dance we saw was a story involving a fisherman and two girls. They pretty much just danced around. There may not have been a whole lot of plot. It was a neat find!
On the way to mu passion fruit lassie, we saw an open shop where a group of little kids were singing with two men on guitar and keyboard. The sign outside the room said that they were learning folk songs. They were endlessly cute. Then we kept walking a little and happened upon an outdoor performance of traditional music and dances. The one dance we saw was a story involving a fisherman and two girls. They pretty much just danced around. There may not have been a whole lot of plot. It was a neat find!
There are a lot of dogs and chickens everywhere here. They aren't tagged or collared or even kept behind fences. I haven't figured out if they are communal property or just wild animals, but they all seem to be really nice. Some of the chickens the other day had some patches of missing feathers, but everything else has looked healthy. I haven't seen any dog on the streets to eat, which is good.
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