Tag 11 - The Foodie and the Beach

After a breakfast consisting of self-brewed Vietnamese coffee and two Custas (small biscuit cakes with custard filling - amazing!), I was picked up from my hotel at 8:30 am. The first stop was the market in Hoi An. Our guide Trang explained to us what each vendor offered and what acceptable prices were. We bought pineapple, lettuce, herbs, rice noodles, and meat at the market.

Afterwards, we were taken to Bay Mau, where we were rowed through the coconut palm forests in the famous round bamboo boats. The boats can spin in circles like teacup carousels. You can also pay an extra fee to be swung around in one of the bamboo boats by one of the rowers to loud music if you want. The atmosphere on the river and in the small boats was very good, and I really enjoyed the fun ride in the sun.

After our boat ride, the main part of our excursion began: the cooking class. Our guide Trang first showed us how rice was peeled and rice milk was made in the past. Then she demonstrated how to make rice paper, and we were allowed to try it ourselves.

Then, under Trang's guidance, we got to cook four traditional Vietnamese dishes: two types of summer rolls with peanut hoisin sauce, Vietnamese pancakes (banh xeo) with fish sauce, rice noodle beef salad, and a classic Hanoi-style pho. The dishes were incredibly delicious. I am looking forward to cooking them at home. Test tasters can contact me. All in all, this excursion was a great experience and for me, the "foodie," one of the highlights of my trip.

Back at the hotel, I made myself a coffee to aid digestion - I was incredibly full after the cooking class - and booked flights and a hotel for the second half of my stay in Vietnam. Then I borrowed a bicycle from the hotel and rode between rice fields to An Bang Beach to let my soul unwind a bit.