Hoi An

JUNE 8:
Our last day in Saigon!! I was ready to leave that busy city! Today was focused on traveling to Hoi An.


Lunch in Hoi An at Dao Tien:


For dinner, we ate at the Bale Well (a back alley restaurant). :(



JUNE 9:
I woke up with a stomach pain and decided to stay in the hotel. Turns out, it was the food I ate yesterday that gave me the stomach infection. I had to call in a doctor and he gave me some medicine along with my Cipro. I've never felt so much pain! It was a horrible experience.

JUNE 10:
When I woke up, I felt a lot better and wanted to go out with the group. Well, because I didn't eat anything yesterday, for breakfast, I ate a piece of bread. Literally, 5 minutes later, the stomach pain came back. I had to stay behind again! :( I was nauseous most of the time and didn't eat anything all day again.

JUNE 11:
For the past two days, I slept and watched Vietnamese television. I was ready to get out! I felt a lot better so I went out with the group to Goi Noi Island, where Gerry was stationed. We rode Captain Dan's boat, he's a character. :)

Graveyard

Me, cattle, corn, and tombs

The site of the massacre where Korean soldiers raped and killed many women and children.

The husband of one of the woman who died in the massacre. His daughter survived by hiding under her dead mother.

All boats in every size have eyes painted on them to scare away the water spirits and crocodiles!

The sun was super hot today!

JUNE 12:
My Son





JUNE 13:
We rode boats to an island famous for woodworking. It's amazing how detailed everything is!





Hoi An's famous Japanese Covered Bridge



JUNE 14:
Today was a free day! A few of us attended a cooking class in the morning. It was fun going through and learning about the food market. We made food art out of peppers and cucumbers. We fried springs rolls, omelets, sweet and sour pork, and made fresh spring rolls. It was delicious!





I spent the rest of this free day shopping! I love Hoi An!

I had a coat custom made for me. :)

JUNE 15:
Our last day in Hoi An. :( I loved it there. I was supposed to go to the beach, which is five minutes away, with everyone the past three days, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't wake up at 4:30 in the morning! So, on the last day, I made myself get up at 4:30 a.m. and took a taxi. South China Sea is gorgeous! The mountains, sunrise, and sand, and everything was so beautiful. It was relaxing and the water felt great! I didn't stay in the water that long though because I came across a few jelly fishes swimming around me! It was scary! There were a lot of Vietnamese people there, from the old doing tai chi to the young playing volleyball. I stayed there until 6 a.m. I will return to Hoi An one day and visit the beach again!




We spent most of the day traveling to Hue. It was a five hour drive in the bus on narrow curvy roads up in the mountains. Reminded me of Ecuador! I caught up on my sleep the whole way there.