And so our Vietnam adventure has devolved into a simple daily holiday iteration. How easy it is to revert to slob mode . . .
Breakfast: Complimentary, of course. Chilled peach nectar; coffee; freshly baked croissants and jam; cereals; peppered rice soup with pork or shrimp; a course of Viet hot dishes like pork and stir fried rice with obligatory bacon; a variety of eggs from the egg chef; a plate of mixed fresh fruit - pineapple, mango, dragon, papaya and water melon; pineapple juice to wash it down.
Pool or Beach: Complimentary towels laid out on sunbeds by the riverside pool; walk across the road to private beach and watch the waves; couple of hours Kindle-reading; couple of hours walk along the endless beach (you can see Da Nang in the distance) watching the young and beautiful splash about in warm waters.
Balcony: afternoon Bacardi Gold & Coke on the room's balcony facing the ducks and occasional solitary fishermen on the calm De Vong river behind the hotel (one bottle @ £7 courtesy of a local supermarket); air-con handy if it gets too hot.
Evening: drinks at one of the many cafes and bars on the road to town; sit at the roadside and watch the world go by.
Dinner: pick from one of the above-mentioned cafes or back to the beach to one of the dozen self-styled Seafood Restaurants. Last night we went back to a little bar called The Grasshopper to try a selection of Hoi An specialties. Cao Lau -- chewy noodles topped with pork slices, herbs, crunchy offcuts, pork broth and chilli jam. White Rose -- small dumplings filled with shrimp according to a secret 120 year old recipe. Rice paper tortillas -- roll up your own tortillas using rice paper, vegetables and meat and then dunk in a peanut sauce (we first discovered this at the Lac Thien Restaurant in Hue that Steve recommended in his comment, without actually naming it or supplying directions of course! Never mind, found it next to the Citadel in the end). The meal, together with a couple of large Saigon beers and Margaritas came to around £12.
Now re-apply the above treatment until all aching feet, swollen knees, head colds and chest infections have disappeared. Repeat again just to make sure.
*Sigh* Unfortunately, our time is up. Four nights later and the power of pre-booking hotels on the internet on the cheap forces us to pack our bags again tomorrow and move on to Hoi An town. Farewell fellow beach bums!
3 comments:
Oops & Aargh as all I have are my pictures and memories. I may drop South America and head back. Had the timing been better I may have got on the next plane.
Lo, sounds like you lotus eaters have finally arrived ...... I'm guessing having read all that prose about food that the quiet Tottonian has been to the local den and discovered the elixir of life !!
Amazing how far a UK pension goes in the orient and you feel so much better as well. Anyway, have I cancelled your return flight and am working up a sub let on a room in soi 59. I am presuming a night out in soi 11 is off the agenda and you will be planning a karma session at the local wat before heading off to chilli ( you'll be lucky) in Samet - air con is now officially on ! Inspired by your writings, its is the Burns season after all, have launched into a bottle of Bacardi Gold myself tonight ahhh...
Bangkok Banger
Glad we are all having fun,soaking up everything we can lay our hands on, some of us poor people are still in gainful employment having to struggle through the snow (well did all gone now.
Talking of pork broth get some recipes to bring back as Freddy Pigglesworth and chums are now in piggy Heaven having met the grime reaper earlier today.Must make space in the freezer!!
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