In the morning we realised what a delightful room we have...views to the river and over the garden.
Our room is on the top right of this wing...
Will came and sat with us and we made plans for the day. He was keen to visit Tony the Tailor to get some pants made, so we (Pete, Jaclyn - who had come down from Hà Nội early yesterday, Will, Katie, Jordan and I ) caught the mid-morning shuttle bus into Hộị An.
Once in Hộị An, we went straight to Will's tailor "Tony the Tailor", where a super vibrant business-woman, Lan, welcomed him like a long lost friend.... I think he must be used to that - everyone loves Will. He had been here a couple of months ago and had some clothes made, which he is very happy with. The other three all ordered clothes, and then Lan took us on to a Shoe Shop, where I ordered three pairs of shoes... Which cost me $25 a pair! They will be ready tomorrow.
After that we wandered around the town shopping.... There is so much to see it's very easy to lose track of time.
Jordan and I walked through this three hundred year old house...
Built by a Chinese merchant in the late 17th Century, Quân Thắng shop-house is one of the oldest and most beautiful houses in Hộị An. It is typical of the one-storey houses that connect two streets front and back. It has many ancient architectural features in it's construction that make it both spacious and well ventilated as well as beautiful.
In the kitchen a lady was preparing this local delicacy...White Rose
, In the kitchen a lady was preparing this local delicacy...White Rose
The son of the owner pointed out the flood marks on the pillar behind him...the highest mark was the 1964 flood....the others are since then. I wonder how many times in it's lifetime this old house has been under water? He showed us a postcard of boats ferrying people down the street outside.
Eventually at about 1:30 we stopped off at a restaurant down by the river and ordered lunch...
Because it was late for lunch, we had the restaurant to ourselves and it was lovely and peaceful looking out.
Eventually at about 1:30 we stopped off at a restaurant down by the river and ordered lunch...
More delicious food....Then out of the blue, Lan came bustling in, looking for Jaclyn with a wad of fabric swatches...they didn't have enough of the fabric she'd selected for her coat, so could she please choose another? We were all blown away...how on earth did she find us???? We figured she must have spies all around he town keeping an eye out...or maybe we were just a conspicuous bunch of tourists! She told us later that she just drove around till she spotted us....
Enough shopping! We caught a taxi back to MUCA and headed for the pool
Will spotted this gardener lurking at the edge of the pool perving on one of the pretty young guests. We dubbed him the Creeper and kept a close watch on him.
In the evening we dropped by the shoe place again for fittings
Will was particularly taken with this leather jacket that was on display...
We then walked down to the river to find somewhere for dinner. The lights and the riverside by night are gorgeous...my photo definitely doesn't do it justice
We found a place and sat down... balmy night, picturesque setting, great company....
Oh well...every other place we've eaten has been great.
After that we dropped in to a bar for a drink. Jordie had her fourth mango smoothie for the day.
It wasn't long before our group was joined by another four from Hà Nội and it was pretty obvious they were in for a heavy session, so Katie, Jordan and I bailed and caught a taxi back to MUCA....very happy with our purchases and our day.
A blissfully strong hot shower and restful sleep in that enormous bed! Aaaaaah......
No comments:
Post a Comment