Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is a 5 hours scenic drive across the spectacular Col des Nuages (the Pass of Ocean Clouds) from Hué. We stopped by the South China sea. Too bad the weather was aweful! I am willing to bet that Vietnam will be the next big beach destination in Asia. They have beautiful beaches and are starting to build resorts.

Marble Mountain

We participated in a Vietnamese cooking class. We first went to the market to buy our ingredients (squid below).

Making spring rolls.

Lanterns

We celebrated the new year in Hoi An, Vietnam. It was a quiet evening as we had to get up at 5am the next day to catch our flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Recommendations:
Accommodation: Vinh Hung Riverside Resort
Activity: Cooking class! Many different options, easy to find.

Happy New Year from Hoi An, Vietnam!

Or Happy Next Year as some people say here! We arrived in Asia over two weeks ago. After spending some time in Phuket, we joined our group in Bangkok. We're having a great time so far. I am most impressed with the food. I am generally picky overseas but I haven't stopped eating since we arrived here. Not to mention all the beer the British and Australian people on our tour are getting me used to!

Today we went to a cooking class held in a local restaurant. We first went to the market to buy all of our ingredients (among other things very alive squids and shrimps). We then made spring rolls, squid salad (hmm not so good), fried rice (pronouced "flied lice" around here), and shrimp/cashew stir fry. It was great despite my 3 rd degree burn (ok, 1/2 degree burn) caused by the boiling oil.

Salut!