Swallows nests and Cao Lau

Saturday, September 24, 2011
Hoi An, Vietnam
Still raining in Hoi An. Part of the town was flooded this morning and big floods predicted for the Mekong delta. Walked to sisters hotel and on the way saw the Swallows Nest committee in action. This is no fake historical thing for the tourists, the committee building was full of men sitting on the floor and cleaning swallows nests. Yes, cleaning, with a small brush. They had scraped away most of the out side and were left with a crescent shaped shard of, what? Swallow spit and mud?
http://swallow-nest .com/article/?m=200602&paged=2
The two men who were near the door when i took my photo had hundreds of the nests between them and there was at least 30 men in the room all beavering away, and that means 1000's of nests.
Rain still pouring down so I sat down near the market where I took the image of the ducks on the motorbike and the remarkable tree. The Vietnamese seem to have a reverence for trees which is not shared in the west. I have seen many instances of trees growing through buildings or leaning over verandahs on to houses.
Sitting next to me was a man from Melbourne, a chef who was looking for a job at a big resort on the Danang - Hoi An road. He told me the place had 1000 beds and was 50% full. Their main clientele is Chinese and they expect to fill these resorts with Chinese, Japanese and Filipino's. He also said I could rent a house here for $150 a month with a maid and all mod cons.
Caught up with Sis and family and sat down to watch the West Coast-Geelong final. The hotel had imported a huge flat screen tv for us this time and when sis and I ordered lunch they set up a dining table for us in the tv room. Pho Ga again and it was good.
Walked back home early for a nap and the river was higher still. Went out for dinner at Morning Glory to meet faqmily. Where were they? No appearance your worship, so I had Cao Lau....mmmmm-this website incidentally in Hoi An explains it all.... http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2008/12/hoi-an-market-f.html

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