Life goes on in Hoi An

Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Hội An, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam
At the moment I'm treading water, the Tet build up is almost complete and Hai has been cooking what seems like enough food to feed a small army. I had luch with Kiwi Keith a couple of days ago and he commented that the Vietnamese go into a food buying frenzy during Tet as though they are hunkering down for the apocalypse when all that happens is that shops and the market are closed for a couple of days. They love their food and it's a great excuse to eat lots of it. 
Today I had luch with my friend Thien who you may remember from a trips a few years ago who borrowed money off me to start a barbers business. He never did and he never paid me back and I never asked him. He is a gardener and in a couple of days he is showing me around a private bonsai garden of one of his clients. Pictures will follow fear not.
On the food front again, quite a few restos have closed and Hai and I have to drive around looking for one that is open and a few nights ago we found one on Ly Thuong Kiet which sells Mien Ga which is transparent noodles and chicken. Doesn't sound too great does it, but if you got it in a 5 start resto you would give it , well, 5 stars. Such a simple dish and so good and served up in a very basic nook on the street. 
I have included a few pics which are of transient interest. The road to Danang which foolows the beach has now been intersected by a new highway that cuts directly through the rice fields and straight to the Cua Dai bridge and the Tam Ky road. Thats the strength/weakness of a communist government , they decide to build a road through the rice fields and they do it with no protest, at least not visibly, and within a year they have laid down 10 kms of highway with many bridges and intersections. And why? Because the Cua Dai bridge leads to the huge casino at Hoi An South which is taking shape. The other benefit is that it cuts out the bottle necks on the way to Cua Dai beach which includes a bridge that is only wide enough for one bus. 
A few pics of cafe Moc Lan where I have coffee every morning with my friend Lan. The Vietnamese love their gardens and its one reason I love them. Also included are some bonsais which are everywhere here, just about every house you go into or every cafe.
One photo I included got me into hot water with a friend on Facebook. The one I entitled Man Bun/Woman bun. Fairly innocuous you would think but this guy/woman , yes he's transgender, assailed me for making a binary sex distinction. But thats ok she wants to educate people and it seemed to her I was ignorant even though I have been a big supporter of her change, which lets face it, has been a shock.
I have included the requisite number of food photos including one of a table full of food at Omars Indian resto where i took the Le family. I had no idea they liked Indian food but Manus Campbell the ex GI introduced them to it and they absolutely love it. We went twice this week and the second time when I said to My Le , do you want Indian? her eyes lit up and she virtually rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
Dinner tonight was Com Tam which is broken rice an egg and a pice of fried pork. Nothingg great but the fish sauce saved it.
Thien gave me a present of a bamboo chopstick or cutlery holder-pic included.
More later folks

Comments

Jay
2019-02-05

Beautiful photos as usual Les and yummy food. Would that transgender person be the same one that I know? Sometimes some ignorance is bliss!

2025-02-10

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