Today is the first day of the new Vietnamese month otherwise known as Buddha day, so no meat available at breakfast. I went to get Mi Quan that beautiful concoction of broth, noodles, pork, bamboo shoots, croutons and quails eggs but instead got noodles with vegetables. Still tasty though and still only 20,000 or $1. Last night the girls Na and Nhi suggested Hue food. Hue is only 100kms away from here but the food is quite different. I think Bourdain calls Hue the food capital of VN. Most of the treats involved sticky rice, hard to explain but it involved shrimp ot small pieces of pork wrapped in a glutinous semi opaque coating of rice paste. These were cooked wrapped in I think coconut leaves. We also had spring rolls which were excellent as well, so good we ordered more. I'm definitely not a food writer but if you ever come here try this place. It's in a laneway off Ly Truong Kiet. The whole meal for four people and a few beers was 200,000.

Being Buddha day we all have to smile all day as it brings luck according to Na.. Nick went to Thams shop for a massage to bring her good luck for the month and I did my bit at My Le's. Gunther told me the story of him building a new room on the house he stays in at Cam Nam. He lives with a family there and supports them in everything, school fees, doctors and hospital fees and he is paying to have the house enlarged. He wanted the building to start while he was here and kept asking why it wasn't started. "Not auspicious day" was the reply. Setting another day he was told, "Only a good day for half the family" He told the woman to go to the temple and find a day that was auspicious for the whole family and it turned out it is today. So they can now start work.  Then he was confronted with the problem of where to place the Buddha shrine in the new part of the house, The shrine must face outside and have the bulk of the house behind it but it must have a good view out the windows as well, Buddha is very particular where he is placed apparently.

After the morning massages Nick and I rode over to An Hoi island to try to find Miss Vy's Market Shop which is a huge open resto catering to the foodie culture of westerners. Food prices were ridiculous by Vietnamese standards 35,000 for a Larue beer which would be 15,000 at Banana Split cafe. The whole place is beautifully set out and one feature is that Miss Vy employs mainly women in the kitchens which could be taken cynically as they would be cheaper to employ. Miss Vy helped My Le get a start in Hoi An and is a very well liked and supportive person so I believe she is just helping women get started as chefs. 

Tonights dinner at Xanh.....