Day 5: Hoi An, Vietnam

One of the best parts of this trip has been spending time with my friends, many of whom I don’t see often. It’s interesting to realize that I’m the hub—everyone knew me before the trip, but they didn’t know each other. I’ve been so happy to see how well the whole group gets along. It’s a thousand times easier than the student trips!

What’s the connection? I traveled with.Cassie (at left) on the last student trip and she’s here with her husband, Tom. They are both a lot of fun. I traveled with Harvey on the right and his daughter to France a few years back and he’s here with his wife, Janna. I so enjoy being with them.
Lisa, on right, where is my roommate at UCSB, and Diane, in the middle was our RA. They and Diane hadn’t seen each other for 50 years.
We’ve stayed in close contact with my friend Diane, and now our children who live near them are good friends too. We both like salted caramel gelato.

We are in Hoi An which is a UNESCO world Heritage city with Chinese roots. I loved poking into the little boutique shops. Many of my friends had clothing and shoes custom made. The town is famous for this.

Hoi An rickshaw parking
Harvey and Warren had leather jackets tailor made

The thing about In EF trip is that you get to do so many different kinds of things. And the travel company tries to connect you with authentic experiences. While our clothes were being made, we visited a Rice farm. Only a decade ago many people are still using water buffaloes to plow the fields. Now they have machinery at this farmer, let us try the traditional methods of farming.

Steve actually got in and worked the plow and planted the rice. Such a great sport! I love it

Before our cooking class, we took a guided tour of the huge colorful market.

From there, we took a beautiful boat ride down the river to the restaurant where we would learn to make Vietnamese food

Success in making dish #1: spring rolls
Making spring roll wrappers
Eating the fruits of our labor

One thought on “Day 5: Hoi An, Vietnam”

  1. I had a bunch of clothes made for me when I went to Singapore. Still have and wear most of it. The leather jackets look great. And, of course, the food. Fabulous. I thought the Rajala’s were going to be joining you? ________________________________

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