Land of One Thousand Tailors

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Vietnamese cuisine doesn't seem to activate a tryptophan power-nap like back home. But we did our best to feast on the local specialty, cao lao (wide noodle soup with water from an ancient well), and our new favorite dish, dau phu xao xa ot (fried lemongrass tofu with chili). Delish. We are also sampling fried vegetarian spring rolls at pretty much every meal.

Today's spring rolls: lots of mushrooms, yum

Of course, nobody here in Hoi An cares about Thanksgiving. Instead, along the sidewalks tonight, families are putting out shrines and burning incense and fake money to honor ancestors and bring good luck in the month ahead.

Today we rented kayaks from a little shop run by a vegan New Zealander and his wife. Paddling here is decidedly mellower than back home, where the waves on Tomales Bay have occasionally nearly capsized the "divorce boats" (aka double kayaks) we've rented.

These boats have eyes

We were able to noodle around some interesting palm trees that grow partly submerged along the coast (much like mangroves), and paddle through some back channels -- probably irrigation canals -- much to the amusement of the people living along them. Guess it isn't everyday that farang come paddling up their way to practice the limbo under a rickety bridge.



We've also been patronizing a local tailor, getting some snazzy duds made to measure. For some reason, Hoi An is home to myriad tailors, and just about anything can be custom made or copied. It's an indulgence we can't afford back home but here it's within reason, plus we've had a chance to actually meet the folks making our clothes.

Vietnam is fast turning into one of the highlights of our journey. Next we bus up to Hue, then across the border back into Laos. Stay tuned!

I'll leave you with the arresting moped model we came across the other day: