Caves, clothes, and cao lau

2/23/2008: Our return to land started with a stop at the “amazing” cave. And amazing it was. A huge cavern with suggestively lit outcroppings and crazy stalagtites, or are they stalagmites? Either way, they were very impressive. We stopped for a tasty, though not blog-worthy lunch before embarking on a long day of travel---3 hour bus ride to Hanoi, 1 hour flight to Da Nang, and a 1 hour cab ride to our final destination of Hoi An.

JM – The entire town of Hoi An is a World Cultural Site, and is a must-stop on any tourist's itinerary. In addition to it's unique blend of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese architecture and culture, Hoi An is renowned for a few signature dishes. So, of course, we kicked off our visit with a trifecta sampling of their delicacies. First up, Hoanh Thanh Chien (fried won tons). They're stuffed with minced pork and topped with a pork, shrimp, vegies and sweet and sour sauce. Really tasty. A great combo of sweet, salty, crunchy and chewy. Next up was the 'white rose'. A delicate dish, that while tasty wasn't something I'll order again. And finally, Cao Lau (check spelling). A noodle dish topped with bean sprouts, pork rinds, and roasted pork. The noodles are thick and have more of a bite to them than those found in pho or the bun (vermicelli) dishes. Pretty good, though I think BDM's more of a fan than I am.

BDM – Hoi An is really quite an amazing town, home to generations of folk musicians, artisans and craftsmen. Well known for it's plethora of tailor shops, we wasted no time getting some custom clothes made up for us. I had two dress shirts made up for my hard-to-fit-off-the-shelf lanky frame, and it set me back $23 and two ass-slaps from the flamboyant tailor Mr Xe (sorry folks, no video here). We also found ourselves cruising through a food market which puts the Oakland farmers market to shame! All this shopping sure worked up an appetite. The Cao Lau noodles were really tasty, particularly the pork rind croutons that added a captain crunch-like texture to the typical noodle dish. The won tons were far tastier than anything that I've found in the states, served almost like a delicious sea-food nacho. Of course I tried the local beer here (two words come to mind: light, and lite), and currently leading the overseas beer competition is tiger and '333'.

Well, we're off to Saigon Ho Chi Minh city to check out the frenetic life in south Vietnam, before ducking across the border into Cambodia. Stay tuned.