The last day of 2014 began with a walking tour of Hoi An complete with a stop at one of the old homes in the town and another temple. I'm afraid I'm hopelessly incapable of remembering how to distinguish one temple from another. Tur, our guide, goes to great lengths to enlighten us about their history and it's rather lost on us all. Must be a bit discouraging for him. The old section of Hoi An is full of tourists, and shopping opportunities. One seems to go hand in hand with the other. Australian accents predominate, it seems. Not surprising given it is relatively close. We had one other stop at a shop that produced silk embroidered prints, so life-like it is hard to believe they are not photos. The young women doing this train for two years, and likely earn a pitance.
At the end of the tour Tur took us to fabric (mostly silk) and leather places for those of us interested in having clothes or shoes made. I opted for the shoes. They can be ready in one day! Lunch was at a restaurant called the Mermaid. I had white rose, one of the traditional dishes served there (shrimp wrapped in rice paper). In the afternoon the women in the tour group went off for some pampering: hair cut and/or pedicure at the spa in the hotel. Can't say that was an entirely satisfactory experience. I certainly wouldn't recommend them.
We'd all agreed to spend New Year's Eve at a local hotel that was putting on a buffet and show to celebrate the new year. The buffet was decent but the show awful. They must somehow think we want to see some variation of the sort of show that is put on in Time Square. Many did seem to be enjoying it but 5 of us in the group left and were home by 10. There was some celebrating going on at our hotel as well, so sleeping wasn't in the cards.
On New Year's day we were free to do our own thing. I wasn't interested in an activity so spent the day wandering about the town and, I must confess, doing a bit of shopping. My suitcase is getting heavier at each stop. For our last supper in Hoi An, Tur took us to a restaurant that was full of locals, always a good sign. They served a set menu of items one was intended to wrap in rice paper. Our server took pity on us and prepared most of the wraps. Otherwise we'd likely still be there. My shoes, which had been promised for 6:00, finally were delivered to the restaurant about 8. I must confess I had largely given up hope. And they fit!
On the town tour-women chatting in the street
Inside the temple-hanging coils of incense
Preparing the silk embroidered prints
Getting fitted for shoes
New bridge in the old section of Hoi An
