Mother's Day In Hoi An

We started the day with a lovely buffet breakfast before heading on our cycling tour through the country side of Hoi An.

We were met in the foyer of our hotel by our guide named Hang at 8.30am. She guided us out of the city and into the beautiful Hoi An countryside. We cycled through the rice fields and then travelled through many narrow streets and lanes into the villages. Being on the bikes was the only way to truly take in what we were seeing. Travelling by car was not an option, but if it were, you really could not have taken in the beauty and simplicity of the way that the Vietnamese people live.

The housing ranged from bamboo huts through to brick housing and each was unique in its own way. Children sleeping on bamboo beds during the day, adults sitting or squatting and chatting with friends and family. Water palm fronds being chopped from trees and being dried for roofing on houses. Seeds and grain being dried on the road, chickens roaming in front yards, women carrying baskets loaded with fruit and vegetables and children running out to say "Hello" as we rode past.

Our first stop was at a local fishing village. The family welcomed us with a lovely cold drink of water which we so desperately needed as it is so hot and humid in Hoi An at the moment. After having our drink we walked to the area where the villagers moor their fishing boats and we hopped aboard a small basket boat with two of the village fishermen. They took us through the water palm forest where the guerillas used to hide during the war. We had the opportunity to fish for purple crab here and they made grasshoppers, birds, warrior headwear and rings from the palm leaf. We also had the opportunity to row the basket boat which was great fun. After the basket boat we all had the opportunity to try the traditional method of fishing with a hand cast net.

Our second stop was at a traditional Vietnamese house made from bamboo. The older lady who owned it spoke very little english, but was very friendly. She prepared some snacks and soy tea for us for morning tea. We enjoyed watermelon, rice pancakes and coconut. Her home backed onto the river surrounded by water palms. Whilst we were there a couple of fishermen went past in their traditional wooden boats. It was so beautiful and I had that feeling of wanting to pinch myself as I couldn't believe that we were lucky enough to be experiencing all of this. She took my hand as we were leaving and squeezed it so tightly in her two hands. I will never forget this day.

Our third stop was at a vegetable village that a communal group of families owned. Mr Hia, a village leader, was the gentleman that we had the pleasure of meeting and showing us through the gardens. He showed us a variety of herbs that were grown and we were shown the traditional way that they water the garden. They still use this technique today. Mr Hia is a chef at one of the top resorts in Hoi An and he demonstrated some techniques for decorative food preparation. He also gave us a fun cooking lesson and sent through his recipes via email to us.

Lastly we road to a 200 year old pottery village where we each made a pot. The turntable was powered the traditional way using feet. One lady made the pot whilst the other turned the pottery wheel. The village had many narrow laneways and we did notice was that these people appeared to be particularly poor.

That was our last stop and we rode back to the resort via Hoi An. It was later in the day so the traffic was busy (nothing like Hanoi though) but even so I was thinking at the time "What are we thinking...no helmets....kids riding amongst the traffic....bikes beeping....cars tooting......crazy!". We had ridden about 35 - 40 km's for the day and were very exhausted by the end of it.

It was the most memorable mother's day. One I will treasure and remember forever.