*Bibimbop : Bikes, Knives and Tailors

Every vacation needs a vacation, and for us it was supposed to be Hoi An (8/8-10).

However, Hoi An proved to have too many things to do and we were constantly on the go moving between one place and the next.

There were the:

Tailors -

What girl doesn't love shopping? and even more... what girl doesn't love having clothes custom made for her?!! Very few I would think!!

And there is no place better in Vietnam to have clothes made than Hoi An!

Yet I was guarded! I had had a dress made in Bangkok when I was there during the winter and learned the hard way that tailor shops could be a bit more than they were worth (or so my one dress for $150 would lead me to believe. Yes, I said ONE dress. Sadness.) So despite my travelmates eager eyes and ready wallets, I managed to withstand the temptation. For the first 10mins. Then I caved and was asking for all sorts of goodies to be made!!

It started off so innocent...

Me: Oh well I do have a shirt I love, but it has seen better days, I could have one of those made.

Designer: Yes, Meagan I can do that! What do you want made?

Me: ...explaining shirt...

Designer: I can do that easy. What else do you want?

Me: No that's it.

Designer: You can look at this book for ideas (hands me a book thicker than the Bible).

Me: This is cute.... and this is nice... and I do like this dress I'm wearing, I could have another made in black...

So much for going in with the determination not to buy anything!! I was just like a kid writing out her Christmas list to Santa, my brain had no end to what it could want.

I was able to finally rope in my desires and round out my order with: a maxi dress, a simple black dress, two shirt-tunics blouse things, and a blazer. Ran the Visa for XXX and silenced a small panic attack that I had just paid out more than I normally would, for pieces I wasn't sure if I was going to like once they were finished.

Thankfully, I LOVED all the pieces when they were completed!! And have happily been wearing them all around Busan!

Knives -

I am a self proclaimed non-foodie and a novice in the kitchen, yet some how I keep finding myself in cooking classes! There must be some universal force insisting that I learn. Although it is safe to say that, yet again, I did not take away any great cooking skills or techniques, I still had a lot of fun at school!

We started off in the markets - buying our ingredients, learning about why each was chosen, how to pick the best ones and who to buy from (the oldest ladies there!).

Then we sailed out to the abandoned grounds of a children's summer camp park; where we took a little tour around a small local village. We even got to see how rice is sorted sans machinery!

After that it was time to get back in the kitchen and start making some food! With just the simplest of supplies and ingredients we made four of the tastiest dishes!!

Vietnamese salad roll - Goi Cuon
Sizzling Vietnamese crepes - Banh Xeo
Southern style beef vermicelli - Bun Bo Nam Bo (Bo Bun)
Hanoi style rice noodle soup with beef - Pho Bo Hanoi

It was all sooo amazing!! I just wish we hadn't made so much!! By the time we finished the 2nd dish I was already running out of space in my tummy. And there were still two more dishes to go!! I was not a 'clean plate' winner that day, but my stomach was still quite happy with all the goodness it got to enjoy!

Bikes -

Riding around Hoi An on bikes is a must do for the city!! It was a great experience to get out into the countryside of Vietnam (while still being in bigger, touristy cities) and having the oportunity to see life operating at a slower, back-in-the-day pace and method.*

Top highlights were definitely (1) paddling around in a woven-reed-dung-basket-boat and (2) riding across a floating bridge with exposed nails in the middle of the boards that forced you to ride on the rail-less edges of the bridge!