Our last week in Hoi An began with rain. Lucas and Henry had a surf lesson despite the lightning in the distance. They also played pickleball and Michael and Kristian played badminton. It rained all Sunday night and Monday. The streets started flooding. It was a small glimpse of Hoi An during the rainy season. Vicki and I went to yoga in the rain and had fun walking through puddles.
The weather cleared up on Tuesday, so we headed to the beach. The boys spent hours boogie-boarding and wrestling in the waves. We found Hon Restaurant, which serves food and drinks on the beach. Michael, Vicki, Jared, and I went to Old Town for dinner. We found another great vegan restaurant.
Vicky, Melanie, Corinne, and I went to yoga class on Wednesday for the last time with Jyoti at Love Yoga. We will miss her classes and her calming voice. We also got out for an evening of food and drink by the beach. We had our last massages at Lotus Zen Spa. Han and her team spoiled us with relaxing massages, full meals and treats. We had our last juice from Sinh To Tam. You can’t beat fresh just for $1.
The kids had their last You Hub session. We went to You Hub to see their final projects. They created marketing advertisements for Hoi An that included videos and a poster. They also completed a Lego coding course. They also spent an afternoon drawing dragons at our hotel guided by a YouTube video.
The last week of September marked Tết Trung thu (Mid Autumn or Moon festival). During this time, Vietnamese people organize feasts, lion dances, family gatherings, and more to give thanks for a bountiful harvest season and wish for good fortune. Families also pay homage to their ancestors with five-fruit tray offerings and eat bánh dẻo and bánh nướng, sweet and savory pastry treats called mooncakes. It is a fun holiday with dragons, sweet treats, lanterns, singing, dancing, and drums.
Throughout the week dancers in dragon costumes visit homes and businesses to bless the people living and working there past and present. Dancers in costume visited our hotel a couple of times. We went into Old Town on our last night in Hoi An. Lucas and Henry lit lanterns and set them in the river. Right when we bought tickets for a boat ride it started pouring down rain. We took refuge in an Irish Pub for about an hour and a half. The restaurant lost power at one point. The skies cleared up and we eventually got to take the boat ride.
We enjoyed our time at Blessing Villa. Thao and Nguyen are wonderful hosts. The location is not far from Old Town. It is near rice fields and food markets. It was sad to say goodbye, but we have new adventures ahead of us. All of the families departed for the airport together for a group flight. We are leaving the coziness of Hoi An for fast-paced city life in Hanoi.
