Hello from the small, beautiful, cool beach town of Hoi An.
I’m in Asia for just one more week before heading back to Europe for the winter.
My plan for Hoi An was to explore the countryside on a motorcycle and then look at some fish in the sea through a snorkeling mask.
But it’s been raining non-stop.
So I canceled my motorcycle ride.
And the only fish I’ve seen have been on my dinner plate.
(Last night I had a grilled red snapper wrapped in a banana leaf – delicious!)
CROWDED OLD TOWN
What else to do today but be a tourist?
So I got in a taxi and went to the old town.
“Take me to Madam Khanh’s bahn mi shop,” I told the driver.
In my mind, I imagined I was about to discover the best bahn mi (a Vietnamese sandwich) in Vietnam.
I would open the door to a smoky room full of locals.
All their heads would turn as I walked in.
“Look! A real white guy! Just like in the movies!” they would say in wonder.
Years later, my grandchildren would beg me to tell them the story one more time.
Here’s what actually happened.
The taxi dropped me off in front of Madam Khanh’s.
A middle-aged Vietnamese woman asked me in perfect English if I wanted to eat there or get a sandwich to go.
I sat down next to a couple speaking Spanish.
Across from me was a couple speaking English with an English accent.
In back of me, I heard French.
In fact, the whole restaurant, and all of old town, was full of white people!
And if they weren’t American or European or Australian, they were Chinese or Indian or Arab.
It seemed the only locals in old town were working in the shops and restaurants.
But you could say the same for Prague or Tallinn or Warsaw or most of the old towns in Europe.
If you want authentic, you’ll need a time machine or a motorcycle to take you into the countryside.
Maybe next time…
