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| View across the rice paddy to Maison Fleur. |
Located a 50-minute walk from Old Town, and a few
kilometers from the beach, Maison Fleur is a quiet, 15-room hotel with a staff that just might be more caring than that of iWaulai in Chiang Mai! There’s a tiny pool that we have yet to use, because the days have been so temperate. Our wake-up call comes from several roosters at the homes around us, so we sleep with earplugs, although with the exception of the periodical caterwauling from a karaoke bar down the street (that shuts down about 9:30), it is blessedly quiet. Believe me, as much as I enjoy going to Old Town, quiet is not a word I use to describe it!
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| Flower gardens all around us! |
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| If they're not growing flowers, our neighbors are hard at work growing organic vegetables |
There are small houses around us, with tidy, neatly-organized gardens and dozens of pots of flowers in preparation for Tet, the New Year celebration and for sales to nearby towns. Hoi An is known as the "flower city." White and brown egrets share the rice paddies with the occasional workers, and every now and again there are bird calls. In the evening, we hear a frog chorus.
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| Worker taking a break outside our hotel patio |
Our breakfast is served from 7:30 to 9:30, but if anyone has an early tour, Xi and Súóng will make sure there’s plenty of food out before 7. There’s always an array of tropical fruits, trays of pastries, bread for toast, and two pots of coffee, but you can also order just about any type of egg, yogurt and granola, avocado toast, and, of course, Vietnamese soups and steamed buns. Xi might just pop over to your table if you’re simply savoring your coffee and say, “You want Vietnamese breakfast? Vietnamese soup today?” Ted and I usually share a bowl filled with broth, vegetables, noodles, and meat. If you go away hungry, it’s your own fault! These two ladies seem to know everyone’s name, and remember what our preferences are. Xi encourages us to walk instead of taking Grab (the Asian version of Uber) --"You need exercise!"
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| Súóng taking a break from making more coffee. I love her gorgeous smile! |
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| After breakfast Xi handles the front desk for the morning |
For lunch we’re on our own, but it’s an easy walk to any of the cafes nearby. Some are perched so that you can sit and dangle your feet just above the growing rice, some are filled with flowers and sit back a couple of feet. Or you can always order food through Grab.
There are free bikes to use, but Ted and I don’t trust the crazy motor scooters dashing everywhere, or the tourist tours with cyclists taking photos while they ride instead of watching where they’re going. That, I suspect, is the most dangerous part of being in Hoi An—bicycles, motor scooters, and, to a lesser extent, cars. We’ve mostly learned to deal with it.
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| Túóng makes himself lunch--and handles bikes and luggage |
Túóng is the handyman here. He carries luggage, pulls out and adjusts bikes for the guests, mops, dusts, and speaks the only English he knows, “bicycle,” and “hello!” His smile conveys the rest.
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| Thu is small, but mighty, and makes a mean egg coffee! |
Thu is the afternoon/evening manager. She’s 22, looks like a strong wind would knock her over, and can handle anything. Ask about the best place to buy a lantern, and she’ll use her spare minutes to research it and make a recommendation. Somehow, we’ve connected, and she calls me Grandma. Melts my heart every time we come back from a walk and she runs up to hug me.
People come here from all over the world. For awhile there were lots of French, some Germans, Aussies and Kiwis, Brits, and and Irish couple. Lately there are more Americans.
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| Chef Patrick |
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| Enjoying a French meal in the Vietnamese dining room |
We’ve made friends with a Frenchman from Toulouse, Patrick. Since we speak a little French, he often joins us for breakfast. Three times he’s gotten permission to use the kitchen and dining room to cook us a very French lunch—sautéed shrimp, baby squid, frog legs. Sou, Xi, or Thu act as sous chefs, making rice and even peeling shrimp, then cleaning up afterwards. We provide the wine, and help with the cost of the food.
A few days after we arrived, we met Erik and Christopher, a couple who travel much like we do. We’ve shared travel suggestions and sat by the rice paddy till late in the evening, drinking wine and laughing our heads off! Since I'm an actor, Christopher has decided my stage name should be "Hoi An Jade."
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| Hard to keep a straight face with these guys around |
We’d heard of residence hotels where people get to know each other and the staff and truly feel at home, and that’s what we experience here. Of course, being here for three weeks helps. We never thought about the fact that having an Airbnb isolates us, and we truly do enjoy having our own place, but this being part of Maison Fleur for a few weeks has taught us the value of being with others. Always learning new lessons.
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