Things took a turn this week when my long time friend and fellow traveler Vora Dollar joined me in Vietnam. Our relationship has changed over the years, and now I think I’m learning more from her than she is from me. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is our mutual curiosity about the world and our drive to live the best life.

I met Vora through my walking tours of Portland. She was one of the first ones to ask if she could join me when I talked about my winter world travel and gave me the idea for hosting tours of my travels. That year I mapped out my planned route through Mexico and pieced together four consecutive tours: Copper Canyon, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajra to Guanajuato, and Mexico City. Vora signed up for all four.

Since then she spends less time at home than I do, dividing her time between Portland, Thailand, and Romania. Portland because she worked there; Thailand because she was born there and Romania because she bought a hostel there. It’s a bit funny because she’d never stayed in a hostel before coming on one of my tours. It just goes to show what an adventurer she is.

And that’s how we began her visit. We headed out for dinner at a place called Vy’s Market Restaurant. It is a new place in the town of Hoi An that is designed to appeal to foreigners. It’s clean and has several tables gathered inside a central space. You can order from any of the restaurants, which each feature different menus. Think of it as a food court and restaurant combined.

With all the choices, we had trouble making a decision and ordered a few plates: shrimp, fish, and fried vegetables. One thing you learn in Asia is that animals have bones. There is no such thing as boneless chicken or fish filets. Perhaps it’s their way of confirming that the meat is real.

It can be a little challenging as you’re only given chopsticks and a spoon to use as a knife. I’ve gotten used to it over the years and can even dig the cheeks out of the fish head. The eyes are easier to suck out than carve out, and Vora was happy to let me have both of them.

Our three days in Hoi An were spent wandering from one eatery to another. She likes to joke, “I’m Asian, there’s no food I won’t try”. While we enjoyed everything put on our plates, we didn’t enjoy what was put in our cups.

Vietnam is known mainly for its coffee but it also produces tea. The same woman who created Vy’s Market, decided to start a concept of combining the two to make what she calls herbal coffee. She was about as successful as the person who created the TV and VCR in one. Sometimes you just gotta focus on one thing you’re good at.

The best way to describe the taste of the coffee would be to imagine if someone poured hot water into an empty coffee can and then poured the hot water into a cup. The coffee had no discernible flavor. It was too bad because the presentation and the ambiance of the coffee shop were outstanding.

The display of coffee along the wall helped to build anticipation, explaining how the different herbal coffees were prescribed for different ailments. In the end, I believe we were sold snake oil. Vora pointed out that some of the blame lay on us. After all, the name of the coffee shop is Poison.

To compound our disappointment, the coffee cost about three times as much as a cup of traditional Vietnamese coffee. Not wanting that to be the last taste in our mouths, we headed over to Fefe roastery, a place that specializes in one thing: coffee. In addition to great ambiance, the place is like a laboratory for coffee. There’s a wall filled with different varieties and a bench where you can smell all the varieties available. You can also watch them sifting through to pick out only the best beans.

They were happy to brew me a sample of coffee using a bean I thought smelled right for my tastes. It had the added benefit of counteracting my poor coffee experience. In fact, I ordered a cup of Vietnamese egg coffee using that bean. I knew this was a professional organization because when I told them I wanted a half pound of that coffee, they asked me what size I wanted the beans ground to.

I told them I was using a French Press, and they prepared my grounds for takeaway. It was really nice to end our experience in Hoi An on such a positive note. Stay tuned next week as we head to a town where everyone warns there’s nothing to do!