Flower Seller

Acrylic on Linen 40cmx50cm

Hoi An
My list of paintings waiting for canvas, paper, fingers and paint grows ever longer. The pad of paper for illustrations is finished, and tube of white (should have brought the additional tube I had planned to bring) almost, creating a new bother as I either need to make a trip to Danang, which isn’t appealing, particularly with the APEC conference on the go, or wait until Shanghai, which is a week away. I can use the light Naples yellow for some of the mixes rather than white and I have the linen pad as well as three large canvases to paint on.

No end of puddles to stomp through. Mud splattered legs. The arrival of Typhoon Damery, with flooding in the old town. Chaos with the market having to relocate, and be squeezed into one of the only streets not covered in water. We criss-crossed alleys dodging the boats, scooters, pedestrians, bicycles and the horde of rain-poncho sellers who seem to materialize out of every puddle. 

Miss Ly’s recommended as the place to have the best unwrapped fried wanton’s, a speciality of Hoi An. Dodging through the market stalls, we found ‘Cafe 62’, and a seat that allowed us to get fresh air. The wanton, made from rice flower with a topping of tomatoes, carrot, cilantro, pineapple, garlic, chilli, and spring onions. Messy but tasty and minimal impact on my sugar levels.

Amongst the stressed boat evacuations, and the ferrying of fresh water onto the islands, it’s a bit like a carnival with people laughing as they wade through the waters, or huddle under bits of cover drinking rocket fuel coffee waiting for shuttles or deciding how to manage a day with so much closed or flooded.