Food Tours · Tour

Cycle to Tra Que, Plant the Vegetables, Then Cook Them

You cycle to this one, which changes what the day is. Four hours that start at the post office in Hoi An with a bicycle and a helmet, then out through the paddy fields on small roads and quiet lanes, away from an old town that in season is very crowded indeed. The market comes first, the one on the outskirts rather than the tourist one, with fruit to try and a few Vietnamese phrases to learn, which are more useful than they sound when you are the one buying. Then more cycling, past rice fields, water buffalo, ducks and cows, and forty minutes in a basket boat. The farm is the part that separates this from the rest. You meet the farmer, and then you work: planting, watering, harvesting the vegetables that go into the lesson. Most classes hand you the ingredients. Here you pull them out of the ground first. Ten people at most, in English, with the bicycle, Tra Que farm tickets, the boat, coffee or tea, lunch, all fees, the recipe and a local gift. Service animals allowed. Not recommended if you are pregnant, have a spinal injury or a heart condition.