Travelling- It can leave you speechless, then turn you into a storyteller…
Since planning our trip many months ago, Hoi An always remained at the top of my list for places to visit. The little Vietnamese town just looked so picturesque and unlike many other developed places in the world. Places that have have been doomed to the curses of pollution and commercialisation. With only 120,000 inhabitants, the city has been titled as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
View from our balcony
We arrived at our pretty hotel situated right in the middle of Hoi An’s ancient town. The Vinh Hung 2 is a stunning hotel, filled with character from top to bottom. A bonus for us was having an amazing courtyard swimming pool – perfect for cooling off from the scorching Vietnam temperatures. Our room was also very nice with a little balcony facing the outskirts of the ancient town.
We did had a few incidents here which damaged our first interpretations of the hotel. Despite it’s beauty, the service was pretty crap. We paid a little more to stay in a nice hotel and sort of expected better. The room services were particularly bad as they kept forgetting to clean our room or give us towels and toilet roll. It sounds very first world problems (I know) but after paying more, we were sort of looking forward to a luxury stay. Anyway, we didn’t let it bother us too much as we had a stunning town to visit just outside our front door.
Hotel courtyard
Moonlight swim
Once a major port in Vietnam, Hoi An sits perfectly on the calm riverside which is ideal for walks along whilst admiring the buildings around you. The only downside is that locals know that tourists will be around so being asked to “look, look, look and buy, buy, buy” will be everywhere you go.
All of the town’s architecture is simply amazing. The more you see, the more you feel like you have gone back in time. Hoi An feels very Cuba like, as if you’ve been transported back to the 1950’s. The best part is that you can actually stroll around freely, without the fear of being run over every second. This is not a normal occurrence in Vietnam…
The charm and beauty of this town has remained in its original state unlike many other parts of the country that we have seen. Hoi An owes this to its history, as big ships were unable to access the towns docks during the 19th century due to the river being silted up. If this had not been the case, I’m sure the old town would look completely different. Seeing somewhere so preserved really gave us an amazing insight into old town’s ancient Asian history.
It was the spice trade that brought huge wealth to the city between the 7th and 10th century by the people of Champa City (as Hoi An was formerly known as). During the 16th and 17th century, many Chinese, Japanese and other nations settled here. Hai Pho was the name given to the town during the period of China trade. The Chinese and Japanese merchants considered the town to be the best area to trade in the whole of South East Asia.
The heavy Japanese influence is highlighted by the central ‘Japanese Bridge’ in the centre of the old city. The Japanese settled here as they believed the Hoi An soil encompassed the heart of Asia – the dragon. As you walk around the ajoining streets from the bridge, the Japanese history is still very much enriched all around. There are tonnes of cool artefacts and souvineers you can buy however, at night they seem to ticket the area so it’s much better to walk around during the day.
The river is an amazing spot to sit and have some drinks which is exactly what we did on our first afternoon. We really did make the most of not having a huge itinerary to tick off whilst here and spent a lot of our time just chilling out. When travelling, these moments are precious as most of the time it’s always go go go!
The boats are still used mainly for tourism but also fishing by the locals. Believe me, you are asked every second if you want a boat-ride down up and down the river. It’s best to keep your money though as it’s such a nice walk to do by foot and not too far. Renting bicycles is also a fun way to get around the town too and doesn’t cost much.
There is just such a unique blend of local and foreign influences strongly displayed in Hoi An’s beautiful buildings. We just sat in awe as we gazed all around. It really is one of the most spectacularly unique places I’ve seen.
Walking around the old city at night is really the way to see Hoi An at its best. Twinkling lights and lanterns fill the streets and the bridge is lovely to see all lit up. You can buy candles to drop into the water and watch them float away. The atmosphere is what truly makes this town so special and whilst here, make the most of the fantastic food on offer. There are many night markets set up in the evening so is the perfect time to get your haggling skills on the go and pick up some great souvenirs. If you do your research well, there are many little boutiques where everything is hand-made there in front of you too see.
We saw many locals working away creating all sorts, from lanterns to quilt covers. It’s nice to know you can buy things that have not just been shipped in from China or elsewhere. There is a great little store called ‘reaching out’ where everything is made within the small factory at the back of the store by disabled and underprivileged people. Their stuff is so nice and by purchasing there, you really do help them out massively.
River of floating candles
One of the best things about Hoi An is the quality of the food. So far, this has been quite difficult to find in Vietnam. Here though, you are spoilt for choice. On one of nights we had dinner at an outdoor barbecue restaurant – Hai Cafe, which had one of the best menus we had seen so far. Gary hugely struggled to choose what to have so obviously he opted for the mixed BBQ grill to have a piece of everything.
The setting was just so tranquil and the buildings looked even more graceful as the moon shone over the rooftops. We finished off our first evening walking down the riverside where traders are still out and about. Don’t be fooled though as shops and stalls do not stay open as late as other parts of Vietnam, so make sure to go out early enough to catch the lights before they are turned off. Many people stand around trying to capture the best photos although, everyone knows pictures taken from a phone can never do the sight any justice. Hopefully my pictures can depict slightly how incredible this town really is.
Another evening, we went to a little rooftop restaurant called The Chef. You have to walk through the coolest little shop to go up the wooden staircase in order to reach the terrace. The ground floor store sells so many Vietnamese inspired gifts and other quirky little souvenirs.
The lantern lit rooftop is so nice to sit and look out over the town. During the course of the meal, lightening filled the sky which was pretty surreal to see whilst sitting up high. We finished our food just in time before the rain started and flooded the pavements. Never to be defeated though, we bought a crappy poncho and danced around in the warm rain and carried on with our evening. By the time we had got back to the hotel, we were drenched!
On our final evening, we fancied being a little bit fat and treated ourselves to an Italian feast. It was really the amazing cakes that enticed us inside so naturally we had to finish dinner off with a big slice of cake. I choose (with much difficulty) the banana chocolate tart although really wanted a bite of them all. Washing it down with some local beer, we sat and enjoyed our final night in Hoi An. It was definitely too soon to be thinking of leaving…
My one regret was not bringing (or should I say saving) enough money to have some clothes made. Hoi An is famous for their tailoring and clothes making skills and there is fierce competition from the locals to get those sales. Every second store is a tailors and I couldn’t believe the quality you can get here. They will measure you up and make anything for you. Suits, dresses, coats, shoes, bags… They do EVERYTHING.
It takes a couple of days for them to make your goods so it’s best to get your measurements in on your first day. We chatted to one local family who owned a tailors who informed us that we could show them any magazine image or photo and they will make an exact replica. I was astounded and very jealous that I hadn’t prepared sooner. I would have definitely needed to buy a new suicase to take everything home with me.
Trust me when I say that Hoi An really is one of the most special places. The calming atmosphere and local vibe really made the town a memorable experience for us. I just loved the feeling of being sent back to a simpler time and the unique, untouched architecture was just so refreshing to see. I hope the tourism boom never destroys what this wonderful place has to give.
This post concludes our Vietnam journey and what a whirlwind it has been. A few years back, I never would have even considered travelling to here however, I’m so thankful that I have been lucky enough to see so much of this inspiring country.
I encourage everyone to do the same.
Thanks for reading,
Lots of love
Xx
