Hoi An Holiday

We’ve spent the last four nights in Hoi An and we will leave tomorrow.  This spot has become a vacation from our vacation.  Getting here wasn’t the easiest of tasks, as we took a late flight into Da Nang Airport wherein we had to purchase another visa because they issued us the wrong type on our initial entry.  After about 1.5 hours waiting for the new single entry visa, we took an expensive taxi to our hotel, DaNang BayHotel, and finally got to bed at around 11pm.  We were all extremely exhausted, and poor Rosemary was beside herself.    

Luckily, the following day we were able to sleep in, and after a short walk along the beach of Da Nang bay we headed to our place, Moon Home stay, in Hoi An.  I wish we would have spent a bit more time in DaNang as the city and beaches seemed to have a lot to offer.

  Last night as we were eating dinner in old town Hoi An, I felt as if I was in a small-town European café.  The colonial buildings, music, table arrangement, plant life, and view, all reminded me of one of many European river cities.  And yet, there I was in Vietnam eating delicious fried wantons and a green mango salad.  This is the interesting thing about Hoi An, it can be hard to tell you’re in Vietnam (aside from the food choices) when you’re meandering the streets.  The crowds that jam the streets are of a variety of ethnicities with a majority of Caucasians, the streets are lined with vendors that could be found in any tourist town, the buildings have a French Colonial flare, and the cafes are abundant.

  Hoi An is the old trading capital of Vietnam.  As such, it was influenced by many different cultures, mainly the Chinese and Japanese early on, but later by the Portuguese and French.  The city was used as a gateway to Southeast Asia’s interior and became a cultural hub of the region.  It was abandoned as the river silted up not allowing large boats to pass, and Da Nang took over. However, the charm of the narrow streets and colonial architecture remains, and the new business of choice is preying on tourists.   

The old town of Hoi An is about 15 minutes from the beach making it an ideal vacation spot.  You can spend the day lounging around the beach and the evening meandering the streets in old town.  We had the use of bikes during our stay at Moon’s and these proved to be invaluable.  We never once had to get in a taxi, or take a tuk-tuk, or walk farther than we’d like. 
 
Actually, one of our highlights of the stay was getting lost in the rice fields on our way to the beach.  We tried to take some small canal roads that traversed the rice paddies, but came to a dead end. An unassuming farmer decided to guide us to the beach, stopping for a photo shoot with his caribou, and traveling through the gardens along the way.  Hoi An by bike is definitely the way to go, and if you have the chance get lost.   

  One of the things this town is known for is the abundance of tailors that reside here.  This is not overstated.  To be honest, I don’t know how they all stay in business as there is a tailor in every other store.  We came with idea of getting some clothes made, and were successful, however the experience hasn’t been the best.  We made a cardinal mistake and ended up purchasing a trial outfit from the first tailor we went into.  I wasn’t even going to go into the shop, and I walked out with a new $30 pair of pants.  The shop name was Van Thu and the worker who helped me was not very nice and she was very pushy.  I wasn’t terribly happy with the result of pants and I asked to have them adjusted and she reluctantly did so once, but would not do it again.  Luckily, we only bought the one pair of pants and a dress (that my wife was completely happy with).   
 

After that experience, we decided just to have clothes made at our home stay with Ms. Moon.  She was a much more rewarding person to work with.  Never once did I feel like I was getting sold on something that I didn’t want.  Also, she made alterations on my pants quickly and without hesitation.  She even altered my original pants from the other shop for free.  My wife had a dress and a couple of shirts made that she was very pleased with.  I would recommend Ms. Moon very highly.  

 

We came to love Hoi An, not for the touristy downtown or the beautiful coast, but for the places in between.  The rice paddies, vegetable gardens, and local markets make Hoi An a excellent place to take a rest.