Hoi An

After a couple of days in Saigon, it was time to head to Hoi An. You cannot fly there directly, so instead, we flew to Da Nang.

Da Nang is the 5th largest city in Vietnam, and a hub for tourism in central Vietnam. It is a large, modern city and so instead of staying there, we were scheduled to stay in Hoi An. This was a much better choice, IMHO. The drive from the airport to Hoi An was a bit less than an hour. It was nice to get out of the city and into the countryside.

Our group was booked into the Silkotel Hoi An, which is just a couple of blocks away from the ancient city. In Washington state, we have a town called Leavenworth, which is a fake Bavarian town. It is charming and a fun place to visit. Hoi An is Vietnam’s version of Leavenworth, but it used to be an actual trade center on the Silk Road. When the French took over Vietnam in 1858, commerce moved to Da Nang. Now, Hoi An is once again a center of commerce, selling all types of tourist goods and custom-made clothing.

The entrance to the ancient city
The Japanese bridge is being reconstructed
A view of the river. Across the river are lots of restaurants and pubs. There is also a night market.
Lovely bridge across the river
Cycle rides are very popular!
An artisan at work
Typical shop in Hoi An. The lanterns are lit at night.

The ancient city is very charming. During certain times during the day, motorized vehicles are prohibited which makes it nice for walking through. Bicycles and cyclos are always allowed. A cyclo is basically a pedicab – a large tricycle that is used to take tourists around town. There seemed to be several tour groups availing themselves of cyclo rides. We arrived in town late in the afternoon and it was crowded. Bee walked us around for about an hour before we were given free time. We entered a Chinese temple and were given a few minutes to explore. My favorite part was the fountain in the front; it reminded me of gardens that we saw in Shanghai. I really love the rustic rocks they use.

Entrance to Chinese Temple
Beautiful!
The tags inside the red bell-shaped objects have the names of those that have donated to the temple

We also stopped in an ancient house that is still inhabited by the same family. They make white rose dumplings and Bi purchased some for the group to taste. They are a local delicacy and quite delicious.

Altar inside Quan Thang House
Another altar
Gorgeous stone carving
If you go to Hoi An, don’t forget to try the white rose dumplings!

The sun was starting to set, and the group was given an hour of free time before dinner. The majority of the group decided to have drinks at the restaurant rather than walking around in the heat and crowds. The restaurant was called Citronella and is located right on the river. I tried the special cocktail and highly recommend it! Dinner was another huge feast. We greatly enjoyed chatting with the members of our tour group before heading back to the hotel for the evening.

Boat rides and sampan rides are available
“Until you drunk!”
7 hours of Happy Hour!
Sampans
Citronella’s Special Cocktail – YUMMM!
This place really “lights up” after dark!
Luminarias are for sale
They add to the beauty of the river
It’s beautiful and crowded at night!

The following day was a free day for us. There was an optional tour that was another river boat trip that involved going to a woodworking workshop and a vegetable farm. People that went were going to learn how to make a traditional dish and then eat it for lunch. We opted out, preferring to have a relaxing day. One group headed to Ba Na Hills. You may have seen pictures of the bridge there, embedded in a large pair of hands. They invited us along, but we decided to stick with our plan of doing very little. I needed the time to catch up on my blog as well. It takes a fair amount of time to write, edit pictures, and put it all together before posting, so if I don’t keep up on it, it becomes overwhelming.

After breakfast, we headed back to the ancient city to wander around before the hordes of tourists arrived. Most of the shops had not opened yet, which was fine because no one was pestering us to buy anything. We don’t buy souvenirs anymore so didn’t miss out on any shopping opportunities. We found a café by the river and ordered coffee. I learned my lesson and ordered a coconut coffee. They may call it coffee, but it’s more like a milkshake with a bit of coffee flavor. Mmmmmmmmm! I highly recommend it! Clayton ordered an Americano. Instead, he was brought an iced coffee. He is not a fan. Next time, he will order a Saigon coffee, which is essentially a brewed coffee, like French Press.

Before the hordes of tourists arrive
The river is peaceful
Coconut coffee – highly recommend!

By nine, it was time for a massage! Massage places are a dime a dozen in Hoi An. There was one located right by our hotel that had nearly 2500 ratings on Google, with an average of 4.9 stars (Aaron Spa). We decided to try them. We opted for the one-hour foot massage, which includes a neck/back/shoulder massage as well. While they set up the massage tables, we were given hot tea and coconut crackers. We both had excellent massages and were happy with our choice. After lunch, we wandered around again. I love the most excellent suits they have on display! They can create a custom-tailored suit in 24 hours. A few other oddities caught my eye as well.

So much Pho humor everywhere
Not exactly sure what a deaf cake is…
Ear cleaning is a big thing here
The tailor shops within the ancient city seemed to have much more tasteful clothing.
Women hard at work at the silkworm factory
Outside the ancient city, the clothes got wilder
Most of the women’s dresses were either really low cut or bare midriff. Not really my thing in my mid-60’s!!!

We headed back to the hotel, and I had some time to start writing. That was the plan for the rest of the day, though we returned to the ancient city in the evening. It’s very beautiful, so we enjoyed it one more time before we loaded up the bus and headed to Hueʹ (pronounced whey).