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Other entries in Hoi An

Hoi An, Vietnam 18 -23 December 2007

Hello Friends

Our hotel had sent a mini bus to pick us up from Danang station and take us to 20km to Hoi An. Our driver was great and gave us a mini tour of Danang including China Beach and the old American military compound there. He also called in at Marble Mountain, literally a mountain made of marble, which wont last too long if the locals keep quarrying it. They make beautiful pieces from it though, from tiny ornaments to huge statues. Even one of a life size grand piano and pianist.

Hoi An is a riverside town and is also 5km from the beaches of the South China Sea. It was a major international port from 17th to 19th centuries, and is famous for its high grade silk. Hoi An old town is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and building restrictions and heights are enforced.

Our hotel, The Hoi An Hotel, was once a grand colonial building and is beautiful. We had a room with a balcony overlooking the pool. Its 4 star and because we are staying more than 4 nights we got a 20% discount, making our room rate US56 including breakfast and free transfer from Danang. We love it. The pool at the hotel is big enough for laps so I went down and swam some before we went out to dinner. It felt great as I have missed my regular swimming. Sue and Emma had recommended The Mango Room Restaurant, so we headed there and had a great meal and then an early night.

Next day after breakfast we visited a travel agent to book a couple of tours and our flight back to HCMC from Hanoi, then set off to do a walking tour of the Old City, following the map in the Lonely Planet. Didnt get too far in the first 2 hours, as we kept stopping to look in the shops and check out the tailors (as Hoi An is famous for its tailor made clothes and shoes). Its great shopping here. The walking tour took us through the old town and we saw many of the old hourse, pagodas, temples, museums and the Japanese Covered Bridge (no it wasnt covered in Japanese!!!) We also called into one of the tailors and placed our order after selecting patterns and fabrics etc. It was a hot day and we called into a restaurant for a refreshing ale. We walked through the market and were offered massages (anything you want????) for $1. That night we ate at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant called Hong Phuc which is on the riverfront. We tried the Hoi An speciality of "White Rose" (steamed shrimp wrapped in rice paper) - unusual!!!! Also ordered scallops which were served in a clam shelll with shallots, garlic and lemon grass - yummy!!! I have to say yummy not yum, as yum in Vietnamese means "I'm horny"!!!!!

The next morning the bus picked us up at our hotel at 8.15am and we drove to My Son archaeological site which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a Cham site and situated in a valley surrounded by hills. We have seen similar sites in Thailand. We also watched traditional dancers perform in a theatre on the site. On the way back we were dropped at the river and boarded a boat which called into an island where we watched traditional wooden furntiture being hand made before continuing back to Hoi An. We had discovered a bar which does "happy hour" from 4.00pm - 9.00pm and so called in there for dinner. My scotch was 2 for 1 and only cost about $2.50 for both. Petes beer was about $1.50 a bottle. The meal we had there was pretty ordinary, so we didnt eat there again, but became regulars for the happy hour.

We gave ourselves another free day and spent it by the pool, a very hot, sunny day. We had a fitting at the tailors late afternon so walked to that. Went for drinks to happy hour again and then to a restaurant called "Miss Ly Cafeteria 22", which serves traditional Vietnamese cuisine and we ordered several dishes and shared them. Great food.

Up early the next day as we had booked a Red Bridge Cooking School and we had to be realy by 8.00am. We were taken in small groups to the local market where our guide explained the local fruits, veggies and herbs and what they were used for. We found this very interesting. The farmers who have produce for the market bring it down the river by boat and unload it and get it ready to be sold from 3.00am onwards daily. Consequently everything is nice and fresh and tastes as it is supposed to. This same market is prone to flooding every year and can rise 2 meters. This usually happens in November and had happened before we arrived here. After the market we boarded a boat and rode up the river to the cooking school. A chef demonstrated the dishes and then we were let loose to cook them. We didnt do too bad, but our decorations of tomato flowers and cucumber leaves were a bit of a disaster!!! We have the recipes though and plan to give them a try when we get home. When all the cooking was over we sat in the restaurant and ate our efforts. We sat with a mother and son from Newcastle - small world. The cooking school ended at 1.00pm and we spent the afternoon at the pool once more.

I had a facial and massage booked for 4.30pm (2 hours for $62). I enjoyed it, but prefer the ones I have at home. The masseuse tried to earn a bit extra on the side by offering me a head massage for $5 cash in hand, and telling me not to tell anyone!!! Back to happy hour for drinks and to Miss Ly's for dinner, where we sat at the window and watched street vendors cooking on the footpath and a big rat sneaking around the gutter which we thought could have very easily ended up as someone's supper!!! Hopefully not ours.

We really enjoyed our stay in Hoi An.  It has everything a tourist likes - good shopping, good food, great prices, friendly people and we felt safe here. 

Tomorrow we leave Hoi An and are flying from Danang to Hanoi to catch the overnight train to Sapa.

Intrepid threadies