golfkat Travel Blog

Hoi An was once a major port of Vietnam, and has transformed itself into one of the most delightful tourist places in the country.  It has distinctively grand architecture and a riverside setting.  Yet somehow, they have kept traffic and pollution away from this quaint town.  Through an act of God or just plain luck, the Thu Ban River filled with silt in the 19th century, preventing ships from using the port.

Things were not going well, until tourism reared its opportunistic head.  Hoi An is once again a big melting pot, and one of Vietnam’s wealthy towns, with outstanding culinary arts.  The Old Town is filled with old Japanese merchant homes.  Tourist businesses have replaced traditional temples and tea houses. Every corner is filled with lounges, boutique hotels, travel agents, and tourist shops.  But fortunately, some places have remained the same.

I may do a Hoi An country bicycle tour, since I am not a water guy.  They even have a seven day cycling tour of Vietnam, though Mike would probably not want to get butt blisters!  But, we are only about 15 miles from Danang, which we often heard about during the Vietnam War.

Restaurants charge four times what they would in a typical Vietnamese place.  A $1 cab ride typically can cost up to $15 USD.  So, why are we going?  Motorbikes or ebikes are the best way to get around, other than walking.  And the local noodle shops may be the order of the day.  The Central Market is the best place to find local food.

Old Town does have a few major tourist sites:

Japanese Covered Bridge’s Pagoda

Quan Cong Temple

Museum of Folk Culture

Museum of Trade Ceramics

Hoi An Museum of History and Culture

Museum of Sa Huynh Culture

But for me and Mr. Mike, the walk around Old Town in the evening will be the best part of the day.  The Old Town lights up with lanterns, encouraging window shopping and after dinner walks.  The cooler evenings help create the busiest times of the day.  People watching and the simple beauty of Old Town should be enough to keep us interested.  Even the motorcyclists have a group, their version of a bike gang, called the Dalat Angels.

Among other activities, cooking classes are offered, along with lantern making.  You will not find me there, I guarantee.  And much like other SE Asian countries, commissions are earned by referring customers to specific places of business.  And the local tailors are not as skilled as those in Hong Kong, Singapore, or London.

Can you believe that a friend of a friend is moving here?  He is leaving his wife and mortgage in Napa  to live here.  I think I would take Ecuador over Nam, just for its proximity to home.

We went on a 5 hour bike ride through the countryside,  which is ten times better than this ultra touristy town.  We got to see how wooden boats are built, rice liquor, sleeping mat weaving by hand, and a typical Vietnamese country home, with a fish lunch.  Let’s just say that you have it so easy in America.

And I got the proverbial question, of my country of residence.  The locals think I can pass for a native.  I find that incredulous.  But they know Mike is American, somehow?