Vann Travels: Vietnam- Hoi An

Hoi An is a beautiful little town on the river. Lots of old colonial French architecture, pedestrian friendly streets, loads of tailoring and art shops, a neat outdoor market in the center of the Old Town, a variety of restaurants and cafes, and a nice mixture of locals and laid back tourists. People bike or moped everywhere, there are beaches within close proximity, the ruins of My Son are only 50 or so km away, and there is a monthly Lantern Festival to celebrate the full moon. It's a place that may not seem like it offers much on the surface, but once you get settled, the charm makes it quite hard to leave.

river front in the center of the Old Town

One moped per family is the norm. I think the most we saw on one bike was 5 people, so this family is pushing the limit.

Robert being measured for his tailored dress shirts. Having clothes hand tailored is definitely a first for either of us! It was part of the adventure of being in Hoi An, thanks to our uncle Jim for recommending a fabulous shop, Thu Thuy.

moped ferry

rooftop dinner overlooking the river

We had a blast walking through the outdoor market in the center of town. It's right in the middle of everything, so we walked through more than once per day. It's lively and full of amazing fresh fruits & veggies, in addition to the ever present collection of T-shirts, souvenirs, and "excuse miss, you want to buy from me?" 's.

I (Carter) was roped into this shop by the offer of a $1 pedicure. I had been wanting a pedicure but never felt like taking the time or spending the money to have one. Well, $1 was hard to pass up. Of course I learned later this price didn't include polish. Go figure. And, this lady was the most persuasive person I think I've ever encountered. She somehow convinced me to undergo "threading," which she assured would remove my leg hair permanently. I knew it wouldn't, but it was pretty cool to watch, only slightly painful, and a totally random adventure that I'm glad to have had.

Vietnam has the most gorgeous fruits and vegetables, and an amazing variety. We enjoyed all of the summer delicacies while there -- mango, green mango (our favorite! It's amazing in salads), pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, dragon fruit, watermelon, mangosteen, lingonberry, leche fruit, avocado, tomato...

Heavenly assortment of greens and herbs. Mint and coriander are the most commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine.

We took a really fun bike ride out to Cua Dai Beach (southern part of China Beach) from Hoi An. There were really beautiful rice paddies along the way, and lots of local houses and markets. The beach itself is gorgeous. The Vietnamese typically come out in the hoards in the late afternoon (to avoid getting sun), and they set up on straw mats, drink beer, eat food from vendors who set up in the edges of the palm trees, and just hang out. The scene was like nothing we've seen at a beach before. It was awesome! We rented a straw mat and read our books, took a swim in the ocean, had a cold Tiger beer, worked on our upcoming adventures in southern Vietnam and then Cambodia, and just enjoyed soaking up the scene.

recycle queen

see the food vendor carts

an old house that we thought was neat

We stopped on our bike ride home to have dinner at this amazing place overlooking the river called SON. We watched the sunset and ordered food over the course of 2-3 hours... spring rolls, green mango salad, and a whole fish baked with rice noodles and sauteed vegetables. It was such a peaceful spot, and the food was divine.

We happened to be in Hoi An during the Lantern Festival, which occurs monthly to celebrate the arrival of the full moon (the exact date is different each month, but for us it was July 14th). We met up with our friends Celeste and Kirby to enjoy the festivities. There is music and celebrating going on in the streets, and locals sell candles to be lowered down into the river. We didn't exactly see any lanterns, but it was tons of fun nonetheless!

the "lanterns"

A view of the festival from above

our pals Kirby and Celeste

One day we rented a motorbike in Hoi An and drove to My Son. It was amazing, and we luckily arrived there around lunchtime when it was totally empty (contrary to guidebook advice, this is the best time to visit heavily touristed sites, as no tour is going to miss lunch. Don't fall prey, early morning is the worst!). We were caught in a massive downpour on our moped ride home, and riding on Highway 1 was a bit freaky, but it was an amazingly fun adventure of a day.

The Kingdom at My Son dates back to the 4th century and remained fully occupied through until the 13th century which makes it the longest occupied of all the major monuments of SE Asia. It served as a religious and intellectual center where Champa kings were crowned and buried. In 1999 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The site is often compared with some of the other great Indian influenced archaeological sites of SE Asia including Borobodur in Indonesia, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Ayuthaya in Thailand and Pagan in Burma. Unfortunately, events during the American War destroyed many of the site's temples. The VC had used My Son as a key base which forced US bombing of the site leaving about 20 of the original 70 structures intact. Bomb craters next to some of the temples are clearly visible. A major restoration project is underway though nobody from our high-tech world has yet managed to work out how the Chams were able to get their baked bricks to stick together during construction! (info courtesy of www.vietnam-travel-guide.net).