Thursday 1st – Sunday 6th

Having arrived in Hoi An my original plan was to eat at the hotel then begin exploring tomorrow. Unfortunately there was no restaurant at the hotel, so I decided to walk into the old town for some food. 

Hoi An Od Town is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. I can understand why, it’s beautiful. 

The Old Town is built alongside the river, Thu Bõn River, at night there are beautiful small boats all lit up with lanterns gliding along the river, all the stores have lanterns, it’s so colourful and pretty. 

I was a little knackered so stopped at one of the first restaurants I came to, which was a Pho & Noddle place. I then had my first Pho! 

For those that don’t know this is a traditional Vietnamese dish of rice noddles, meat or seafood in a delicious broth. I opted for a chicken Pho. It was lovely, the broth is very thin but super tasty. 

My plan was to then head back, but I ended up walking almost through the entire Old Town! 

It’s very busy in Hoi An in the evening, lots of tours come in from Da Nang to see the beautiful lantern boats and float candles in the river. 

I eventually headed back and got a good nights sleep. 

I have breakfast included in my hotel and it’s a small affair but tasty and in this family run hotel everyone is so friendly and helpful. 

I need to go to a ATM today, which I hate doing, I’m always convinced the machine is going to take my card! It’s also tricky as the currency is in big denominations, so I’m always panicking about exactly how many zeros are in a million? 😳😂

I find a machine and manage to successfully withdraw the required amount!!  I then buy a ticket for the Old Town. The ticket is really cheap but it then allows you to enter all the historical sites within the Old Town, the money goes towards the upkeep and restoration of the site. 

The Old Town is very different in the mornings, not as many people, more locals going about their day. It is still gorgeous, the lanterns and flowers everywhere are stunning. 

Hoi An is known for its tailors, so lots of people get bespoke clothing made here, they also have lots of leather shops with more bespoke services. The leather work looks fabulous, so many cowboy boots in every conceivable colour, bags in all colours and designs! 😍 I am seriously tempted, but I simply don’t have capacity for anything else. (Let’s see if this remains the case over the coming 4 days!) 

There are street vendors everywhere, selling beautiful 3d cards, bookmarks, fridge magnets, also ladies selling cones of coconut biscuits, peanuts & crystallised ginger. Although they are keen to sell but they aren’t too pushy. 

I end up seeing the same lady a few times and promise if I see her again I’ll buy something.

I do try the biscuits and ginger, which is great  but the ginger is strong! 

I have a look around the Old covered Japanese Bridge, and some of the other historical sites.  But mostly I just ambled around looking at everything.

I walked back along the river which is a much prettier and quieter than the road! 

It’s hot & humid here so I cool off in the pool, which is nice and cold! 

A couple from Canada, the Yukon, are also in the pool and we get chatting. Evi & Donald are great. 

I’m going to to walk back into the Old Town for dinner as I’ve seen a place that Tracey & Jaques have recommended, called ‘Morning Glory’ it’s an old, well established Vietnamese restaurant with fabulous reviews! 

Just before dinner I stop for a cheeky cocktail in a bar above the Old Market, another recommendation from Tracey & Jaques! It’s has great views across the river. The cocktail I choose is a rum based one, they focus on Gin mostly. It’s pinkish and looks sweet, but isn’t and is delicious! 

I am super impressed to see that it arrives with some very fancy ‘Bally Ice’ which is even more fancy as it’s got flowers in! Shabazz would be so proud! I’m definitely not a ‘Povo’ 😂😂 (you need to check out Shabazz 

on Instagram, very funny!) 

Morning Glory lives up to its reviews, fast efficient, friendly service and delicious food. I opted for Hoi A Chicken Rice, which is pretty much what it says, Chicken, Rice, herbs and a side of yummy broth. It was light and so flavourful. The atmosphere inside is also great, really buzzy. 

I head back after dinner along the river, which is quiet but not deserted so feels safe. 

I think so far Hoi An has been fantastic. Easy to navigate on foot, pretty, colourful, easy to get great Vietnamese food, culturally and historically interesting and fun! 

I’ve booked myself onto a 1/2 day tour to visit a site called ‘My Son’. Which means, Beautiful Mountain.

This is a cultural site with the remains of up to 70 Hindu temples built between the 4th – 13th century by the kings of Champa Kimgdom and the Cham People. The temples are dedicated to Shiva. 

The whole site was extensively damaged by US bombing during the Vietnam War. Various international groups, have helped towards its restoration including India, Italy, The Netherlands but excluding the USA! 

Our tour group was interesting, it included a lone Korean guy, 2 French couples, a Swiss couple, a Malaysian couple and an Australian group, Nan, Grandad, Son and 8 month old baby! 

The difficulty came not from the delightful 8 month old Oscar, who was an Angel but from the Malaysian couple, the husband got on the bus drunk and drinking beer, playing his music very loudly on his phone, obviously he sat next to me! And one of the french couples kept us waiting for nearly 30 mins! In my opinion if you are not at your pick up point at the allotted time you forfeit your place. (Harsh but fair I feel!) 

Anyway, the group were ok, we didn’t really bond..😂 However our guide Misa was amazing, so informative. 

The actual construction of the temples is fascinating. The bricks they made are aerated and they don’t allow moss or lichen to grown on them, they gaps between the bricks is tiny. All of these things can’t be replicated by modern day construction. Groups have tried to replicate this but so far they have failed. They believe that the bricks have a layer of either honey or resin between them and that they were then coated in something to prevent organic growth. When you see the temples the original bricks look new and the new ones look old! It amazing to think that with all our technology we are unable to produce something as effective as people did in the 4th Century! 😳😳

I’m so glad I made this trip as it was so interesting. We leave the site and head back towards Hoi An, seating arrangements had changed and I was no longer sitting next to Mr Beer drinker, who had consumed a few more drinks during the trip! 🤪

The last part of our journey is on a boat along the river. We also had snacks on the boat, everyone got a Banh Mai, another Vietnamese staple of a crispy baguette with salad, pate and pork, I opted for egg! It was my first Banh Mai and it was yummy. 😋 

I spent my last couple of days in Hoi A simply wandering and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. It’s so peaceful to be in the Old Town early in the morning before the crowds come, watching the locals setting up, fishing, chatting and going about their lives. 

I also booked myself onto a Lantern making workshop. Hoi An is synonymous with Lanterns, they are everywhere. So I felt it was only right to have one, and to be able to make it myself is great. 

It was actually trickier than I’d thought. I had 2 options: 1. Use their ready prepared frame or 2. make the frame as well as covering it. I went for option 2! This involved bending the bamboo, quite a bit of dexterity fitting it all together, then same sewing the hold the frame rigid, but also collapsible! Then you put the material on the frame, this is also pretty difficult, especially if you want your lantern to look nice! Apparently I was a very good student and did a surprisingly good job. 🥰🥰 I did surprise myself at how well it turned out. A fabulous way to spend a morning. 🩵💙

I’ve been chatting to Evi & Donald some more and we also enjoyed a drink together on my last night. 

They are in Vietnam for their Grandsons wedding. They are such a lovely couple, Donald is an artist and Film set builder he also used to be part of a Canadian Snow sculpting team! Evi is a beautiful soul. I’m definitely going to visit them in Whitehorse Canada! 

This hotel has been a fabulous place to spend time, busy and people are friendly, the staff are fabulous. They gave me a gorgeous embroidered purse as a gift at my last breakfast this morning. ❤️

Hoi An met all of my expectations. If you’re in Vietnam, don’t miss it! 

Next I’m off to Hue. Taking another bus, as it’s only 3 hours. I’m using the same company that took me from Dalat to Nha Trang, so fingers crossed it will be as good. 

Update. 

I resisted buying cowboy boots or a bag! I did however have a dress made! Just a summer floaty one. I also did bump into the lovely seller again! 😂 And now have several bookmarks and fridge magnets! 😍😍

All in all a wonderful 5 days. 

Books read.

The Last Dance. Mark Billingham. Good. 

I’m sure I’ve read more than 1 book! 🤷‍♀️

Have a fabulous Sunday.

🩵💙🩷❤️💛