HOI AN – A PICTURE POSTCARD VIETNAMESE TOWN

QUICK KARAOKE STOP AT DANANG

Heading from Quang Ngai with Hoi An in our sights, we decided on a quick stop off in the city of Danang.

Another day, another train ride, but this time we were treated to a sleeper carriage!

I’d never been on a sleeper train before and this was a great experience.

We had a carriage with four single beds – two on either side, in bunks. There was one other Vietnamese lady in the carriage with us. The beds had fresh linen, which was changed in between passenger changeover and I got comfortable immediately and drifted off within minutes.

The train ride was only five hours, during the day time, but I had a great little snooze and woke up just minutes before we arrived in Danang. A great way to travel!

WANDERING AROUND DANANG

When we arrived in Danang, we got a cab to our hotel – TPQ Hotel – checked in, dropped our bags off and went for a walk around the city.

Danang is the third largest city in Vietnam and there was much to see, but we didn’t have much time here initially, so we planned to come back after Hoi An.

The city is set on the banks of the Han River. After walking the streets for an hour or two, we stopped for dinner at a place called the Waterfront, overlooking the river. We had a great meal here, although it was very pricey by Vietnamese standards.

After dinner I had a few ‘buy one get one free’ Espresso Martinis though, which made me feel like I’d got good value from the place!

KARAOKE

That evening, we walked past one of the many karaoke bars, which were everywhere in Vietnam and decided to stop in.

The only way to go was to rent a private booth, on an hourly rate of 500K Dong (approx. £17), so we went ahead.

This place was amazing. We had a soundproofed room; big enough for at least 10 people, with a fully stocked bar, LED lighting, huge TV screen, microphones and epic sound system.

There was a touchscreen system, which you could use to select the tracks you wanted, but this proved pretty difficult. Almost all of the tracks were Vietnamese, so it was a case of paging through until you found a western track that you recognised. There were some absolute bangers though.

Initially only expecting to be here an hour at most, we got well into it and stayed for nearly three hours, drinking a skinful of beer and belting out song after song, until we’d nearly lost our voices.

Great shout.

LEAVING DANANG

The next afternoon, we were heading over to Hoi An, which was less than an hour away, so we’d booked a taxi.

We went for breakfast at a place nearby, called the ‘Happy Heart’ cafe. I’d thoroughly recommend this. The cafe employees disabled staff, who are incredibly attentive and the food was fantastic.

I stayed here for several hours, watching the world go by and catching up on some blog work, before getting the taxi down to Hoi An.

ARRIVING IN HOI AN

The taxi ride from Danang took around 45 minutes and we arrived at our hostel – Vietnam Backpackers. This place was lush. Really modern and clean and featured a pool area, huge bar area and a lavish reception and common area.

We’d booked a private room here, which was incredible. Probably the nicest room of my trip so far.

The vibe of the hostel itself, was really focused on forced fun – themed nights, pub crawls, beer pong, quizzes and ‘shit shirt nights’, where if you wore a ‘shit shirt’ you would get cheap drinks. When I was travelling solo, I would no doubt have got involved in some of this, but this time it just felt contrived.

All in all, a great social hostel though.

HOI AN’S OLD TOWN

We were staying outside of the main part of the old town, which was a 30 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride away.

This was where we spent most of our time.

The old town is gorgeous.

Crumbling, mustard-yellow buildings, lined the streets. A plethora of quaint restaurants, coffee shops, craft shops and, most notably, tailors.

This town is famous for its tailors and where tourists go get top class custom made suits. Some more jazzy than others:

While in town, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get myself a suit custom made.

There are so many tailors in town, that it was hard to decide on which one to visit, but after doing a little research I settled on one – Phuong Nam. This place was a little more expensive than some of those found in the market areas of town, but the quality of the fabrics, the skills of the tailors, their attention to detail and their desire to deliver complete satisfaction was what drew me to use them.

I got fitted for a three piece suit, selected my style and choice of fabric – a mix of cashmere and wool and within 24 hours I was back for an initial fitting. I suggested a couple of minor alterations, which the tailors were more than happy to make.

The following day I was back for another fitting and was thoroughly satisfied with the suit, so I paid and we shipped it back to the UK.

Incredible value and something you really must do while you’re here. I got a custom made three piece suit and two tailor made shirts for the equivalent of £170!!!

The shop also keep hold of your measurements, so if when back home you have the need for another suit, you can easily get back in touch and get another one shipped out to you!

Here’s a few more pics from wandering around the old town:

THU BON RIVER

The town of Hoi An is situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River and there are numerous boats here offering trips up and down the river. As you walk by, you will no doubt here the incessant cries of “Ay!!!! You want motorboat????!!!” It wears a little thin very quickly!

There’s also a small eyot in the river, which you can get a bridge over to. This should not be missed.

More restaurants and coffee shops, views over the river and a great place to people watch those walking through the old town.

Here’s a few more snaps from this side of the town:

There is also – and I’m not sure why – a Mr Bean themed bar over here:

They love Mr Bean here

One thing I learnt about the Vietnamese people while I was visiting was that that they are very proud people. They also seem to have quite the disdain towards the Chinese, as they seem to feel they are superior to the Vietnamese, due to their financial power.

This couldn’t be more clear than when I saw this. Smug, lazy, Chinese tourists being ridden around by their Vietnamese counterparts:

The Vietnamese must hate this

HOI AN’S SPECIAILITY DISHES

The food in Vietnam is varied and delicious. While in Hoi An though, I’d recommend trying out a few of the speciality dishes. You might be able to find them elsewhere in Vietnam, but it is certainly worth trying them in the town in which they were created.

Here’s a little rundown of a few of these dishes.

CAO LAU

Hoi An’s signature noodle dish. Thick rice noodles, thinly sliced barbecued pork, crunchy croutons and local greens. Delicious!

WHITE ROSE DUMPLINGS

Rice paper with a spoonful of meat or shrimp filling the centre. As a result of the rice paper being steamed, the edges curl up a little to resemble a rose. Hence the name.

Get them in your face.

HOI AN FRIED WONTON

Crispy wontons, filled with pork and shrimp and served with a tomato roulade. Divine.

While we’re on the subject, here’s a couple more food porn shots from Hoi An:

BEACHES

Another thing that Hoi An has going for it is that it’s right on the coast too and it’s worth checking out the beaches here. We were situated quite close to An Bang beach and rented some bikes one day to go and take a look around.

Certainly worth a look when you’re in town and I’m sure there’s more to see than I did, but for me Hoi An was all about the old town.

LANTERNS

At night, wandering around the old town has a really romantic feel to it, aided by the lanterns which are lit up and hanging around shop doorways and above the streets.

This really is the ‘picture postcard’ side of Hoi An and one which you must take in, while you’re here.

BACK TO DANANG

That’s about all for Hoi An. We spent a fabulous 6 nights here in total. I loved it.

I’d certainly recommend at least 3 nights here, depending on what you’re here for. If you’re looking for partying then you can find it, but this isn’t really the place for it. I’d argue that this is more of a couples spot, but I’m sure everyone would find something to love about Hoi An. It really is a beautiful town.

After six days here, we were heading back to Danang for a couple of days, where it felt like we had unfinished business!