Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We stayed 2 nights in Hoi An and had a great time, I loved it here. The private bus tickets here are so cheap so we went by bus to Hoi An. On the way the wheel of the bus got a puncture some how and obviously they don't carry a spare, so we stopped in the middle of no where to get it fixed. In total it was a 17 hour bus journey! I asked the bus attendant if there were any toilets near by, he gestured to the floor by the bus with a big grin on his face, I thought no way and went in search of a toilet. Luckily we managed to get the wheel fixed and we were on our way. The buses are really cheap because they get commission off Hotels and restaurants that they stop off at. When you get to your destination they will stop at a particular hotel and suggest everyone without a Hotel "go and compare the quality". Although every time the hotel is decent and very very cheap so we can't complain really. Hoi An old town is a UNESCO world heritage site and it's really beautiful, no cars are allowed in the main area and there is a river that runs through the town, which leads to flooding every year. You will find lots of old houses, we went to Tan Ky house an old merchants house which is over 200 years old and the 5th, 6th and 7th generations still live there. It's got mix of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture, it's tiny inside but really cute. I met one of the ladys that lived there, who offered to put the fan on for me, I wasn't expecting to meet the residents of the house. There are lots of photos on the wall of all important Vietnamese people that have come to visit the house over the years. Someone will come and give you a little tour. Hoi An is renowned for it's tailor shops and Chris and I splashed out on some suits for ourselves. You all know how long my arms are and no jackets ever fit me, so I thought I best get one fitted while I had the chance. I got a whole tailor made suit for 26 pounds! They give you a catalogue and you pick a style and they will copy it exactly for you. They had the NEXT catalogue so I picked a style out of there and got a whole suit for less than half the price of the jacket in the catalogue.They make silk lanterns in Hoi An and at night all the restaurants along the river are lit up with the lanterns. We enjoyed just sitting by the river and watching the world go by. They have a shop called "Reaching Out" its a handicrafts shop which sells crafts made by disabled artists in Hoi An, you can go in the back and see the products being made. There is loads of good stuff in there and it's nice to see tourism benefiting the local people. Hoi An is a great place to come and spend a couple of days and I'm so glad we came. It's such a quiet little town, and the local food is the best we have had in Vietnam so far. It's called Cao Lau and it is a noodle soup made with water from the local well.
- comments