I was excited to go back to Hoi An in central Vietnam. I remembered it as a quaint old town with gorgeous shops & restaurants lining the river.
But before that, we had to get there. We took a car & driver for the trip south as it was only a couple of hours from Hue. It was well worth it – we saw a lot of the countryside. Mountains, beaches, lakes, rice paddies, fields. We stopped at China beach, site of rest and relaxation for the US soldiers during the American-Vietnam war. We crossed over the pass between two sides of the mountain & stood on top. The clouds blew from one side to the other and I stood in the middle, touching the clouds. Amazing!
Hoi An was as I remembered it…but with more tourists. There were tourists everywhere! They were out in force with their cameras, getting their picture taken, joining cooking classes and getting clothes made. Hoi An is famous for tailors and they are on every corner. And at least 3 shops in between! It is the town you see on the posters – school girls wearing white 'ao dai' (the national dress) and conical hats riding bicycles down the street.
We ate. Alot. The food was amazing so we tried out everything. Pancake, noodle, rice paper rolls, coffee, wine. You name it, we tried it. We walked the streets, admiring the old buildings that have been preserved. All the buildings in the old town are painted a mustard orange with ornate wooden signs out front making the whole place charming.
Tuesday we got adventurous – we hired some deadly-treadlys and went bike riding! We rode out to the beach and walked along in the (cold!) water. Palm trees, white sand, waves. We cycled through rice paddies & little villages and admired the countryside. It was as if I was a character in a novel.
I would highly recommend stopping in at Hoi An when in Vietnam. It's a welcome change from the big cities & definitely a culinary feast.
As we left Hoi An it was raining, so I guess it was a good time to leave. A final day in HCMC where Annabel can shop up a storm & I can enjoy the last of my holidays for awhile!
