Thursday 31 May 2018

Vietnam: Hoi An








Arrived at the beautiful Palm Beach Resort a 20 minute drive from Hoi An.  The rooms are huge, with heavy wooden furniture, tiled floors and enormous bed, air conditioned.  Bathroom has giant stone bath with rainforest shower.  We had breakfast only here but it was a feast with a very extensive buffet offering European and Asian food.  They made me vegetarian asian crispy pancake rolls daily although there was always fish and meat versions available to help yourself to.  Fruit in abundance, rice, lentil curry, soups, steamed vegetables, cereals, breads and a variety of juices.  We didn't need lunch and ate dinners outside in local places
.

It's the only hotel I have ever stayed in where there is no shortage of sunbeds or towels and you can swim in the pool at night!



Hoi An is a Unesco World Heritage Site where part of the town is closed to traffic other than bicycles and rickshaws.  It is picturesque, colourful and very French/colonial.








A ticket can be purchased in town to access up to five of the many tourist attractions - the most popular being the Japanese bridge.  A £4 ticket gets you into 5 places of interest of your choice.  You could get by without the ticket but if you want to explore inside the ancient houses and temples (including a small one inside the famous Japanese bridge) it's great value.  The old houses are very dark inside but are designed around an open courtyard area where originally they would have cooked and relaxed.  We visited at night so I would recommend daytime visits if you want to see well and get good pictures.








If you order a meal in the smaller street bars, they will often bring it from somewhere else, it could be cooked in their home round the corner, in another bar, who knows! but it will arrive by moped in a pot balanced precariously and the driver will run in with the steaming pot straight to the kitchen, seconds later it's on your plate!  Pizza, curry, noodles, all delivered by moped to the kitchen.









The market sells fresh vegetables, fish and spices during the day then turns into a tourist/clothes and street food market at night.  There are plenty of places to eat or sit and drink beer all around the outskirts of the market which are nicer than the very cramped food areas inside.  This is where I tried some of the delicious food - the one below is an egg pancake with mashed banana inside and chocolate sauce over the top, chopped into squares and eaten with a stick.  It was hot, delicious and very filling.


pancake with mashed banana filling, hot, filling, delicious street food


There were 'ice cream' curls:  made from crushed/chopped  strawberries, prepared on dry ice and then spread with some condensed sweetened milk, the pulp freezes instantly and is scraped off into 'curls' presented in a little paper cup.

chips and beer, Hoi An market

I bought some lightweight cotton wrap beach trousers and an open back top for only a few pounds after some bartering.  There are many shops selling coffee and it's a good place to buy the traditional Vietnamese coffee filter pots.







Beautiful silk lanterns are on sale here.  When shopping you can expect to bargain 30% or more  off  (about £3 each) so having had the fun of the barter, you could pay a little more if you want to walk away feeling you were fair.  People aren't poor by their own standards, but their lifestyle is very different to ours (one elderly lady was so surprised at my paying a bit more after a hard haggle that she hugged and kissed me, a lot!).



silk lanterns on sale on street corners and in the market


















You can get one of the many brightly painted boats below or a little rowing boat above to take you along the canal.  Night times are best as the rowing boats are lit by silk lanterns, the scene is absolutely beautiful,  as are the streets (it is a requirement in the area for the shops to maintain lanterns at night, they run on cables across the streets, failure to comply can result in a government fine).



Around the bridge and river at night there are many young and elderly people selling little 'helicopters' for a few UK pence that you can release into the sky like bright blue and white fireflies - they 'die' quickly but last just long enough to make a wish!


Throughout Vietnam there are Bhuddist, Hindu and Animist temples.  In Hoi An the temples we saw were Chinese.



We were told that the wooden doorways deliberately have a 'step' so you lean forward as you enter, forcing a bow of respect towards the inner alter.








toad is a popular street food here (we didnt try this one!)



 The school run, not a car in sight. people carry babies in 
body pouches to squeeze the whole family on their mopeds and the school
bags are either placed on the handlebars and/or the footwell.


navy silk flippy skirt, charity shop find!

inside one of the ancient houses within the town that are now museums



temples abound, the smell of incense is overwhelming at times

Hoi An market, we had chips and beer whist watching brisk sales

our hotel lounge bar












Jaeger beach kaftan (charitiy shop) split trousers Hoi An Market
It is pleasantly hot on the beach from about 7am, early morning is a good time to sunbathe, as the day goes on it becomes too hot.  We spent most of our time in the sea or shade.

But the best time is to be had in the towns and markets, exploring and observing every day life,

Useful tip:  always agree the price before you sit down to eat/drink so there are no misunderstandings, if it's beer on the street, it's easier to pay up front.  If extra dishes are placed in front of you (black tea, spring rolls, breads) and you didn't expect them and don't want them, be firm as you will be charged!

9 comments:

  1. Interesting place to visit! Good advice, too.

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  2. One ting I love about traveling is the opportunity to 'people watch' the locals, it's fascinating.
    The more I read, the more I want to go!
    xx

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    1. I hope you can go, there is so much to see, I think it would be different for everyone and if you like people watching like us, you would never get bored!

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  3. What lovely photos both of you and the action shots of the Vietnamese going about their daily business.
    Those lanterns are gorgeous and I'm liking the sound of the clothes you bought, too. The toad? Not so much!
    What great value that £4 ticket was. xxx

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    1. Thank you! I think you would love it there as plenty of silk and tailors to knock up your own inventions.

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  4. I'm not trying to compete, just thought you might enjoy seeing my pictures so will include a link below. We have similar pictures of the lanterns. I bought several. Hoi An was a very special place.

    http://bristowmom.blogspot.com/2013/10/places-in-vietnam-hoi-an.html?m=0

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    1. I will take a look, thanks - I don't know what to do with my lanterns now I have them home - they are huge! maybe one in the conservatory, what did you do with yours?

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    2. I hung mine outside around a covered patio. They were beautiful, but they didn't weather very well. I actually, just before your post, opened the moving box they are in (yes, 3-1/2 years after moving I still have a few unopened boxes!) Am trying to determine if they can be used or - perish the thought! - should be discarded.

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