Hoi An: 10 – 15 June

Hoi An is beautiful, with part of the city designated a UNESCO world heritage site. There are some truly stunning buildings and temples left over from French colonial times and before. The riverfront houses the historic area of town, but also some great little restaurants, food stalls, and markets. At night, this area really comes alive with beautiful coloured lanterns, and the hustle and bustle of people eating, shopping, and selling.

In Hoi An we met up with old friends Torika and Mike from NZ, also travelling around the region, and briefly saw Ylan and Jerry again. To combat the heat, (which reached as high 42 one day!), we enjoyed many a cold ‘fresh’ beer together. ‘Fresh beer’ or ‘bia hoi’ is beer brewed locally and available in restaurants straight off the keg. It goes for as cheap as 3000 Vietnamese dong a glass – roughly 18 cents NZ! A lot of it was quite tasty too.

Something else Hoi An is known for is tailored clothing. Many people come here expressly for some tailored clothes, and you can see why. Turns out we couldn’t resist the temptation either. Depending on the quality of the materials and workmanship, many times you could get some clothes tailored for you for the same price or less than you would pay for off the rack back in NZ. Kylie got a suit, some pants (oops, trousers to those in UK…), shirts, and a jacket made – which we’re sure will come in handy for job interviews in London. Meanwhile, I got a jacket, two dresses and some shirts as well. Not wanting to cart this around with us for the next month, we shipped it all off to my brother in London.

Hoi An also has a nice beach, which you can reach easily by bicycle, and we spent a nice afternoon there, cooling off in the water or with cold drinks. One real downside about the beach however, is the ladies hawking their wares. Never have we come across more persistent and annoying vendors, some were quite simply rude. In fact, also in central Hoi An, we found the many tailors vying for your custom got a little old after a while too. Sadly it seems as though many of the locals have grown weary of the mass of tourists which visit Hoi An, and have little patience or thought for marketing strategy. That said – the town is definitely still worth a visit.

In Hoi An, there are a few great places to eat. One street stall we found served the most amazing banh mi – this is a Vietnamese sandwich; served in a baguette, with all types of meat (including ‘head cheese’ (google it), cucumber, carrot, chilli, fish sauce, coriander, and sometimes egg – while it doesn’t sound like much, it’s simply delectable. We also discovered another delicious dish – bun bo nam bo – a type of noodle salad, served with grilled beef, fresh vegetables, sprouts, chilli, cucumber, mint, coriander and peanuts.