Hoi An, Vietnam: Quick Travel Guide
After visiting places like Ho Chi Minh, Mui Ne, and Da Lat, I thought of cutting short my Vietnam adventures, but I am glad that I decided to go ahead and explore Hoi An. We traveled 12 hours from Da Lat to Hoi An, and it is worth the long ride.
Hoi An is a town in Vietnam which is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as "it reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures (principally Chinese and Japanese with later European influences)." The place is popular for its beautiful lanterns hanging in the streets and strips of French buildings, Chinese stores, and Vietnamese cafes. Hoi An is said to be one of the major trading centers in Southeast Asia during the 16th century.
The town is full of life and color - there are parts of Hoi An that seem to loo like Nafplio, Greece - but the busy motorcycle traffic always reminds me that I am in Vietnam.
Hoi An is also known as the Tailor Capital of Vietnam. There are many shops that are offering tailor-made dresses and suits in nice prints and materials. It is a good souvenir to take home from a trip in this beautiful town. Some of the recommended tailor shops in Hoi An with good reviews are BeBe ClothShop, Kimmy Custom Tailor and Yalo Couture.
Hoi An is simply beautiful, regardless of the time of the day. It has its own charm and allure. I can say that it is one of my favorite cities in the world.
In between interesting shops, and crawling bougainvillaeas are temples, pagodas and sites that you can visit. You can buy a ticket to get access to 5 preserved sites in Hoi An including the Japanese Bridge. The ticket is good for 24 hours and is price at around 120, 000 VND ($ 5 USD).
The famous Japanese Bridge
Where and What to Eat in Hoi An?
The bay area has a lot of many nice restaurants around. You can enjoy dinner or lunch here with a view, but we notice that restaurants in the bay area are alot more expensive than the ones in the side streets. We still ended up eating at one of them (because we were so tired from all the walking).
If you get tired from the local food, there's always pizza!
One of the food that you must try in Vietnam is the White Rose Dumpling.
For your coffee and lemonade-cravings, don't forget to visit the Reaching Out Tea House. The cafe is manned by persons with disability (PWD).
Reaching Out Tea House was established in 2000 to help PWDs learn skills and gain meaningful employment so that they are able to integrate fully with their communities and lead independent and fulfilling lives.
Don't forget to eat Ban Mi Phuong and Ban Mi Madam Khánh
People line up Ban Mi Phuong and it is worth the wait!
Hoi An at Night
At night, it seems that Hoi An glows with its beautiful lanterns in different shapes, colors and styles.
One of the things to do in Hoi An is to ride a boat and float a lantern to make a wish. If you are planning to visit, make sure that you plot your schedule during the Hoi An Lantern Festival which happens every month.
How to Get to Hoi An?
You can go to Hoi An via Bus, Train or Airplane through Da Nang (which is a 45-minute car ride).
Taxi or Grab Car costs around $20 USD.
I flew out from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh to catch my flight back to Manila. Make sure that you give allowance to your flight itinerary in case the domestic flight got delayed. My flight got delayed, and thankfully, the ground attendant put me on an earlier flight when I told her I have connecting flight to Manila.
Where to Stay in Hoi An?
I suggest that you stay in a place near the old city proper (at least .5 km) so you can just easily walk going home. We stayed in Thien Nga Hostel which is just a 7 minute walk to the old town. The hostel is also near shops, convenience store, and ATM Machines.
I really enjoyed my stay in Hoi An and bonding adventures with @karlaaroundtheworld.
I hope you guys enjoyed this Vietnam Travel Series.
Next up would be TOKYO!!!
Follow me @ruthilicious
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