Vietnam Part 5: Hoi An

Hoi An was one my two favourite destinations in Vietnam. If you're planning a trip, enjoy pretty things and like light exercise, I highly recommend you add Hoi An to your itinerary. Despite being only a 45min drive away, Hoi An is worlds away from Da Nang. There are no high-rises, but rather plenty of colourful painted brick buildings and narrow cobblestone streets. The small streets make driving an inconvenience, so many residents and most tourists use bicycles to get around. As a result, Hoi An feels like it is operating at a slower pace and there is a relative peace and quiet. Ahhhh.

The main town area at night - even prettier than during the day!

Eric and I stayed at a "boutique" hotel 10 minutes bike ride from the main town area. We were the only ones there, so were upgraded by the friendly and extremely enthusiastic staff to the fancier suite that looked out over the pool (hooray!). Upgrade or not, the hotel had a full collection of scooters and bikes available for our use. Not yet feeling confident enough to scooter, we picked up two bikes and headed out to explore. First, we cycled out to the beach. Unfortunately, beaches in Hoi An are not so appealing (think sandbags and big waves). After a strong cocktail, swimming still did not seem like a good idea, so we cycled on to what is called the "Vegetable Village".

According to Anthony Bourdain (and me), this is the best Banh Mi in Vietnam - available from a hole-in-the-wall joint 5 minutes cycle out of town. Yum. 

The Vegetable Village consists of a very large area of marshy fields, submerged in water and full of vegetables and herbs, though I did not recognize any by sight. The fields were dotted with large water buffalo, most of which appeared to roam freely, with the occasional beast tethered to a stake in the ground. Someone had constructed raised concrete footpaths which meant we could cycle through the area without getting our feet-sies wet. As we made our way along the narrow paths ("please may I not fall off the bike, please may I not fall off the bike"), we noticed a wave of movement and rustling in front of us. Rats. Everywhere rats. Thousands of them. They dived into the water and charged across the path to get away from us. Pretty frequently in Asia I encountered an experience which challenged my understanding of what exists in the world. Cycling through the rats like Moses parting the Red Sea fell into this category of experiences. It was fascinating, but also really gross and concerning for health reasons.

"The little ones are kind of cute." - Eric looking at rats.

The main town area of Hoi An sits half on the mainland and half on a small island, connected via several large bridges. Outside the main commercial streets, the island side consists of homes, dogs, chickens and locals, who looked at us as if we were crazy as we biked past. The mainland side of the river is more developed and covered in tailoring stores.

Hoi An is regarded as the tailoring capital of Vietnam, but neither Eric nor I got any clothes made. We told ourselves it was because we couldn't carry them, but really we just didn't want to think about work clothes. Cruising around, we instead stopped for a massage and then to purchase a “mango cake” from a street vendor. For 25c, this actually turned out to be tasty peanut butter inside a soft dumpling-type case. (Helpful hint: Good luck to you if you have a peanut allergy in Vietnam. It’s probably best if you just don’t go.)

In this Instagram-esque photo, Eric cycles along the riverbank of Hoi An (no traffic!). 

With two big days of cocktails, cycling and massages behind us, Eric and I had earned a night out. Hoi An is designed for nights out. Bar workers stand on the street handing out fliers, that unlike fliers in NZ, actually advertise cool stuff that you want - primarily alcohol ranging from very cheap to free. (I'm not sure how this business model works, I suspect to make it viable either some of this alcohol wasn't alcohol, or it may have been brewed in a bathtub. Either way I have no proof.) Following fliers as if we were hunting for Easter eggs, we eventually we ended up at a bar playing Jenga with another couple from England before deciding it was time to go home. Cleverly, on our second night, we had walked into town and so could catch a taxi. (Helpful Hint: Avoid biking after dark. There are no street lights out of the main town area. Biking on uneven roads in complete darkness is hard and scary.)

The main bar street of Hoi An. 

Hoi An was wonderful. I would highly recommend it, and look forward to going back in the future to chill out.

Next stop: Hue (Hoo-ay)

Bonus: Another unflattering near death experience in Asia - cycling past a water buffalo in the vegetable village.