Hoi An is such a lovely little artsy town just south of Hue. These long bus journeys really put things in perspective when you get excited about the 'short' the five hour bu ride. Hoi An is meant to be the seat of the Indian-influenced Chan empire. What did I see? Chinese influenced Vietnam everywhere! Ancient Chinese tea houses. Ancient Chinese Chinese trade houses. Ancient Japanese bridge (just to make sure the Japanese could connect with the Chinese in town). And tons and tons and tons of silk Chinese lanterns everywhere.
We enjoyed our lovely guesthouse, chilled inside during the daytime, and caught up on some movies, only venturing out on our bicycles towards the town at night. We didn't miss out on anything. Night is when the city picks up! It's absolutely lovely. The entire town is lit up by said Chinese lanterns everywhere. The whole town is filled with handmade boutiques. Beautiful embroidered paintings. Silk lanterns. Leather work. You name it, they have it.
We discovered later that you can have a custom made pair of leather ankle boots made for you for just $62 AUD. That is ridiculous! If only we had more time here (we need to get to get Ho Chi Minh City so we can get some visas processed), we definitely would have had boots made for ourselves!
As we rambled down the streets, we came to the river, where people were selling paper Chinese lanterns with a lit candle that you could lay in the water. Perfect place to just sit and people watch.
We then found what Anthony Bourdain claims to be the best bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Vietnam. Normally, I don't got for these celebrity chef picks, but we do love Vietnamese sandwiches, there wasn't a long line, and it didn't cost us an arm and a let. Were they the best in Vietnam? I don't think so, but I'm not an expert. Were they pretty darn good? You know it! We even took some for our bus ride to Ho Chi Minh. Have bahn mi, will travel.
We sadly didn't get to the beach that is just 2 kms away; we'll just have to make up for it in south Vietnam.
We enjoyed our lovely guesthouse, chilled inside during the daytime, and caught up on some movies, only venturing out on our bicycles towards the town at night. We didn't miss out on anything. Night is when the city picks up! It's absolutely lovely. The entire town is lit up by said Chinese lanterns everywhere. The whole town is filled with handmade boutiques. Beautiful embroidered paintings. Silk lanterns. Leather work. You name it, they have it.
We discovered later that you can have a custom made pair of leather ankle boots made for you for just $62 AUD. That is ridiculous! If only we had more time here (we need to get to get Ho Chi Minh City so we can get some visas processed), we definitely would have had boots made for ourselves!
As we rambled down the streets, we came to the river, where people were selling paper Chinese lanterns with a lit candle that you could lay in the water. Perfect place to just sit and people watch.
We then found what Anthony Bourdain claims to be the best bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwich) in Vietnam. Normally, I don't got for these celebrity chef picks, but we do love Vietnamese sandwiches, there wasn't a long line, and it didn't cost us an arm and a let. Were they the best in Vietnam? I don't think so, but I'm not an expert. Were they pretty darn good? You know it! We even took some for our bus ride to Ho Chi Minh. Have bahn mi, will travel.
We sadly didn't get to the beach that is just 2 kms away; we'll just have to make up for it in south Vietnam.
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