In Love with Hoi An

View of Thu Bon River from Bach Dang Street

 

February 8, 2011
Hoi An, Day 1

4H Completed!

We are in the proverbial midway of Vietnam and Hoi An crowns the series of the must seen places with "H" from North to Central Vietnam after Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Hué. My image of the most charming coastal town in this country and everything what I've read in books and saw in documentary films, reassured by the first minute we walked through the Old Quarter.

It was almost 4 pm when we arrived from the Marble Mountains of Da Nang. We knew with a group of six persons it won't be that simple to find a budget accommodation where we all can stay together. And the mere fact that this place is one of the main tourist spot and still Tet, we have to reckon with fully book hostels or hotels and higher rates but somehow we got lucky. We all got rooms at Vinh Hung 3 Hotel, located in a very quite side street of Nhi Trung and just only a short stroll away from the lively Old Quarter. We were more than pleased with this accommodation. Our Standard Rooms were clean, nice decorated and spacious (16 sqm!) and  we also got a group discount: 20 USD a night instead of 32 USD. Vinh Hung has friendly, obliging and English speaking staff. In retrospect it was the best room we had in Vietnam. I would recommend this hotel if you will stay in Hoi An.

By the way, one of their staff told me that the original Vinh Hung (1) Hotel in the Old Quarter is were Michael Caine stayed during the filming of "The Quite American" in Hoi An. Vinh Hung 1, a beautiful old Chinese traders house is located in 143 Tran Phu St., not far from the Japanese Bridge.

Our room at Vinh Hung 3 Hotel

Capital of tailor and lantern shops

We left the grayness of Hanoi's winter and finally reached the tropical zone of Vietnam and after the strenuous hike on the Marble Mountain of Da Nang during the noonday heat, I desperately needed a hot and relaxing shower. We fixed 7 pm to have dinner together at Bach Tang, the famous riverside street at the Old Quarter where most of the restaurants and cafes are located.

While walking down the Nhi Trung Street on our way to the riverside, we were amazed by numerous  tailor, shoe and silk lantern shops. Of course we read that Hoi An is a shopping mecca for tailor made clothes and souvenirs but this exceeded all expectations! I never saw so many tailor shops packed with gorgeous fabrics and bales of exquisite silk. I must confess that I have a foible for tailor and fabric shops. I practically grew up in one. My grandma, paternal side, is a retired dressmaker who owned a tailor shop in Cebu. No girls, I didn't freak out! It's unbelievable and even though Kevin was surprised that I only bought silk scarfs and a pair of custom made leather sandals on our last day.

Well, the truth is that it bothered me that we both were jam-packed with thick winter clothes which we haven't used by a decree of fate, Hanoi's winter turned into a spring like weather. Besides that I knew that there will be some time for shopping at our final destinations: Saigon and Bangkok.

Bach Dang Street

Another view of the riverside

Old Quarter and Tru Bon Riverside

We reached the riverside by sunset and stood in front of the footbridge to An Hoi Peninsula. Hoi An's illustrious riverside panorama was breathtaking! The intire area was submerged in the shades of yellow-ochre, brown, dark green, red, and blue. Right at this moment, I fell in love with Hoi An! I've never seen such a picturesque Asian town with these kind of colours before.

The buildings around the riverside are mostly one- and two story structure and painted in a washed-out yellow-ochre combined with artfully carved somber wood doors and windows with typical wooden shutters. Some houses are entrangled with twiners which looks almost Mediterranean. The balconies, doorways and streets are spangle with Hoi An's colourful signature features: the silk lanterns.
The tradition of silk, glass and paper lanterns in Vietnam came with the Chinese and Japanese community in the history of Hoi An as a trading port. More about the Hoi An's Lantern click here.

Between the 5th and 19th century Hoi An was one of South-East Asian most important trading ports and has been used by the Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, French and the large remaining Chinese community where all sorts of produce and wares were traded. The influences of these past foreign traders are omnipresent and line up the streets. It's comparable with Vigan's history and the influences by the Spaniards and Chinese. In 1999 the UNESCO listed Hoi An's Ancient Town as a World Heritage Site. More about Hoi An's architecture, click here. Hoi An these days is packed with tourist (see picture above "Bach Dang Street) but luckily it's still one of those rare places that excessive tourism hasn't so far manged to spoil like other tourist spots.

There's something specific in the atmosphere of Hoi An that moves people.

For myself it was the glimmer of "La joie de vivre" blended with serenity, some tropical magic, the nostalgia of glorious old days and the irresistible Asian charm. Like the taste of Pho, the ingredients are in perfect harmony!

A house at Bach Tang Street