After spending more days than we anticipated in puffy coats, we were excited to shed some layers and soak up some sunshine in Hoi An. We booked 2 weeks in Hoi An (yes! 2 whole weeks!) because, after some research, it seemed to have a rich culture, be very safe, with a multitude of beaches around, killer happy hours, and plenty of places to explore. That checks about 90% of our boxes, so we jumped in, hoping to get a strong sense of the culture.
Things we loved:
1) Old Town at night. This is what postcards are made of, people. It was just breathtaking. On one of our last nights, we found a restaurant next to the river that had $1 mojitos during happy "hour" [3-9pm]. Cheap drinks are necessary to deal with the masses of tourists.
2) An Bang Beach. It's beautiful. It's worth seeking out The Beach House (no website, obviously, but just turn right once you get onto the beach, and it's like 3 restaurants down). We made the mistake of sitting at the first place where someone approached us, and they were very rude, the beach was loud, and the food was gross. The Beach House was so amazing.
3) Cua Dai Beach is also fantastic. It's MUCH quieter, which we really appreciated, even if the beach part isn't as nice as An Bang.
3) Our day in Da Nang with Anh. Okay, so we found Anh by accident. We were going to take motobikes to hike Son Tra (Monkey) Mountain, but after some last minute searching, realized you can't actually hike there- the pitch is really steep, and you need a full-blown motorcycle to get there. We didn't want to kill ourselves, so we found Anh the night before, and it was the best decision ever. He taught us all about the American War, and showed us key historical sites, and took us to a secret waterfall. Our biggest regret was not booking with him FIRST- before booking anything else. He does all kinds of tours for a very reasonable price. Seriously. If you're going to Vietnam, call Anh.
4) The food [again]. There was amazing local food, and because of the booming tourist industry, we were able to eat things like sushi, curry, and tacos for a reprieve from meat and rice noodles. Also, the markets were excellent.
5) Little May's Homestay. Having a place we felt comfortable to just relax and hang out, cook dinner, chat, play cards. We didn't feel like we were intruding, we really felt at home there.
A few quick notes:
- Hoi An is a solid 3 on a 1-10 scale for culture. It is so overrun by tourists, that the authentic culture just feels exploited. More people speak English here than any other Vietnamese city we have been to so far. For true cultural immersion, just call Anh.
- Bartering. Woof. Some people love it, but we are not those people. It's exhausting. We even had to barter with a pharmacist over sunscreen! They were going to charge us $12! Be prepared to have your patience tested.
- We did get custom clothes made with the amazing ladies at Phuong Na. While they are amazing, kind, and detail-oriented ladies, we learned we are not "custom clothes" kind of people. Too much touching, too much up in the air. We are happy with what we got (especially my custom one piece seen above!), but will not be doing that again.
- We loved our time in Hoi An, but if we could go back, we would have done 1 week in Hoi An and 1 week in Da Nang.
Things we loved:
1) Old Town at night. This is what postcards are made of, people. It was just breathtaking. On one of our last nights, we found a restaurant next to the river that had $1 mojitos during happy "hour" [3-9pm]. Cheap drinks are necessary to deal with the masses of tourists.
2) An Bang Beach. It's beautiful. It's worth seeking out The Beach House (no website, obviously, but just turn right once you get onto the beach, and it's like 3 restaurants down). We made the mistake of sitting at the first place where someone approached us, and they were very rude, the beach was loud, and the food was gross. The Beach House was so amazing.
3) Cua Dai Beach is also fantastic. It's MUCH quieter, which we really appreciated, even if the beach part isn't as nice as An Bang.
3) Our day in Da Nang with Anh. Okay, so we found Anh by accident. We were going to take motobikes to hike Son Tra (Monkey) Mountain, but after some last minute searching, realized you can't actually hike there- the pitch is really steep, and you need a full-blown motorcycle to get there. We didn't want to kill ourselves, so we found Anh the night before, and it was the best decision ever. He taught us all about the American War, and showed us key historical sites, and took us to a secret waterfall. Our biggest regret was not booking with him FIRST- before booking anything else. He does all kinds of tours for a very reasonable price. Seriously. If you're going to Vietnam, call Anh.
4) The food [again]. There was amazing local food, and because of the booming tourist industry, we were able to eat things like sushi, curry, and tacos for a reprieve from meat and rice noodles. Also, the markets were excellent.
5) Little May's Homestay. Having a place we felt comfortable to just relax and hang out, cook dinner, chat, play cards. We didn't feel like we were intruding, we really felt at home there.
A few quick notes:
- Hoi An is a solid 3 on a 1-10 scale for culture. It is so overrun by tourists, that the authentic culture just feels exploited. More people speak English here than any other Vietnamese city we have been to so far. For true cultural immersion, just call Anh.
- Bartering. Woof. Some people love it, but we are not those people. It's exhausting. We even had to barter with a pharmacist over sunscreen! They were going to charge us $12! Be prepared to have your patience tested.
- We did get custom clothes made with the amazing ladies at Phuong Na. While they are amazing, kind, and detail-oriented ladies, we learned we are not "custom clothes" kind of people. Too much touching, too much up in the air. We are happy with what we got (especially my custom one piece seen above!), but will not be doing that again.
- We loved our time in Hoi An, but if we could go back, we would have done 1 week in Hoi An and 1 week in Da Nang.
So glad that you are meeting great people! I am curious about some of those food photos - what is the green stuffed food?
ReplyDeleteIt was some sort of vegetable stuffed with pork at the market. We didn't know how to cook it so we passed, but it looked interesting!
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