Shortly after moving into my new apartment and settling in a bit, Carley and I took a trip to Hoi An. It is a quick 25km down the road from Da Nang, but essentially a whole other world. Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is essentially a living museum and example of a typical Southeast Asian trading post from the 15th to 19th centuries. It is beautiful, however, when the New York Times called it the Venice of Vietnam and declared it one of the 52 must-see places in 2019 it did not help the quiet idyllic vibe of the town.
Hoi An has lots to see, lots to eat and lots to buy, but I found the massive crowds of tourists a bit much. It is one thing to enjoy the beauty of lantern town in the evening and something completely different to enjoy it with thousands of your new closest friends. Following Peter’s advice, we stayed outside of ancient town in An Bang beach. This was a blessing. The beach was beautiful and the perfect dichotomy to the ancient town. We could wake up and head into town in the morning before the crowds to do our sightseeing and any shopping then relax away the day in the sun and decide whether or not we felt up to heading back into town for some dinner and to see the hundreds of colorful lanterns all lit up in the moonlight.
Even with the overwhelming crowd of tourists, Hoi An is exceptionally lovely and as I have found to be true throughout Vietnam so far, the people there are even more beautiful than the sites. The locals you encounter while wandering through town are always quick with a smile or a short conversation until they max out their vocabulary of basic English language. If you find yourself out wandering when it starts to rain they are happy to welcome you in to sit a bit while you wait out the showers. When we weren’t hiding from the rain at the Taiyaki shop, we made our way through the streets and explored the many ancient temples that serve as both opportunities for mindfulness and Insta-worthy photo sessions. We also shopped and snacked. I bought towels for my new apartment and a large old map that detailed the trade routes throughout this part of the world during the French Indo-China occupation. I also found postcards and stamps for mailing them home to my friends and family who were anxiously waiting.
Once you have spent a couple of days in Hoi An you have really seen and done it all. By the second day of wandering, all of the golden-hued shops begin to look the same, as do their wares. Unless you are buying souvenirs for a Duggar sized family, Hoi An really only needs a day or two to explore. I don’t anticipate spending much time there outside of showing it off to my friends who may visit in the future or stopping in for a day to replenish my postcard supply before heading home for the evening. However, I haven’t yet taken a kayak trip down the Thu Bon river or ridden a bicycle along the roads that pass through the rice paddies outside the ancient town. The advertising brochures make those activities look so fun I am sure I will take them up on their offers at some point.
