June 1, 2016

Little Europe

Chiara Di ASIA, TRAVEL Hoi An, Old Town, Topdeck, Travel, Vietnam, Wanderlust 0 Comments

Hoi An was my favourite city in Vietnam and there was no question why with its European influenced Old Town.

To get to Hoi An you need to fly into Danang, which is approximately midway between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. We flew from Nha Trang with Vietnam Airlines again and it only took 45 minutes. From Danang airport, it’s an additional 45-minute drive to Hoi An.

We stayed at Thuy Duong hotel just outside the Old Town and it was beautiful. It reminded me of Italy with its gorgeous archways and columns and guess what, it had a pool. Finally a hotel with a pool!

We did a walking tour of the Old Town visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge (built in the former Japanese Quarter) and Nguyen Tuong Family’s Chapel where we enjoyed tea and a history on the old houses. To enter the Old Town you need to buy an entry ticket of 120,000 dong (approximately $8) per person.

There are plenty of other sights to explore in Hoi An including chapels, museums, temples and communal houses but we decided to explore more of the tailoring and local village side of Hoi An. The town has a very European influence. There are yellow concrete buildings with balconies and columns and river bridges. It was also full of lanterns hanging between buildings which lit up at night and provided the city with even more beauty.

Hoi An is Vietnam’s home of tailoring with multiple stores on offer. Our guide took us to Yaly Couture which was considered one of the quality options available. One of the guys in the group ordered a suit and one of the girls ordered an evening dress and were very happy with the final product but we didn’t get anything tailored. You paid for the quality and I didn’t have anything in mind to make at the time. I did however purchase my share of summer dresses and jump suits at the markets in Hoi An.

That afternoon we took a bike tour to the vegetable villages and watched the local farmers harvest their produce. A local guide led the way as we maneuvered the main roads to the back streets and tracks. We saw the locals farming rice, mint, coriander, mangoes, papaya, lemongrass, chillis and more.

The farmers work so hard in the hot sun and it’s so sad to hear they don’t earn much. Our guide told us that the young people aren’t interested in farming anymore as they are after a modern life so it’s sad to think what might happen to the industry.

The icing on the cake was a sunset boat cruise back along the Hoai River to the Old Town on an old wood chug boat, which was beautiful. Once we got back to the Old Town we had to brave the now busier streets as we rode back to the hotel.

The next day we had a free day in Hoi An and chose to do one of Topdeck’s optional excursions – a Vietnamese cooking class. Our tour director Quinn took us to the Red Bridge Restaurant in the Old Town to meet our local guide Chin. We had a complimentary welcome drink on arrival, and being the morning and so hot, of course I opted for a Vietnamese cold coffee.

The first part of the experience was a visit to the Hoi An farmers market where Chin showed us the different vegetables, spices, herbs, meat and fish being sold. It was concerning seeing all the meat and fish products sitting out on tables without any cooling especially as both the locals and restaurants shop there. It was extremely hot as well so it was nice when we finally boarded our boat to take us to our cooking school about 25-minutes away, which provided a steady cool breeze.

When we arrived at Red Bridge Cooking School Chin took us for a tour of the garden herbs before leaving us with our lovely chef. We learnt to make Vietnamese fried pancakes, pork salad, fresh spring rolls, a chicken hot pot, dipping sauce and plate decorations. We got to enjoy everything we made along the way, as well as sizzling beef and fruit in the restaurant.

After lunch we relaxed by the cooking school’s pool before catching our boat back to the Old Town and shopping at the markets.

We experienced a Vietnamese massage this afternoon which was an interesting experience. The style of massage was all over the place and not enjoyable.

On our last night we ate dinner at Green Chili restaurant in the Old Town which had a very interactive chef who came out and spoke to us about the specials of the night and gave us recommendations. After dinner we walked through the night markets which had colourful lantern stalls and then went to Tiger Tiger bar for free drinks and shisha.

I fell in love with Hoi An’s beauty during our two nights there and I will definitely be back!

LWL xxx