On Arrival: Hoi An

Jaimie’s Story:
Our first stop in Vietnam is Hoi An, about 45 minutes outside of Da Nang. We didn’t get to see much of Da Nang but it was definitely a bigger city. Driving through was a little intense, we were glad our home stay arranged a car to come get us. One thing we noticed right away were all of motorbikes. Tons of them, everywhere, weaving through traffic and honking at each other. No one seems mad though. It’s like they are just letting you know they are coming. We might need to rent one to fit in with the locals. We are staying at a home stay called Nu Ni. It came highly recommended in a travel book AJ read. It is lovely and kind of like a bed and breakfast. I’m not sure if they serve breakfast a though.

It was morning when we got in and our room wasn’t quite ready so we went to grab something to eat. We decided on a bahn mi sandwich and later a Vietnamese pizza. AJ liked the pizza but I was not a fan. It had some sort of sweet tomato jam on it. I don’t know. But you’d be surprised how many cafes serve pizza here. The bahn mi was excellent.

After a couple of hours we checked in, took a much needed shower and headed out to Ancient Town. We are guessing that’s like Hoi An’s version of Old Town. It is absolutely beautiful. The streets are filled with quaint shops and restaurants and decorated with beautiful lanterns. After dark, the night market opens and it’s a big party down by the water. So much fun.

AJ’s Story:
After about 20 hrs of traveling (lax-Hong kong-denang-hoi an) we arrived at our hotel nu ni home stay. Initially we weren’t impressed with hoi an. The northern side of the city is very busy/congested and just not very aesthetically pleasing. After walking around, eating at various places we were able to check in. I was somewhat worried Hoi An was going to be a bust.

Eventually we made our way to ancient city, we were blown away by the rustic colonial charm. Mostly mustard yellow buildings with terra-cotta roofs. Markets and tchotchski shops were everywhere with canals and walking bridges interlaced. Really beautiful and vibrant at night. We were tired from the days journey so we went to bed at 8:30 exhausted.

Best food: shrimp dumpling curry soup (morning glory).

Coolest site: ancient town rivers with chinese lantern boats at night.