VACATIONS FROM HOME: HOI AN, VIETNAM

TOURIST CENTRAL

The next stop on our recent tour of Vietnam was Hoi An, and it was like no other place in the country. Relatively untouched during the war this UNESCO World Heritage Site was a major port on the maritime Silk Road during the 16^th Century and the lucrative flow of silk, spices, ceramics and precious metals and stones like jade attracted Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian and European merchants. Each of these cultures are seen in the town’s architecture, customs and cuisine. The Chinese built elaborate temples, and the Japanese constructed the eponymous Japanese Covered Bridge, whose stylized outline remains the symbol of Hoi An. The European influence is found in the many colonial-style buildings and shops that line the streets of this old city in central Vietnam.

TO THE MOON

When the Japanese and Chinese traders settled in this very lucrative trading port they brought colorful lanterns to remind them of home. Over the centuries the Vietnamese have adopted the lantern and today Hoi An is called the City of Lanterns. Lanterns are everywhere strung up in front of buildings and overhead strung across the street. It’s a beautiful sight during the day, but at night when the lanterns are lit and glow with warm colors, Hoi An is especially enchanting.

One of the main activities in Hoi An is to rent a boat or sampan and get on the Thu Bon River to catch the sunset. Pleasure boats are festooned with colorful lights and lanterns adding to the beautiful view of the lanterns on shore. People will float paper flower lanterns on the river with a lit candle inside. According to local custom, wishes will be granted. We got to enjoy this local attraction one night and we made our wishes and floated our candles and the shimmering lights of Hoi An was a beautiful sight.

On the full moon evening of each month the Lunar Lantern festival is held and from 5pm to 10pm all vehicles and electric lights are shut off and the narrow streets and waterways of Hoi An are lit solely by these glowing beautiful magical orbs. It is a major tourist draw.

HUNGRY FOR MORE

The many cultures that have been a part of Hoi An’s history are also found in the local cuisines. Two notable dishes are Cao Lau and Bánh Mi. Cao Lau is a fusion of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese ingredients and flavors. Served with Japanese style Udon noodles, Chinese char siu which is Cantonese BBQ pork and lime juice and Vietnamese chili paste complete the meal.

Bánh Mi is a French baguette stuffed with pork or chicken with varying degrees of spices, lettuce, cucumber and sometimes fried eggs or pate depending on your whim. The late Anthony Bourdain proclaimed Bánh Mì Phượng as the best in Hoi An, if not all of Vietnam. We were lucky enough to get Banh Mi take out sent to our hotel.

making a wish in Hoi An

Another great eating experience is the night market. There are several restaurants in the market, and all are listed in one massive book. Servers take your order no matter which one you’ve chosen and bring it to your long communal style table.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP

Fittingly because of her history as a part of the Maritime Silk Road Hoi An is a great place to shop for all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs. The small streets of Hoi An are lined by colonial-era buildings with establishments offering everything from tacky t-shirts to leather goods, silver jewelry, lanterns of course and textiles. There are several tailor shops in town where one can be fitted for a dress, suit or shirt and depending on the difficulty of the piece it will be delivered in several hours or a few days. I was fitted for an “Aloha shirt” at Yaly Couture and told to come pick it up the next day. They had made the shirt with tails, instead of a straight hem typical of Aloha shirts. We were leaving the next day, but they remade the shirt that afternoon, had me check it and then delivered it to the hotel that evening. Impressive.

YALY COUTURE, HOI AN

BANH MI

For any purchases like trinkets and lanterns and jewelry make sure you haggle over the price. I didn’t for my shirt, but for every other purchase Janet made sure to haggle over the price and got her asking price every time. Merchants expect the haggle. Don’t worry, they make it up in volume.

MASS TOURISM

Four million tourists descend on Hoi An yearly, overwhelming the 120,000 citizens. The delicate balance of promoting tourism and preserving the cultural heritage has been a challenge. Larger souvenirs establishments and tour groups are displacing local artisans and craftsmen. Many of the boats that ply the river at dusk are floating karaoke bars disturbing the serenity of the moment. Pubs and karaoke bars are crowded.

We had to go to Yaly Couture in the early evening to inspect my shirt after it was remade and were shocked by the crowds. Until then, our time in Hoi An proper was during the day. Two men had something close to a dozen empty beer cans on their table just around the corner from the Japanese bridge, and there were several more “dead soldiers” joining the ranks when we returned. The night market was crowded, and the shopping stalls became blurs after a while.

There is evidently a fee to enter Hoi An’s old town, I guess as a way of limiting access to the UNESCO site, but we were never challenged to show our “map” that showed we paid.

NEARBY

We stayed at the Mulberry Collection Silk Village Hotel for three nights while in Hoi An. It is a mile or so from the old town. It was a comfortable hotel with an outdoor pool and offered a lavish buffet breakfast and a head-scratching array of happy hour prices at the bar. They also offered a shuttle to the Hoi An Silk Beach Club beach complex, and we spent one morning splashing about in the green waters of the East Sea rather than go on a tour of an archaeological ruin of the Champa ruins. It was too hot, and the ocean was too inviting. The Chompa Kingdom were the early rulers of this area of Vietnam.

the Dragon Bridge Danang

We were just a few miles south of Danang and the famous China Beach, which was popular with American soldiers during the war for in-country R&R. We drove through Danang on our way from Hue and stopped for a photo op of the dragon bridge.

SILK VILLAGE HOTEL, HOI AN