Hoi An

Leaving Hue, we had a rather long bus ride south to our final destination of Hoi An.  We explored the countryside along the way, and drove through Da Nang.  Da Nang is booming - it’s the new Miami Beach of Vietnam.  Luxury beach hotels are popping up everywhere. Da Nang used to be an American military base during the Vietnam war, and some of the American infrastructure was used to jump start the development of Da Nang. The airport is one example, as Da Nang is now the third largest airport in Vietnam.

Our bus ride had a few stops along the way, and took about seven hours.  Near the end, our guide had a couple of stops planned for us, but everyone was eager to get off the bus and get to our beach resort, so we pushed through. It was a quiet mutiny of sorts.

In Hoi An, our hotel for the next four nights was the Palm Garden resort.  Situated right on the beach, it was a perfect contrast to the cities we’ve been visiting, and not having to pack for four days was a blessing.  The ocean water was nice and refreshing, and there was a (rather warm) pool as well.  Still - it was a great place to chill.

On the beach!

For our first meal, the family went across the street to An Gia - a Trip Advisor highly rated restaurant in the area. The kids got a yummy Pho, and I tried some of the local area’s specialities, including Cau Lau (a stir fried noodle dish), and a “white rose”.  I also had squid stuffed with pork and vegetables (another local specialty).  Everything was fresh and awesome.

The next day, Sue and I ventured into Hoi An around 10 AM.  The kids needed a break, so they stayed at the resort and hung by the pool and ocean.  (In fact, everyone’s kids did this.)  Hoi An is charming - there’s an old historical area, and a river / bridge at the center of things.  It’s like the San Miguel De Allende of Vietnam.  Sue and I explored the town, which had tons of shops, and a gazillion places offering tailored clothes and suits.  Some of our group got measured, picked a style and fabric, and had clothes custom made for them. I never wear suits, but I was tempted nonetheless.  The tailoring shops were everywhere - there was even a covered market with about 50 different tailors.  Each shop had rolls of fine fabric, and the turnaround on clothes was 24 hours, with adjustments that could be tweaked the next day.  

Hoi An is also known for it’s food, and our meals overall didn’t disappoint.  That night, Sue and I returned to the resort, snagged Bryce (Laurel was not feeling well), and went back into town for a dinner along the river, joined by about 15 of our crew.  The town gets busy at night, since the weather is cooler, and the river is lit up with floating “wish lanterns” and other lights.  Once again, we had a great meal, and enjoyed the sights and lights.

Hoi An specialty Won-ton nachos sort of thing - I forget the name

Hoi An is also CHEAP.  Our meal for 15 was $80 US, including beer, wine, and even a bottle of vodka.  Several bars feature “fresh beer” for under $0.20 / glass.  Also - earlier in the day, I went across the street from the hotel to one of the four “spas”  to get a one hour full body massage ($10).  My masseuse was really good, but still feeling like I needed more, I went to another spa for a 30 minute foot massage.  They wanted $5 for a full hour, but I wanted to spend only 30 minutes, so we came up with a compromise: I had TWO masseuses, one on each foot, for 30 minutes and $5.  Awesome sensory overload.

The next day, after enjoying the beach for the morning and afternoon, the whole family went back into town at 4 PM.  Our first stop was food, and I found the “Queen of Banh Mi” well rated on Trip Advisor.  Banh Mi are Vietnamese sandwiches on french rolls, and the “queen” made the best darn Banh Mi I ever had.  She ran it out of a cart, with a sit-down area inside.  On her cart were about 20 different things, and we got the “everything” option. It was so good we ordered twice.  Inside was soft cheese, pork, pate, fresh vegetables, and a variety of sauces, all balanced perfectly. The rolls were just right too.  We got four sandwiches and drinks for $6 US.

After snacking, we walked through town as it got dark, and did some shopping at the night market. Sue bought some cool lanterns, the and the kids got some hand-cut paper pop-up cards, and a couple of flying bird toys as gifts. We were able to bargain a little bit, but things are so inexpensive it hardly seemed worth the effort. The lanterns looked great at night, as did the rest of the sights of Hoi An.  

On our final day, Sue and Bryce did a cooking class with a few others from our group, where they made eight dishes from scratch, including Pho. Like in Hanoi, they went to the market to buy everything, and then returned to the restaurant to cook and prepare.  Sadly, there were no leftovers for anyone else, but I’m told everything was delicious.  

While Laurel slept in, I explored a bit of our beach area, and found breakfast with a proper Vietnamese ice coffee.  Our hotel’s ice coffees weren’t nearly as good as those in Hue, so I wanted to get a “real” one.  I found a breakfast place ten minute’s walk down the beach from the hotel, and enjoyed myself.  In the afternoon, I got another awesome full body massage (“strong” style), this time for the “happy hour special” of $7.50. I left a nice tip.

That evening, a group of us went to Coco Restaurant for dinner, which Ann had been eyeing for a couple of days.  While not quite up to the level of our other food stops, it was still quite good, and the outdoor patio overlooking the river at night was pleasant. It was slightly more expensive - $10/ person including lots of beer.

One other thing about Hoi An - they have really made an effort to have Wifi everywhere.  Each restaurant offers free Wifi, and even the town itself has public Wifi throughout.  For travellers like me, it’s really handy to be able to look things up on the fly, or communicate with our group via What’s App. I was not prepared for this level of connectivity, but it was a welcome feature.