Delightful Hoi An

It’s really no wonder this little UNESCO world heritage town is often said to be the gem of Vietnam when it comes to towns. Once you stroll around it’s narrow streets, you can’t help but fall in love with everything about it: little bars and restaurants, pretty yellowish buildings, countless tailor-shops and then the lanterns…that are literally everywhere!

We had three days to explore the town and its surroundings, and on two of them we got around with bikes. It was such a nice way to see the endless rice paddies and every now and then spot a vietnamese hat peeking from the fields. The beachfront wasn't far either and that’s pretty much where we usually ended up…for a beer swim.

Hoi An has incredibly much to offer and one thing we will always remember it by is the dining. More specifically a place called Morning Glory. Let me tell a little bit about this heavenly spot: It’s run by a very talented chef who shares her story along with explanations of each dish on the menu. She has categories like “Soups my mum used to make” and “Workers food” and so on, and the focus is on making traditional foods (also street food) with a twist. I can’t even put it in words how delicious the food was (and we ate in her restaurants multiple times)- it’s something about the Vietnamese food…the freshness and the rich flavours that make all the difference. And the talented kitchen staff, of course. The town most definitely came to life in the night time as people filled the street food stalls, lanterns were all lit up and little girls were selling candles to be sent down the river- pure magic.

Last but not least the shopping. It’s a paradise for anyone who’d like to get tailor-made clothes done for them (or anything else for that matter). I had a few dresses made for me and everything was quick and simple (except choosing what I wanted to have done). It all went down somewhat like this: A lady came over to talk to us and sort of hijacked us into her little store and sat us down next to a thick pile of catalogs…well, the rest you may guess. In short, I pretty much picked a dress I wanted on and the next day I had a fitting and it was all done! As I said back then, I say now: Vietnamese people got some game! They’re the most industrious people I know, and I mean by just looking how they’ve come through “recent” wars and struggles, and still managed to rebuild their nation with a steady growth in their economy. Like the saying goes “Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice, and the Lao listen the rice grow…”. With that being said, Hoi An was definitely the prettiest town we saw in Vietnam and I will always remember it as the little “Disneyland of Vietnam”.