We flew into DaNang on Saturday 4th June and were picked up by our hotels car. Whow..... how different Danang and the drive to Hoi An was, after the hustle and bustle of the streets of Hanoi. Not many cars and bikes here, but they still love their horns.
Our plan was just to stop for a while and chill out and Hoi An certainly is the place to do it.
We spent five days in Hoi An and the weather was bloody hot, one day reaching 40 degrees.
Our days were filled with walking through the streets of the Ancient town of Hoi An, in the mornings and then chilling out either watching a movie or swimming in the hotels beautiful and refreshing pool, during the heat of the day. The pool was undercover, so the water was nice and cold, just what we wanted in the heat of the day.
Late afternoons were really interesting, as our hotel overlooked the Thu Bon river and a heap of red plastic tables and chairs would be placed on the path alongside the river. The locals would come out of the woodworks to sit, eat, drink and enjoy the evening breeze coming down the river.
Walking through the town in the heat of the day, not many people were around but in the evening the town comes alive. We would head out in the evening for dinner and take in the great atmosphere, lighting of lanterns and watching them floating down the river.
On the 4th December 1999, Hoi An was inscribed on the World Heritage list. In the 16th and 17th Centuries Hoi An was the international trading centre in Southern Vietnam. Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Indian traders set up their emporiums or established their own quarters and the old town of Hoi An is a unique concentration of architectural monument of various forms, assembly halls, old houses, communal houses, a Japanese covered bridge, shrines, temples etc.
The market was great, except when we got hassled to buy. We spent a day relaxing at the beach, Hoi An was certainly a great spot to enjoy the shopping, Lorelle got three pairs of shoes made and Alan was happy paying only $15 for a bottle of rum.
We are certainly glad to have stopped in this lovely quiter place, to chill out and enjoy the time resting and relaxing.