Hoi An is considered to be the most atmospheric and delightful town in Vietnam. I have to admit that I had never heard anything about this historic place, until I saw a very beautiful photo on a website. I was intrigued to learn more about this place and clicked on every link I could find.
It was once a major port, which is hard to believe when you visit the place today. At least the old town is very, not to say extremely touristy and many people find it annoying. On the positive side I should mention, that there is no traffic in the old town. You can stroll around the little streets that are full of Japanese merchant houses and the Japanese Covered Bridge being one of the top sights, Chinese temples and ancient tea warehouses and lots of shops and food places. Also, lounge bars, boutique hotels, travel agents and a glut of tailor shops are very much part of the scene. If you want to escape the Krauts and the crowds, you can visit one of the nearby beaches or cycle around the countryside, like my friend Sonia did.
Worth a visit is also the new part outside the old town. I had to go to buy a new SIM card and discovered that it is beautiful, not crowded and there are almost no tourists.
Try to avoid the rainy season if you can. If you can't, be prepared for heavy rain. In my and Sonia's case there were many breaks between the showers, so we could explore the area. Sonia was here two weeks before me and every time I see or hear rain I have to think of her and what she reported while being here.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, it started to rain when the bus dropped me off at a junction about a mile away from my hotel. So, I waited in my hotel room for an hour to stop. Then I put on my shoes and started walking towards the old town. My hotel lies conveniently across it. So I have to cross a bridge to reach it. There are many shops, food places and a few massage parlours on the way. I pass by one, which is just before the bridge and have eye contact with a man, who I believe is the owner. We greet each other and he calls a lady who speaks English. They want to invite me in for a massage and explain to me what they offer. I tell them that I want to go eat something and walk around the old town and that I will come back later, and leave.
Rain starts as soon as I cross the bridge, so I enter the first food place I find and order something local, mostly vegetables with rice. It takes a while for the rain to stop, so I read my Lonely Planet in the meantime.
When the rain stops, I walk around for two hours and decide to pay that massage parlour a visit. I go for the two hour programme: one hour of foot massage and one hour of full body. The lady who massages me does a good job and when she is about to massage my back, she climbs onto the bed and walks all over me. This is so good!
When the treatment is over, the man who I believe is the owner, invites me to have a beer with him. Even though I don't want to drink beer now, I don't want to offend him and accept his invitation.
It is late when I walk back to my hotel and finally go to sleep.
I sleep like a baby due to the beer, the massage and probably the long ride from Hue and the humid weather that makes me feel sleepy and powerless. But I wake up once just before 5am and then again an hour later. The reason for my waking up is not a rooster like in Ninh Binh, but heavy rainfall and the mourning sound of the buddhist monks. Somebody in the neighbourhood passed away and some monks gathered in his home and mourn for ages. I could close the balcony door or put on earplugs, but I have lost my sleep and feel that it's no use. It is still too early for breakfast and I am not feeling hungry. I could go for a swim in the pool or play some towel war with any British guests. In case you are not familiar with towel war, let me explain it to you.
This is something happening in Spain, usually on the islands. The Germans get up early in the morning and occupy the sunbeds with their towels and when the Brits trot in some hours later, because they had a party all night long, they see that there's no space for them. Some Brits started getting up early, just to put their towels on the sunbeds and walk back to their rooms to continue their beauty sleep. This way they annoy the Germans.
I imagine myself and a Brit, both armed with towels, narrowed eyes to a thin line, looking alternately at each other and at the only free sunbed, Ennio Morricone's western tunes sounding across the pool and us two fighting for the last available sunbed, trying to make the fastest move...
But instead I feel like doing some pilates and text my instructor Christian in Mallorca. Even though it is late at night at his end, he is willing to have a session with me. We talk a bit about nutrition, as he made me a plan a while ago and asks if I keep up with it. I try, I say and he is happy with this answer.
We start the session, but the mourning sounds irritate me, so I put on Halaros and choose one of the Valia Calda Project tracks. This is the right sound!
After an hour of pilates, I thank my instructor, I bet he is happy to go to bed, and I go for a long shower and then up to the last floor to have breakfast.
It is 9am when the rain stops and I can finally start exploring Hoi An.
As I stroll through the old town for hours, I feel hungry and start looking for a place to it. I take an alley to see if I can find anything in one of the little streets and stop in front of Chef Burger Hoi An. I google it for reviews and discover that it has an excellent rating, so I give it a try and I am not disappointed. Christian, my pilates instructor and nutrition consultant won't be amused about this.
I spent 2.5 days in this wonderful city and relaxed a lot. The Acacia Heritage Hotel feels like a sanatorium, the city radiates a tranquility, despite the hordes of tourists, the weather was rainy with sunny spells, humid, warm, and not always pleasant, but it gave me time to just sit around, do pilates and go for massages. I went three times to that massage place close by the bridge, had three pilates sessions, had a few rounds in the pool and slept on a sunbed while the rain was pouring down on me. I went for long walks and surely there are things I haven't seen or haven't done, but never mind, I can always come back. I listened to a lot of music (R.E.M. of course since that cruise in Halong Bay, Halaros, my all time favourite DJ Alex Pepper and a few more artists) and started reading a novel I bought a long while ago. I didn't have to plan my next stay and trip, because I did that when I was in Hue a few days ago. I would have liked to stay a little longer, but I have to leave. Next stop is Da Nang and then Ho Chi Minh, where I will meet my friend Gerasimos, a.k.a. Jerry.
Good night everyone!
It was once a major port, which is hard to believe when you visit the place today. At least the old town is very, not to say extremely touristy and many people find it annoying. On the positive side I should mention, that there is no traffic in the old town. You can stroll around the little streets that are full of Japanese merchant houses and the Japanese Covered Bridge being one of the top sights, Chinese temples and ancient tea warehouses and lots of shops and food places. Also, lounge bars, boutique hotels, travel agents and a glut of tailor shops are very much part of the scene. If you want to escape the Krauts and the crowds, you can visit one of the nearby beaches or cycle around the countryside, like my friend Sonia did.
Worth a visit is also the new part outside the old town. I had to go to buy a new SIM card and discovered that it is beautiful, not crowded and there are almost no tourists.
Try to avoid the rainy season if you can. If you can't, be prepared for heavy rain. In my and Sonia's case there were many breaks between the showers, so we could explore the area. Sonia was here two weeks before me and every time I see or hear rain I have to think of her and what she reported while being here.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, it started to rain when the bus dropped me off at a junction about a mile away from my hotel. So, I waited in my hotel room for an hour to stop. Then I put on my shoes and started walking towards the old town. My hotel lies conveniently across it. So I have to cross a bridge to reach it. There are many shops, food places and a few massage parlours on the way. I pass by one, which is just before the bridge and have eye contact with a man, who I believe is the owner. We greet each other and he calls a lady who speaks English. They want to invite me in for a massage and explain to me what they offer. I tell them that I want to go eat something and walk around the old town and that I will come back later, and leave.
Rain starts as soon as I cross the bridge, so I enter the first food place I find and order something local, mostly vegetables with rice. It takes a while for the rain to stop, so I read my Lonely Planet in the meantime.
When the rain stops, I walk around for two hours and decide to pay that massage parlour a visit. I go for the two hour programme: one hour of foot massage and one hour of full body. The lady who massages me does a good job and when she is about to massage my back, she climbs onto the bed and walks all over me. This is so good!
When the treatment is over, the man who I believe is the owner, invites me to have a beer with him. Even though I don't want to drink beer now, I don't want to offend him and accept his invitation.
It is late when I walk back to my hotel and finally go to sleep.
Feeling sleepy at 6am
This is something happening in Spain, usually on the islands. The Germans get up early in the morning and occupy the sunbeds with their towels and when the Brits trot in some hours later, because they had a party all night long, they see that there's no space for them. Some Brits started getting up early, just to put their towels on the sunbeds and walk back to their rooms to continue their beauty sleep. This way they annoy the Germans.
I imagine myself and a Brit, both armed with towels, narrowed eyes to a thin line, looking alternately at each other and at the only free sunbed, Ennio Morricone's western tunes sounding across the pool and us two fighting for the last available sunbed, trying to make the fastest move...
But instead I feel like doing some pilates and text my instructor Christian in Mallorca. Even though it is late at night at his end, he is willing to have a session with me. We talk a bit about nutrition, as he made me a plan a while ago and asks if I keep up with it. I try, I say and he is happy with this answer.
We start the session, but the mourning sounds irritate me, so I put on Halaros and choose one of the Valia Calda Project tracks. This is the right sound!
After an hour of pilates, I thank my instructor, I bet he is happy to go to bed, and I go for a long shower and then up to the last floor to have breakfast.
It is 9am when the rain stops and I can finally start exploring Hoi An.
The bridge you have to cross to reach the old town
View to the right
The old town
This is somewhere in the new town on the way to the SIM card shop
A church
In the church yard
Inside
Floating lights on the river
View from my balcony
The restaurant on the top floor
Views from up there
the restaurant covers almost the entire top floor
views from my balcony
KJU - Kim Jong Un
The Japanese covered bridge (there is a charge for it)
What is he wearing???
The couple from before
If you're looking for a romantic (cheesy and touristy) place, Hoi An is the right place for you.
Good night everyone!