Hoi An

by Sophie · 10th January 2014

UNESCO stamped Hoi An is situated in the middle of Vietnam, not far from the coast. Originally a fishing village, surrounded by vegetable farms and paddy fields, it is now popular with tourists who are drawn to its beauty. The old town centre has small crossing streets with old buildings, bars, cafes, cookery stalls, old ladies selling fresh produce and tailors everywhere! It is also filled with colourful lanterns, you can see hundreds as you walk along the river in the evening!

We really enjoyed the experience of ordering tailored clothes. We had never had this done before, and ended up ordering dresses, trousers, coats and suits. Olly thinks we got carried away, but Sophie wishes we had bought more. We used a respected tailors from a shop and a place in the market, and we were pleased with the results from both.

The food in Hoi An was superb, and our favourite in Vietnam. The ingredients were so fresh: ingredients were bought at the local market, and almost all are grown within a 10km radius. Most dishes are served with fresh tender leaf herbs (Thai basil, lemon basil, purple basil, coriander, chives, spearmint, Vietnamese mint, lettuce and others we can’t remember!). Other local treats were Cao Lau (wheat noodle soup), aubergine/fish in clay pot, Hoi An spring rolls (DIY rolls- rice noodle sheets, fried rice flour pancake and herbs), Pho (rice noodle soup) and chicken curry. We learnt how to make some of these dishes in a decent evening class.

We found a good travel agent and booked much of the rest of our trip including a fantastic moped tour around the area. We visited a pottery village, where we created some dubious looking pots, all the vegetable/herb growing areas, a temple, a fish cracker factory, paddy fields and water coconut farms. In the paddy fields we were able to ‘feel like a hero’ on a buffalo ride, and among the water coconuts, Olly tried his had at rowing a circular fishing boat.