Awfully pretty, utterly relaxing, inadvertently slow-paced, and home to some of the best knock-off shoes and tailored clothes that you could imagine. Hoi An's appeal is instant. The hundreds of tourist shops should take from this appeal but they're just all so pretty and colourful, they don't! They have some seriously cool stuff as well which doesn't hurt. If you're into lanterns too, Hoi An is your place.
The old town is brim full of these shops along with some quite salubrious cafes and restaurants, and some less salubrious Bia Hoi(that's the cheap draught beer again) joints down by the river, which of course we didn't visit at all. All of these establishments operate from gorgeous yellow-coloured townhouses. Many have large multi-tiered teak rooms inside, more pull you in with alluring balconies offering some prime people-watching opportunities. Hoi An is a great place to sit and while away the hours and ponder on life's mysteries(how does Mr.Jacob get the figs into the fig rolls and all that).
Two paragraphs and I haven't even started on the sights! The sights are small and, the word keeps popping up with Hoi An, pretty. Temples, clan houses, assembly halls, and museums can be found dotted about throughout the old town, which is saturated with culture. Some of the clan houses have been passed down through generations for centuries and are still occupied. A few of these families are happy to open their homes to tourists and a glimpse inside offers a resplendent insight to life in Hoi An in wealthier times. Many of these buildings get flooded from floor to ceiling nearly every year as the Thu Bon river bursts it's banks. It has to be said they look remarkably well for it, they don't make 'em like they used to!! There's also a pretty japanese bridge covered with a pretty roof, arching prettily over the pretty river. Yeah Hoi An is certainly easy on the ol' eyes.
It rained quite a bit during our visit to Hoi An but the abundance of nice an' easy hangouts to shelter in meant it didn't dampen our holiday spirit too much. It did dampen our new shoes quite a bit though which we weren't so pleased about. 90 cups of coffee(with condensed milk please), 75 glasses of Bia Hoi, and countless meals in our new favourite restaurant later and it was already time to bid farewell to Hoi An. Still haven't worked out the fig rolls quandry mind you.
1 comment:
Lesiu, you seriously have the way the words. I'm a fan of your writing. Before you guys went to Vietnam, I didn't anything about that place. And now It seems like one of my future destinations. It worked it's magic on you, and you passed it onto me. Thanks.
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