Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is located 30 minutes south of Danang. It is a city on Vietnam's central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town with several canals. It's architetcure is a mix of Chinese wooden shophouses and temples, colorful French colonial buildings, Vietnamese tube houses and the iconic Japanese covered bridge with its pagaoda. It is one of Vietnam's best desinations with something for everyone.
How did we get here? We flew Bamboo Airways from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang. We used Hanoi Transfer Services for transfer to the airport and used them to arrange a driver from Danang to Hoi An. I highly recommend HTS! We originally booked economy on Bamboo but they were offering a bid to upgrade to Business class. We bid and won! Our flight wasn't until 1930 so we took advantage of the Bamboo Lounge for complimentary dinner and beer and wine! Good thing we did because the airport was packed -- like American airports in Novembeer -- since people were flying home for Tet. As soon as we exited the airport, there was a gentleman with a "Robert Crow" sign. He took our bags and off we went to Hoi An. Such service!
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Gates manually pulled across street to
ensure the bikes stopped for oncoming
train |
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Light dinner in flight ✈
Ham and cheese croissant |
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Hoi An Airport (I think our
flight was last to arrive) |
Where did we stay? We stayed at Lantana Boutique Hoi An Hotel and booked them through Agoda. We had a nice room on the 4th floor overlooking the Thu Bon River. We find each hotel has something unique/different/unusual (and that includes the States). This one was a window in the bathroom. Like almost everywhere we stay, there was a nice complimentary buffet breakfast.
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| Our window into the bathroom |
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| Our view |
What did we do? A lot of wandering the streets, checking out shops, cafes and restaurants. And constantly saying, "No thank you" everytime we heard, "Sir-madame" (like it's one word). Unfortunately it was cold (for us), overcast and rainy most of the time. We heard this was a really fun little town so we stayed four full days. Our first day, we bought jackets. "North Face" jackets! We paid a whopping 1M dong (about $40 USD) for two jackets! Yes, they are 'original copies' but we've read the quality rivals the real thing and North Face employees can't tell the difference. Either way, we have something warm and water resistent. I also bought a hoodie. Now all I need is a pair of pants and socks.
On our third night, we were drinking some beers at a roadside cafe, people watching and sitting next to a couple with an American accent. We got to talking and it turns out we have a mutual friend. Jack Gorman! Talk about a small world. So we are now friends with Jim and Sherry Shrove who are traveling around Vietnam and on an extended 'vacation' like us. They were charter boat captains in the Virgin Islands and are friends with Jack.
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| Jim and Sherry Shrove |
Our last day was the best day we had (weather-wise) so we rented bicycles from the hotel. We lasted about an hour and returned the bikes. It is just easier to walk then to attempt site seeing by bicycle in Asia.Supposedly there is a nice beach not far away but it just wasn't beach weather so we stayd in town. Exploring the countryside by motorbike is also popular and they rent for $4/day.
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There is a law stating that every shop must hang lanterns from their facade. As the sun sets, the lanterns turn on, lighting up the town in the warm glow of yellow, red and green light.
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| Tet prep |
The vendors are very persistent. At the day market, a young woman was insistent we get a foot massage. We, well I, finally gave in for a 30 minute "happy hour" foot massage -- two for the price of one. It seems it's always 'happy hour' everywhere all the time for anything. Two young women started giving us foot massages but the insistent woman/owner started plucking Sharon's facial hairs with a thread. The woman kept saying, "No pain. No gain. No monkey." Meaning you won't have a hairy face like a monkey. I was dying! 🤣🐵
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| No monkey |
Of course the best way to make a sale after several attempts is to call your customer a tightass and not just a tightass but a cheap tightass, still no sale.
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| Called Rob a cheap tightass |
What did we eat?
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